“Promise?” she says, jerking free of his grip.
He just laughs.
Queen Lia Mara takes another sip of her tea while I stare at them like they’re insane.
“You mentioned villains,” the queen says to Alek. “I’m not sure I believe in them.”
That gets everyone’s attention. It’s Nora who squeaks, “You’re not sure you believe invillains?”
The queen offers a little shrug. “No, in fact. I’ve come to realize that most people truly judge their own actions as decent or necessary— if not downright noble.”
My eyebrows knit together. “But . . . the Truthbringersattackedyou.”
“They felt they were protecting the people of Syhl Shallow— or at least themselves.” Another half shrug. “I don’t agree with their methods, obviously, but it helps me to understand their motivation.”
The table is silent as we consider that. The queen’s eyes shift to Alek, then narrow shrewdly. “You have thoughts, Alek. I can feel it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Of course.”
But that’s all he says, and then he smiles, a little too pleased with himself.
The queen smiles in return, and it breaks through some of the melancholy on her face. I don’t think I ever noticed it before, but there’s a tenor of . . . offriendshipbetween them. As if they have a history I was never aware of until this very moment. It’s not romantic, because it doesn’t have that energy. But it’s like that moment in the trap when Alek mentioned being a little brother. It’s an awareness. An understanding. A shared loss. A depth I didn’t understand.
And all of a sudden, I realize why she once told me to hear Alek out. I understand why she sent me to visit him, as if she had no worries for my safety. I know why she sent him to fetch me from the arena.
There are no tricks here, no cunning, no guile. There’s just aneasehere. Not necessarily trust, but it’s the comfort of family. Of being in the presence of someone you’ve known all your life.
In his silence, her smile widens. “You think I’m too altruistic.”
He offers half a shrug that mirrors hers. “That’s fair. You often think I’m too arrogant.”
I snort under my breath. He definitely is.
The queen must hear me, because she laughs lightly. “If you agree with that, Callyn, then Alek is likely right about me, too.” She pauses, and the smile slips off her face. She glances at the window, and I’m not sure what about the motion is telling, but I know she’s thinking of her husband. “Perhaps Iamtoo altruistic.”
“Idon’t think you are,” Nora says.
That brings the smile back. The queen reaches across the table to give my sister’s hand a squeeze. “I hope you keep thinking that. Don’t let Nolla Verin’s cynicism rub off on youtoomuch, Nora.” She glances at me. “And don’t let Alek’s rub off on you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” I say.
“Callyn has made her feelingsquiteclear,” Alek agrees.
The note in his voice makes me frown, but the queen is giving Nora’s hand another squeeze, and then she sits back in her chair. “I’m certain the two of you have news to report,” she says to me and Alek, “but Nora was surprised to hear that you were leaving the palace together.” She pauses, and there’s a weight in the sudden silence. “Your sister was concerned that you’d never said a word about your continued friendship, Callyn.”
Friendship.Is that what Alek and I have?
But as the queen says the words, I realize Nora is looking at me, and her eyes are dark with censure. She really has turned the corner to become less like an annoying little sister and more like a peer.
But the look in her eyes still slices right into me, and I let out a breath.
“Nora,” I begin . . . but then I don’t know what else to say.
In my silence, the queen says, “I told Nora that big sisters often keep secrets to protect the people they love.”
“That’s true,” I say, but the words feel hollow. Because I wasn’tjustprotecting my sister. If I’m being wholly honest, I was protecting myself, too.
Alek is listening to this from another angle, because his eyes are on the queen. “Do you keep secrets from Verin, Your Majesty?”
