Theo’s expression was thoughtful, and Elowen wondered what was on his mind.
“You seem very concerned about the security of the Peninsula, Cassius,” Theo said at last.
Prince Cassius’s response was prompt. “I have grave concerns. I fear that if we can’t unify, we may see an end to the peace we’ve enjoyed since the first war with the continent. They’re no longer content to keep distance and pretend we’re not here.”
“You sound very certain of that,” Elowen said, alarmed.
“I am, Your Highness.” Prince Cassius looked her in the eye, his expression serious, with no sign that he resented her inserting herself into the conversation. “Something is definitely amiss on the continent. We know for certain they were behind the recent trouble that our kingdom only just headed off. But unfortunately, we don’t have any concrete evidence that we can do much with.”
He exchanged a frustrated look with his wife.
“Besides which,” Flora added, “we obviously don’t want to level accusations that would lead to war when war is exactly what we want to avoid. But we’re sure that at least one kingdom from the continent, and possibly an alliance of them, has aggressive intentions toward the Peninsula.”
“We’ve communicated these suspicions to all our neighbors,” Prince Cassius added. “Whether they believe them on the limited proof we can offer is out of our control. All we can do is try to shore up relations within the Peninsula.” He nodded gravely to Theo. “I applaud you doing the same.”
“Very romantic, my dearest and most charming prince,” Flora said in exasperation.
Prince Cassius looked confused for a moment, then his eyes flicked to Elowen and she saw understanding drop.
“My apologies, Your Highness, I didn’t mean to refer to you as merely a tool for political purposes.”
Elowen shook her head, surprised by the softness in his tone, even the hint of humor. It wasn’t what she would have expected from the reportedly proud prince. It must be Flora’s influence.
“I don’t take offense, Prince Cassius,” she assured him.
“To be fair, if you’re offended by the implication, so should Theo be,” Flora pointed out.
Theo grinned. “Not at all. If one sibling had to be sacrificed on the altar of political marriage, I’m glad I could save Miriam from the fate of being exiled to Carrack.”
Flora and Prince Cassius both laughed.
“I only hope Miriam sees it that way,” Flora said. “I still sometimes feel guilty for unintentionally stealing such a catch from my closest friend.”
“I haven’t seen much evidence of guilt,” Prince Cassius said dryly.
Elowen had been silent through this exchange, fiddling with her soup spoon. She looked up just as Theo’s eyes drifted to her. He took in her withdrawn demeanor, and seemed to suddenly realize what he’d said.
“Elowen, what I said just now—I’m sorry if I seemed to be…that is, I was joking, I didn’t actually mean to suggest I was being sacrificed by—”
“It’s all right.” There was a laugh in Elowen’s voice as she took pity on him and cut him off. She’d never heard him stumble over his words like that before. It was endearing. “I think on balance I prefer the idea of being the fearsome beast receiving the sacrifice rather than the hapless maiden being thrown to the monster.”
Flora and her husband both laughed again, but while Theo smiled, he had a very shrewd look in his eye as he searched her face. Elowen’s cheeks reddened under his scrutiny. How much did he really see of her? More than she gave him credit for, probably.
She found herself wishing it could be this way more often. The effect of these other royals, friends of his, was so different from his manner around her court, so many of whom were suspicious or resentful of him. It was no wonder he was on his guard all the time, watching his back. Elowen was surprised to realize she was almost longing for when they would go to Siqual, where maybe he would be natural and relaxed like this all the time, instead of so clearly out of his territory.
“So can you explain to me, Elowen,” Flora said with the air of one turning the subject, “if the tournament isn’t finished yet, why was I told we’ll be toasting the victors tonight?”
“Some of the events are finished,” Elowen told her. “And we’ll toast those victors tonight—Lord Devin for the archery, for example, and Lord Bertrand for the jousting.”
She saw how Flora’s eyes flicked quickly between her and Theo as she said that second name, apparently using her guard training to pick up something in their body language that they would both no doubt prefer her not to see.
Theo’s eyes shifted, Flora’s quickly following their trajectory. Elowen reluctantly did the same, to see Bertrand himself, seated some distance down the table. He was watching the four royals, and although he did seem to be trying to hide his resentment for once, he wasn’t succeeding. She felt a sinking disappointment that apparently the duke hadn’t followed through with forbidding his son to attend. Or perhaps he had, and Bertrand had ignored him. Although Sophia sat near Bertrand, Elowen saw no sign of the duke. The possibility that Bertrand was there in defiance of his father was unsettling.
“And, of course,” she pulled her focus back to the conversation with an effort, “we’ll toast our own Theo for his victory in the maze run.” She smiled at him before continuing her explanation. “But the real winner, the event everyone cares most about, is the weapons combat. That has one more round tomorrow morning, then a few commoners’ events in the afternoon, and the tournament will be finished.”
She chuckled. “Truthfully, we don’t usually have a feast like this while the tournament is still underway. The real reason, which I shouldn’t tell you, is to impress our royal visitors.”
“Very gratifying.” Flora spoke with good humor, but she didn’t quite manage to stifle a yawn with the words.
