Maybe that was why I wrote two formal invitations to the twins to speak privately, away from the politics and eyes of the court the next morning. The great hall was too public. My chambers, too intimate. So, I chose the library. It was time to reclaim the space from Emrys’s pain, from mine, from the magic that had almost broken us apart.
Catrin had insisted on “dressing me for war.” The gown she chose looked like the feminine version of something one of the princes would wear. Black with silver thread detailing at the hems, the low neckline its only softening feature.
“Your new jewelry will clash with the trim.” Catrin tutted. “You truly brought no other adornments, my lady?”
“I wasn’t lying when I said I wasn’t wealthy,” I muttered.
She plucked a purple ribbon from another dress and wove it into my hair. “To match the lavender you’ve been wearing lately.”
She wouldn’t stop teasing me about the display.
“Stop fretting, Mage Isca, I get it. Emrys sometimes needs blunt reminders. He’ll eventually understand whatever you’re trying to tell him. Whatexactlywas that again?”
I still hadn’t told her what had caused Emrys to pull away and disappear from the castle altogether. I finally gave in as she pinned my hair into a style I could never have achieved on my own.
“He was…a bit too aggressive in…” This was incredibly difficult to say aloud. “In his advances.”
Catrin immediately dropped the comb. She gasped, eyes wide. “Isca!”
“What?” I choked out, hoping I hadn’t said something that was going to come down on my head later.
“Prince Emrys does not make advances—ever. Not the romantic type, at least.”
Was that true? With how handsome he was, I’d pictured him engaging in affairs on more nights than not. Especially since he was always locked in his room. I’d thought he’d had some fancy lady waiting there at his beck and call. I didn’t know how to react to this new information, so I asked another question.
“And Nisien, does he entertainromantic advancesoften?”
“He’ll…” Catrin busied herself with finding the comb where it had fallen. “Prince Nisienwillentertain an exceptional lady…”
I raised one eyebrow in question, but she stubbornly ignored me.
Unhelpfully, all Catrin said was, “After what you told me… Good thing I chose the low-cut top. You are filling it out very nicely now.”
First it was her exhibition of my hair, now it was lower and lower cut dresses. I looked down. I had gained a bit of my former softness back since being in Darreth. Still, I argued, “I’m here as a diplomat, Catrin.”
Her eyebrows rose as she began to move the comb through my hair again. “Right, of course, Mage Isca.Of course. Doesn’t mean you can’t look your best while doing it.” She had the gall to wink at me in the mirror.
I narrowed my eyes in return and tried not to smile.
I reached the library early, nervous with anticipatory energy. The velvet curtains were pulled back to allow the tall windows to drink in the afternoon light, lighting this parchment-filled corner of the world into softness.
Emrys entered first, as quiet as a midwinter snowfall, wearing a black tunic and trousers. His eyes swept the room once then fell to the floor, not reaching mine. They held a haunted look—like a man who’d walked the fiery edges of hell and emerged still smoldering with the heat of his transgressions on his skin. Even his broad shoulders were hunched like a prisoner awaiting sentencing—he didn’t like being back in the library.
Far more sensitive than he pretends to be.
He was back in the darkness. It was hard seeing him that way after our moment of intimacy on the night of his return.
His only acknowledgement was a brief nod in my direction as he collapsed his long body into the chair furthest from the hearth’s comforting glow.
Nisien followed moments later, ever the contrast. Wearing a summery shade of blue, he breezed in with a crooked smile, trailing the scent of the mead he carried in one hand. Three goblets filled the other. “Are we negotiating tariffs ormarriage proposalstoday?” he asked, full of mischief as he dropped into the seat beside mine.
Damn his sharp tongue.
I offered him a warm smile. He truly was like walking sunshine with the mind of a serpent. My lavender crown swayed gently as I reached for the mead.
Emrys’s eyes flicked to it then to my earrings, the necklace at my throat, and away.
We needed to move beyond his guilt if we were going to help this kingdom.
