Her face freezes, and she looks away.
Itskunder my breath. I can’t help it.
“I am your queen,” she snaps. “You will notjudgeme.”
“I’m not judging you,” I say softly— though I am. It’s likelyclearthat I am. I reach out a hand and rest it over hers. “The king left to take magicawayfrom Syhl Shallow. He left toprotectyou.” I pause. “Lia Mara. What if he says no?”
She goes absolutely still. But then she pulls her hand out from under mine, putting a hand to her heart. She closes her eyes and swallows, silence weighing heavily on us both for a moment.
When her eyes open, they’re clear and piercing, though her voice is barely more than a broken whisper. “The king won’t say no to me.”
I think of the man who faced a dozen scravers and lived to tell the tale.
The same man who faced the onslaught of a hundred Truthbringers swarming the palace.
The same man who fought off a hundred assailants with an iron bolt through his leg in Briarlock, if the stories are to be believed.
I’m pretty sure a man like that could sayno.
But before I can say a word, the queen’s expression turns shrewd, and she says, “Wouldyousay no to Callyn if she asked you for something?”
My breath catches, but it’s barely a fraction of a second. I’m just as practiced in hiding my emotion and maintaining control.
But Lia Mara is no fool, and she reaches out to rest a hand overminethis time.
I grimace, but it shifts into a frown.WouldI say no to Callyn?
No. I probably wouldn’t. I couldn’t even keep my vow to force her out of the palace.
The queen’s voice goes very quiet. “Surely you know she’s had to care for her sister most of her life,” she says. “And I’m aware of how very desperate she was in Briarlock. I saw it with my own eyes.”
I swallow thickly. Guilt flickers in my chest, and I don’t want it there.
Because I saw it with my own eyes, too— and I truly did what I could to help Callyn and Nora. But it’s more than that. I hear an echo of that bitter desperation every time she chastises me for riding a horse or calling for a servant or even just simply having coins in a pouch on my belt.
The queen speaks into my silence. “I don’t get the sense that Callyn has known many people she could trust, Alek.” She pauses. “But I believe she’s come to trustyou.”
I look at the window myself. “Callyn might have trusted me once,” I say, musing. “But I’m not sure she does anymore. We always seem to end up at odds.”
The queen smiles, and something about it is a little sad. “My husband would say that fate seems determined to bring you together.”
Any other day, I’d scoff, because we don’t believe in fate on this side of the mountain. But just now those words lodge in my heart, refusing to budge, no matter how cynical I feel.
The door to the nursery swings open, and Princess Sinna comes running in, breathless, her wild red curls barely tamed. “Mama!” she says. “I counted fifteenbumblebees—”
She catches sight of me and practically skids to a stop. “Oh!” she cries. “We have a guest.” Without missing a beat, and as if she didn’t fly into the room like a tornado, she takes hold of her skirt and drops into a perfect, courtly curtsy. “Lord Alek! Welcome to my nursery. I am honored by your . . . your . . .” Her face twists into a scowl.
“Presence,” Lia Mara whispers.
“By yourpresence,” Sinna says primly.
“Your Highness,” I say, smiling. I stand and offer her a bow. “Thank you for your gracious welcome,” I say. “Did you sayfifteenbumblebees?”
“Yes! Do you want to play Wolf and Stone with us?”
Before I can answer, Lia Mara says, “Unfortunately, Lord Alek has business elsewhere.”
My eyebrows go up. “I do?”
