Luca’s brows fell and then knitted together. “But they’re people. And they have names. I can’t forget that. They were more gracious to me than they needed to be.”
Oh, Luca, so kind of heart.“Their humanity is a weapon they’re using against you. You see them as human, you begin to identify with them. Common ground will blind you enough that you won’t see the knife until it’s already lodged in your belly.”
Luca was quiet a moment. “Is that really how King Sendoa thought?”
Amarande sighed. “It’s what he taught me, so if he didn’t believe it he at least wanted me to.”
It was depressing. But it was the way of the world. And it was hard to disprove based on what Amarande believed had happened to her father. Only it wasn’t a knife in the belly, it was poison in his blood; she was sure of it.
The princess pressed her eyes closed for a short moment. “The anger in my voice is for them, not you.” Her eyes shot open and she offered him her hand. Amarande wasn’t really sure why she’dhelped the kidnappers when the Harea Asps attacked, though she told herself it was because the snakes were a danger to her and Luca as well. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We’re not circling back; we’re driving forward.” She squeezed his fingers, a new idea barging into her mind. “Let’s run until we find thepirates’ship—we can sail it to Indu, or north of the Divide.”
New confusion pressed his features. “Ama, you know the ship is not at the Port of Torrent if it’s anywhere.…”
Amarande’s eyes dropped to the sandy earth. “I know. It’s just—”
The princess pulled up short and Luca was silent, waiting for the rest. Knowing he’d get it. Amarande tested the thought on her tongue, trying to explain the churning discomfort in her newly full stomach.
“Pyrenee plans to steal my kingdom like they stole you. And if not them, Basilica and Myrcell will try. When we return they’ll have confirmation about what I’ll do for you and use it.” She looked up and brought a hand to his hair, combing it to the side, careful not to graze the knot at his temple. “I believeyouare much safer without me there.”
“Safer fromwhat? If you’re not there, what’s to keep them from stealing it?”
“I—” The princess’s reply died on her lips. The wind kicked up around them, as if it had something to say for her. After a few moments, she brushed away the blown sand clinging to her face and tried again. “Please. I want to be with you—every day, all day. And I can’t be there. Not if I’m married off—not the way the law is written now. I’m just a pawn, no more than you were mere hours ago. It’s just…” She glanced down at their hands. “I have you back and I… I don’t want to lose you again.”
Luca didn’t blink. “You won’t lose me. No matter where we are, you’re never losing me again.” Amarande’s heart swelled, and she suddenly felt like she couldn’t look at him without bursting intoflames. “But you will lose your kingdom unless you go back and fight. I will help you. Always, Princess. I promise.”
Amarande’s swollen heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. Her eyes shot to the horizon stretching out in front of her, over Luca’s shoulder. The western stretch of the Torrent, reaching all the way to the sea. Then to Indu or across the Divide to Eritri and beyond. Then to a life where no one cared who they were or what they did, and anonymity could cover them like so many blankets.
But Luca was right.
Running wasn’t an option. It was a dream.
Amarande let that sit in her gut. Waiting for her father’s voice to come in her ear. But this time it didn’t. And she didn’t know what that meant.
After a long silence, Luca pressed on with a different subject. “How do you know it was Pyrenee? Taillefer saw us in the meadow, yes, but any one of those royals is certainly resourceful enough to find out about… us.” Yes, they were a secret open to the stars if not to each other. Amarande loved the people who made the Itspi hum, but she knew some among them might be swayed by the right gold piece to share a detail so many knew. “Was it in the letter?” He tipped her chin up with a rough thumb.
She nodded, though she was surprised he knew about it.
“Ama, what did it say?”
That shyness swelled back into Amarande’s chest. Though she’d just kissed him. Though he’d kissed her back. Though he held her hand now.
The kidnappers’ letter was still tucked into her bodice, pressing right up against the skin protecting her heart. Rather than answering him, she asked, “Did they tell you whom they worked for?”
“All they would say was that I was blackmail to get you to pick their ‘man.’” The princess’s grip on his hand changed as Luca pressed his other hand against hers—now he was holding her rather thanletting her lead. “Honestly, my money was on Basilica, because King Domingu isn’t exactly known for playing fair.”
She laughed a little. “Kill your brother to obtain absolute power and no one will bat an eye when you propose to murder your wife to marry your own great-granddaughter.”
Luca’s dimples winked. “Or Myrcell—didn’t the boy king float your name as a potential bride two years ago? And King Sendoa told him to wait five years before even speaking with you or risk losing an ear?”
Amarande blushed. Yes. It was true. At fourteen, she’d felt intensely embarrassed by the whole episode—that this man of eighteen would even think of her in that way. She knew now it was so much more than a request of the heart. “Father thought Akil to be just a pretty face. Nothing in his head.”
“And then there’s Pyrenee.” Here, he chuckled to himself and swung their entwined hands. “Honestly, I’m surprised you believe it was them. I have no idea why Renard would try so hard after you stole his own sword and pressed it to his throat in front of thousands of people, including the most important ones on the continent, but I suppose maybe he likes a challenge.”
“I believe he abhors challenge, actually. He hates that his mother is making him work for his crown.”
“Fair enough.” Luca paused for a moment. “Though then there’s Taillefer. I’m not convinced he was joking about you assassinating his brother for him.”
“True. But that might just be how Taillefer shows affection.” Whenever duty had put them in the same place, the princess had always thought the younger prince to be idiosyncratic. Whereas Renard went through the prescribed motions with manufactured charm and stoicism, Taillefer always did his part with a smile on his face like he was laughing at a joke no one else could hear.
