Nisien’s easy, teasing laugh rang out. “At leasttryto look like you enjoy it, brother.”
“I’m not here for joy.” There was no emotion in Emrys’s voice. I couldn’t empathically read either of them from such a distance. I sensed, though, that there was something off about Emrys, something I hadn’t seen before.
Emrys pressed his advantage. He fought like a man with nothing left to lose, every blow a warning to stay back. Then—for the space of a single heartbeat—his eyes met mine. A hesitation, a subtle shift, registered in the depths of his gaze.
Nisien must’ve seen this because he took advantage of Emrys’s momentary distraction. He ducked under Emrys’s next hasty blow, pivoted, and caught his brother with a tap to his belly. “Point to me.”
Nisien surprised me by not crowing about his victory. His humility was incredibly telling of the kind of person he was—it earned even more of my respect.
Emrys’s face remained impassive, betraying no hint of disappointment or reaction to his loss. Then, it was as if every ounce of the fight left his body at once. He bowed to Nisien and handed his wooden sword to an attendant.
I frowned, eyes fixed on Emrys. I whispered to Catrin, “I think that was our fault.”
“Our?” Catrin leaned closer to correct me with a chuckle. “Not ‘our,’ Mage Isca. It was as if he forgot how to be angry the moment he saw you.”
Or as if the fight wasn’t with Nisien at all.
Emrys had warned me against the hell I was walking into in dealing with him. Maybe the fight had been against himself all along.
“That’s exactly the kind of magic Darreth needs.” Catrin smiled at me.
“But I didn’t use my magic on him,” I argued.
Catrin’s eyes narrowed, and she looked at me with an expression that clearly indicated I’d said something incredibly stupid. “That’s not the kind of magic I was talking about.”
My cheeks heated. “You seem to take a keen interest in Prince Emrys,” I gently prodded Catrin, teasing, trying to change the subject. “Far more than Nisien.”
She let out a boisterous laugh that made the soldiers all around take notice of us. Keeping her voice low, she answered, “Not likethat. I grew up in the castle too. They’re like the older brothers I’ve always dreamed of having. Emrys is just more complicated, you know?”
That was impossible to argue with. Nisien had been consistently open and straightforward with me since I’d arrived. While I could barely get Emrys to acknowledge me.
Nisien looked up like he’d heard his name. Noticing us, he wiped his sweaty brow with a flourish and turned to bow toward us. “Lady Isca! Catrin!” he called out. “Look. We practice our version of diplomacy even now.”
I offered Nisien a polite smile while my magic subtly probed Emrys. It was unable to read anything from him, even though we’d stepped closer. He must’ve erected his walls the moment he saw us. Now he stood breathing heavily with his back turned, his sword slowly drooping to the ground, seemingly oblivious to the match’s end.
When he finally turned, Emrys’s face was an impassive mask, betraying no hint of anger or disappointment. He was just… Empty.
For some reason, I hated seeing him that way. What if I wasn’t big enough for the job? What if the enormity of what he was suffering was too great for someone like me to handle? Would he be stuck living in this torment forever?
Without reaching my eyes again, Emrys turned our way and half-bowed. Then, as he’d done the first moment I entered the castle, he turned and fled.
Not wanting to distract the men from their work, Catrin and I left quickly to clean up before lunch with the household guard.
Lunch was a quiet, buffet-style affair in the Great Hall. It was much more informal than the intimate dinner with Nisien, with platters of roast meats, cheeses, spring greens, and bread laid out on the long table for the entire household and guard to share. To my eyes, it was a feast.
Grateful for the anonymity eating in with so many might bring, I followed Catrin, hoping to disappear amongst the crowd. But that all changed when I saw both princes already seated at the high table.
Nisien stood as we entered, smiling. “Ah, perfect timing. Come. Sit with us.”
He gestured to the spot directly between them. Of course.
“Balance, at last,” Nisien said brightly. “We are happy to have you, Lady Isca.”
I hesitated a moment too long, and Emrys’s gaze fell on me. For the first time, I sensed a barely perceptible flinch behind the mask of his cool demeanor. There was a subtle tightening around his eyes that suggested a new wariness. He shifted stiffly, making room for me to move easily between the chairs.
Between shadow and sun. What could possibly go wrong?
Yet I couldn’t think like that if I wanted to return home to my family safe. Diplomacy had to start now—whatever that meant.
