The meeting went late into the night, and by the time they had concluded, all but the soldiers on the night watch had retired for the evening.
“Steinar,” Rakel said when she slipped outside after her brother.
“Yes, Rakel?”
“Could you walk with me—for just a moment?” She asked. She glanced over her shoulder, checking to make sure the resistance representatives could see them.
“Certainly.” Steinar offered his arm, which Rakel took. She smiled at him when he didn’t flinch at her touch. “You wish to show the resistance that we are a united front?” he guessed as they meandered away.
“Partially, but I had a question for you.”
“Yes?”
Rakel hesitated, trying to find the right words. “Why do you believe Farrin will listen to me?”
Steinar nodded and dropped his gaze to his feet. “I interacted with Farrin on several occasions, the first of which was when he took Ostfold. The most recent interaction was when he and his forces retreated to Ostfold from Glowma. Therefore, I have seen him before he met you, as well as after.” Steinar met Rakel’s piercing blue eyes with his own. “He knows a great deal about you.”
“I am the enemy. It would be natural for him to keep information on me,” she said.
“No.” Steinar stopped when they reached the center of Tana. His gaze lingered on the ice block that held Farrin’s sword. “The knowledge he demonstrated is well beyond that of spying. He knows your heart—at least, I think he does.”
“Why do you say that?”
“When Farrin left to conquer what was left of Verglas, I was placed under the supervision of Major Peadar. Major Peadar—like all officers of the Chosen Army—possesses magic and a hatred for those without it. As neither he nor any of the Chosen particularly cared about my well-being, they decided to have me isolated.” Steinar hesitated. He scuffed his boot on the snow-covered ground and seemed unwilling to continue.
“They threw you in the dungeons?” She gripped the skirts of her dress with her free hand to keep the breeze from ruffling them.
“No…they put me in the tower where you were kept as a child.”
Rakel’s heart stopped. “There?” Her voice was little more than a squeak. “I’m so sorry. I-I tried to topple it in the invasion. I could have killed you!”
“I wasn’t kept there by the time you arrived,” Steinar said. “When Farrin returned and learned where I was, he came and personally escorted me back to the castle, putting me under guard in a spare bedroom.” Steinar’s forehead puckered as he stared at the glittering ice block. “I thought he was going to execute me, but when I said as much, he laughed. He told me he would be happy to leave me in the tower—and it would serve me right—but if he did, it would be that much easier for you to save me.” Steinar shifted his gaze to the sky. “I thought he was lying. I couldn’t conceive of the idea that you would possibly want to saveme. But Farrin knew. He had no reason to lie to me—he didn’t care for me at all. Because of his words, I dared to hope.”
Steinar looked to her again. “I’m sorry, Rakel, for everything our parents did and for everything I have done. That tower…I had to endure it for a few weeks, and it nearly drove me mad. I cannot imagine how you felt spending years there.”
“I am sorry for the treatment you endured under the custody of the Chosen,” Rakel said.
Steinar snorted. “It was better than what you received from your own family. I was ashamed to learn from ourenemyabout you.”
Rakel tried to soften the topic with a teasing smile. “I don’t know. I resorted to books—there are very few written on you.”
“He will be yours, if you wish it.”
“Farrin?”
“Yes.”
She sighed. “I hope you are right.”
“I don’t mean he will just be your soldier,” Steinar said. “The way he spoke about you…”
“I know,” Rakel said. There were footsteps behind them. Rakel spun, ready to face—Knut and Ensign Topi on patrol. She exhaled and let her shoulders sag but remained alert. If she was a target, Steinar must be one as well.I can’t even speak to my brother without Tenebris ruining it in one way or another…
Steinar gave her a lopsided smile. “I am sorry that you bear so many burdens. You carry all of us on your shoulders.”
“It is a shared burden,” she said. “I do not carry it alone—nor would I ever be able to.”
“You arecertainyou do not wish to be queen?”
