“My assistant,” George clarified, begrudgingly.
“He was trying to sneak out of the city and got caught. It nearly earned him death at the king’s hand. During his trial, Georgie here stepped up. She demanded Ean be given to her as a servant and said she’d ‘train some sense into him, show him the true nature of our world.’ She said that, almost verbatim, to Gasparo.” Respect shone like a beacon in Hildy’s eyes.
“It wasn’t a lie,” George replied.
“No, but you meant something different from what your father believed.”
A smirk stole across the princess’s face. “You’ll like Ean,” she said. “He’s young but sharp, with a keen thirst for knowledge. If you—if you come into the palace with us, I’m sure you’ll meet him.”
Isahn nodded before teasing, “What about Dunstan? Did you collect him too?”
“I did, kind of like Hil.”
“Wait, how did you befriend Hildy?”
“She stood up for me, and now I stand up for her,” Hil replied.
“She was being bullied,” George piped up, tossing her head a bit as she reclaimed control of the conversation. “We were young. I was ten, she was eleven, I think?”
“Yes. To make a long story short, some of the young wards wouldn’t stop teasing me for being a bastard. Georgie stepped in, made me her best friend, and everyone else shut their mouths.”
Isahn grinned. It sounded like she’d been amassing friends through pure generosity. “And Dunstan?” he prodded the princess.
“I was fourteen. Dunstan hadjustjoined up with the regiment to begin his training. He was being beaten up out on the yard. I was watching.” Tipping her head up, she blinked at the sky, and Isahn followed her gaze, watching a streak of hazy cloud expand against the blue. “I’m never allowed to train with a weapon. Magic only for me. Father says steel is unladylike.”
Hildy snorted.
“How were you allowed then?” Isahn glanced at the soldier.
“Bastards can’t be ladylike, didn’t you know?” She waggled her thick brows.
“That’s not true,” George cut in. “If you wanted to wear anything aside from pants, you could.”
“Hey now!” Hildy laughed. “I hate skirts. Really though, George helped me enlist when I turned sixteen.”
Isahn nodded. “So, with Dunstan...?”
“I broke up the fight, then I kissed him in front of the crowd.”
“A brilliant move,” Hildy commended.
“Thank you, I thought so myself. It was thefirstand last time I’ve ever kissed Dunstan, though. The big lug.”
“Are you talking about me?” Dunstan called back, slowing his horse with Burke not far behind.
“You have a kind heart,” Isahn murmured, as Hildy rode ahead to catch up with “her boys.”
“I do not,” the princess grumbled as she retrieved a canteen from her bag and took a sip. “Want some?” She held it out.
He had his own but accepted for no other reason than to put his mouth where hers had been.
“Wait, can’t you just make your own water?” she asked while watching him drink his fill.
Satisfied, he handed the canteen back and swiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “No. I could move water from its source to my mouth, but I didn’t trust anything dripping in any of the basements you put me in.”
She laughed, a husky sound that made him smile.
“If I make it from scratch, it’s temporary. It might help for a few minutes, but as soon as I stop consciously making it, I’d be thirsty again.”
