With a practiced ease born of years of suppressing my own emotions around my mother, I forged ahead. Diplomacy… Diplomacy could mask my silly, hurt feelings. “Prince Owain, you mentioned coordination. How can Darreth help you strengthen the relationship between your countries?”
Owain gave me an approving look that healed a bit of the hurt wrapped around my heart. “Lady Isca, you are accord incarnate. Diplomacy is wasted on men like us,” he teased, the barb aimed at Emrys. “The realm needs women like you. Level heads in a sea of fools with swords.”
I inclined my head at the compliment.
But Owain kept going. “Not enough queens on our island. It’s unfortunate your sister Bronwyn is already married. Otherwise, I might’ve suggested my brother marry her instead.”
He winked at me, a sly glint in his eyes, while Emrys shot him a glare for mentioning his sister that could’ve curdled milk. He was the second person to mention Avanfell’s lack of true queens.
“I jest, Emrys,” Owain added belatedly, not seeming the least bit afraid. This prince of Larethia must either be very brave or far more powerful than he let on. Or both.
A sudden seriousness fell over Owain; his relaxed demeanor vanished, replaced by a grim, focused expression. “Our shared border needs men, Lady Isca, men with steel in hands to demonstrate our resolve with force.”
I looked to Emrys with a question in my eyes. He didn’t glance at me before saying, “Our unshared border with Gelida is far too porous already.”
My knowledge of the situation was limited, but I felt confident that sending a small contingent wouldn’t overextend Darreth’s resources. I don’t know what made me do it. Perhaps it was that I’d touched him earlier in the day when he’d been knocked down by Owain’s blow.
I gripped his arm gently as I asked, “But what of a small display of force, Prince Emrys? Perhaps moving conveniently placed men there?”
Emrys closed his eyes for long enough that I worried. His breath came out in a strangled wheeze that was so quiet I almost thought I hadn’t heard it. Had he been lying about his ribs not being damaged or was it something else?
A long, uncomfortable silence stretched between us before I realized my hand was still on his arm. I hastily removed it, realizing my faux pax too late. I’d grown too comfortable.
With my hand gone, Emrys finally answered Owain. “I can speak to men who have family on that border to see if they would be interested in making a show of their presence. Or perhaps we can send the contingent of mages the Assembly lent us their way for a time.”
Owain’s eyes shifted from me to Emrys then back to me. Surely, he knew enough about magic to sense that I hadn’t manipulated Emrys with my abilities. Still, there was a question in his eyes that I didn’t understand.
It didn’t matter because Owain smiled. “That is quite a concession, Emrys. One Larethia would be grateful for. I see many happy years of friendship between our kingdoms.”
I was thrilled.
But Emrys still scowled at Owain. Then he fixed a look on me that asked,Are you happy now?
Yes. Yes, I was. I could write to Chancellor Maeron that Darreth’s relationship with Larethia hadn’t turned to ashes in a pyre of Emrys’s magic. Maybe he’d leave my family unharmed for another two weeks—maybe.
Feeling triumphant, I leveled my own smirk back at Emrys. When his gaze smoldered again, I quickly turned away. Hot and cold, cold and hot, it was too much while my own feelings about him were still confused.
We finished lunch without incident. As Emrys spoke with a worried soldier, Owain discreetly signaled for me to join him.
“I have a cousin only three hours away on horseback who is expecting our group tonight. So I wondered if you would walk with me in the gardens? Our party will leave before dinner, so this may be our only chance.”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
Protecting my family had brought me to Tir Darreth, but I was beginning to see that I might protect far more than just them before my work here was done. The thought proved more gratifying than expected. I liked the idea of helping these people who’d welcomed me with open arms and treated me as one of their own.
When Owain offered me his arm, Emrys’s cold gaze pinned itself between my shoulder blades.
After what he’d said at lunch, I was only too happy to gain a bit of his disapproval. And, by the gods, the Assembly was parading me as a diplomat, I had to act like one. I wasn’t about to allow a grumpy head of state to stop me from ensuring the safety of two kingdoms.
My steps echoed beside Owain’s as we slipped out onto the garden paths, past stone archways and blooming flowers struggling toward the sun. Thebreeze was gentler here than outside the castle walls, and the sky stretched white and blue overhead.
We walked in silence for a while, the hush between us oddly companionable. His presence was different than Emrys’s. Less like wildfire ready to consume everything around it and more like smoldering embers that he kept tightly tempered by his iron will.
It was Owain who finally broke the quiet. “I hope I haven’t made things…difficult between you and your prince.”
I gave him a long look and then said, “He’s not my prince,” a bit too forcefully.
He arched a brow. “No?”
