“I do. He’s been my best friend my whole life.”
“You’re lucky,” Lex said with a sigh. “I don’t get along with mine.”
“Why is that?”
Lex’s jaw shifted back and forth. When he answered, his words were ground out between his teeth. “Ben is a sniveling little troll who’s constantly trying to upstage me. He’s three years younger and yet he’s the one who secures an engagement alliance first, and to aproper princess.” He said the last part with clear mocking. “Well, guess what? Hisproper princessstill has baby teeth. She won’t be old enough to wed for at least a decade. Oh, and then he takes overmyproject to build the stupid wall between Tomas and Norun—” He cut off suddenly, his cheeks having grown red. “Never mind. I hate Ben. Let us not speak of that brat.”
Teryn pursed his lips to hide his smile. “Very well.”
“What did your much-less-annoying-than-mine brother’s notes say?”
“Nothing helpful. Unless, of course, you’re a virgin. If you are, we could test a theory and use you as bait. I saw an illustration in a book once. The virgin princess had flowers in her hair. We could weave you a nice crown of cherry blossoms.” He gave Lex a teasing grin.
Lex smirked and rolled onto his back. “Your tone suggests you assume Iama virgin. So let me enlighten you and say that I am not.”
“Really.” Teryn couldn’t help the note of surprise.
Lex cut him a glare. “I have a lady back home. Is that so hard to believe?”
“Oh, I imagine you’re quite the bodice ripper in Tomas.”
“Onebodice. And quite the bodice it is, let me just say.”
“Is that so? If you’re so taken with her, why are you competing for another woman’s hand?”
Lex scoffed. “You and I both know I’m not competing. Besides, participating in the stupid Heart’s Hunt was nevermyidea. It was my father’s. If you haven’t gleaned as much already, my father wants his sons to marry princesses. Well, my lady isn’t one. But once I come back with the trade agreement we spoke of, I think Father will finally approve my request to marry.”
Teryn considered that. It seemed like a fair plan. Of course, it all hinged on whether Teryn actually won. “What’s her name?”
“Lily,” Lex said with a dreamy sigh.
“What’s she like?”
Lex waggled his brows. “You recall that water nymph statue? Lily puts her to shame.”
“In what way?” Teryn tried to keep a straight face. “Her silent disposition? Her failure to respond to your touch?”
Lex rolled his eyes. “I meant her shapely form.”
“Prince Lexington wouldn’t know a shapely form if it fell naked onto his lap.” The brusque voice silenced Teryn and Lex as Helios stalked into camp. Teryn felt as if the temperature had plummeted with the prince’s arrival.
Lex said nothing in reply. It was one thing for Teryn and Lex to tease each other. Their exchange of lighthearted jabs was friendly. But there was nothing lighthearted about the way Helios teased. His every word always held a sinister edge.
Helios took a seat by the fire and set to sharpening a knife. “There are no unicorns here,” he said without looking at either of them.
Teryn waited for him to elaborate, but the hope was futile. “What exactly does that mean?”
“It means we ride at dawn. Continue north.”
Teryn curled his fingers into fists. It was always the same answer, night after night with nothing else to add. “Helios,” he said through his teeth, “tell us the damn plan.”
Helios slowly slid his gaze to Teryn. “I’ll tell you the plan when I’ve deemed you worthy of hearing it.”
Teryn shot to his feet, chest heaving with rage. “We are in an alliance. We are not your servants. When we agreed to this arrangement, we conceded to work together. Not for you.”
“I’ll share my intel on a need-to-know basis.”
“No.” It took all of Teryn’s restraint to speak with control. “You will tell us everything you know. Now.”
