Nash tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. It must have tugged free from the braid. “There are many schools of thought. Some assert that they rotate around the world, and on the other side is another realm that experiences the opposite of wherever we are in the cycle.”
“Another realm?” I whisper. “That seems far-fetched.”
“To answer your questions, you would need to consider what is beyond the Sapphire Ocean.”
“Like the edge of the realm? Surely, we would slide off the edge into nothingness?”
“Or perhaps our world is a sphere.”
I snort. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“It’s something many scholars have asserted their theories about. But so far, nobody has proved anything either way.”
“I can say with absolute certainty and zero book smarts we are not on a giant rotating ball. The notion is completely absurd.”
Speaking of big brains, we’ve left Gwyneth to run interference back at the castle. The Stirlings paid for a rotation of three guards, and my sister has taken up residence in Malachi’s chambers. It’s the only way I would leave my sister without our protection. Charming will think twice before crossing the knights, and if he thinks about it a third time and takes his chances, my sister will introduce him to her sharpest tool—her wit.
The last time we rode to their father’s castle, we took the beach route, followed by some damp tunnels. This diurnal, we are riding in through the golden gates so I can inspect the blinding white of the castle walls, topped with golden turrets that kiss the cerulean sky.
I twist my head left and right, trying to take in their childhood home and where they will eventually return to rule over their kingdom. People wave at them in the streets, whilechildren giggle and dart ahead. They certainly get a different greeting here.
“Why is everyone terrified of you back at the Hallowed Palace?”
Theo, whose horse takes great pleasure in nipping Hart’s steed’s ass, pulls up to our left. “We employ a menacing persona to ward off unnecessary advances and challenges. If we act deranged, people avoid us.”
“That makes sense, and accounts for why you cut a lock of my hair off when we met.”
Theo smirks. “Nope, I just wanted a lock of your hair.”
“Which you still have?”
He taps his chest. “Always carry it with me.”
“No need to act—you are actually unhinged.”
Trumpets blast in the air, and I slap my hands over my ears, forgetting that riding on Damion alters my center of gravity. Luckily, Nash has become more schooled in keeping me safe, and clutches my waist to keep me seated and upright.
“Is there any need for the deafening doorbell?” I shout.
They dampen as we head into the dark tunnel and emerge into a bustling courtyard. The knights steer the horses into the stables, where a pair of smiling blond-haired boys rush forward to grab the reins, like they’ve done this a thousand times. Malachi jumps off his horse, and Nash grasps my hips and lifts me into his waiting arms.
“I have a worry,” I tell Malachi, who smiles at me like I am his entire world.
“What in the realm would the great and mysterious Daphne worry about?”
“Staying alive,” Hart supplies.
“Not murdering folks,” Theo adds.
I scowl at them both. “Both things, actually. Did I already share my worry?”
“No,” Nash says. “But now I’m curious.”
“Well, the one and only time I have ever met your father, I seduced, stabbed, and stole.”
“You are a triple S threat,” Malachi says, like it’s something to be proud of.
“Our father barely remembers his own name on a good diurnal,” Hart says. “He will have been up the skirts of many a maiden since you. Don’t think you are special or memorable.”
