“I see. And what did he say during this… discussion?”
“I feel quite ill,” I said. “I’m going to vomit.”
“Should I fetch the doctor?” he asked.
“Just leave me alone!” I cried, running back to my room.
Chapter 18
The first day that Mr. Evergreen was gone, I wallowed in my chamber like a child who’d been sent to bed without their most cherished dessert. I cited a stomach ache. The second day was much the same, though Ser Elías came and he played chess with me. When I contemplated my moves for too long, he reminded me of the importance of hiding in plain sight and said that if I didn’t leave my quarters by the third day, people would associate my dismay with the swordsman’s absence. He suggested that I spend time with my fiancé to keep up the façade. My fiancé!
For Oreia, for Chalke, and for my own sanity, he said. He was, naturally and unfortunately correct, so as instructed, on the third day, I pried myself from my sheets, long enough to take a bath. Then I embarked on an effort to find Sameer, but I hadn’t ventured too far into the Palace before he found me first. He handed me a delicate box containing a kind of biscuit he’d ordered from town and he told me the sugary treat had always helped him on the road to recovery in his youth. They’d been his mother’s favorite.
Reluctantly, or out of guilt andfor Oreia, Chalke, and my sanity,I thanked him, declared they had worked their wonderupon me, and then spent the day in a florist’s shop with him after. I picked flowers for our wedding and I tried not to sneeze.
Then, on Day Four, I sulked onlyinternally,and by the afternoon, I’d had enough.
I stood in front of Isaac’s stall, squaring my shoulders and dismissing Ser Willoughby’s nay-saying about taking her out.
“Cyrus will return,” he said. “We should wait for him.”
“No.” I ignored my cousin, speaking only to the mare. “You listen here, ma’am!” I told her, determined. “Your Evergreen has abandoned us; it’s just you and me now. Do you understand?”
“And Dan Willoughby,” Willoughby added. “I’m here, too.”
“Quiet, Ser Willoughby,” I hissed.
“She should know,” he said. “I’m right here and I don’t want to lie to her.”
I groaned. “Fine. And Dan Willoughby is here, too, but he won’t be riding you. I will be, however. I’m going to ride you, and you’re not going to be upset about it, yes?”
She blinked, and I wasn’t sure if it was compliance, so we just stared at one another, in a silent, possible-competition before I broke it to unpin her.
“Alright,” I said. “Let’s go.”
Ice wasnothappy to be ridden. She made every sound a horse should be expected to make, for betterandfor worse, and she got me a few times, bucking and nearly casting me into the grass like a doll, but I came back each time. With Ser Willoughby, too, but day after day, and sometimes in the evening hours, to poke around, to casually inquire about Mr. Evergreen with Henry, and to show thatbrattyhorse that I wasnotgoing anywhere despite her best efforts.
She wasstuckwith me, unlike a certain forever-tree who couldn’t be bothered with the common decency of explaining one’s action! For all I knew he was dead! Lost in the desert, or, or a married man!
On thetenthday, I was decidedly over Mr. Evergreen and vocally wished him well, every single chance he came up. When Josie, Dan, and I discovered that Isaac had a soft spot for the peppermint plant growing about a mile off the main road, I was actually enjoying her unfocused attempts to bury her snout into the weed, to root around in its flavor, even if it meant she refused to let up no matter how hard I demanded it. Even with Willoughby’s encouragement, his brute strength, my verysternvoice, and Josie’s sweet melody, nothing dissuaded her. When I tugged her bridle obnoxiously, she slung me off and into the dirt. I coughed, opening my eyes to try and catch the wind knocked from my lungs, but then another face craned over mine and blocked the sun. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkened face.
“Svana?”Cyrus asked, offering his hand.
I sat up, sharply.“How hard did I hit the ground?”I stared at him dazed. “Wait, are you really here?”
“Svana! Are you alright?” Josie cried, arriving beside my swordsman. “We heard that from over–Oh!” She raised her brows. “Mr. Evergreen. …You’ve returned.”
“Aye,” he said. “He grabbed my hand anyway and pulled me to my feet. “Are you alright, love?”
I frowned. “What areyoudoing here?” I asked.
“You know, that was my question for you,” he quipped. “But it appears you’re stealing my horse again. Not sure why I’m surprised.”
“She’s mine!” I scoffed.
He bobbed his head. “Okay. Why are you lying in the mud?” he asked.
“The mud?” I looked behind me, realizing and gasped, scouring the back of my ruined dress. “Oh no!”
