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“My lady. Father,” the maid says, placing two mugs of ale on the table. We thank her as she moves away.

Darkness has fallen, and I will admit to being grateful to have Aiken with me. Although there are many similarities between this inn and the others, there is a more ominous air here. I remember being scared as a child of these hardened men with their furs and overly large swords. As an adult, I find myself equally as intimidated as I was then.

Whatever Aiken had been prepared to say when the serving maid came, he no longer seems inclined to do so.

“When do you believe we will gain an audience?” I ask.

The moment I showed the precious gift Lady Aedre had loaned me for this voyage to her father, he had immediately agreed to contact Aldwine. We’d been prepared to tell him everything. From his daughter’s strange request for me, a princess of Edingham and no friend to Meria, to accompany Aiken, to the fact that my companion was not truly an Elderman. Instead, he asked no questions. Indeed, he said he needed answers.

Though he had asked after his daughter.

I knew from Aedre that her father followed her to d’Almerita and secured a position as a castle smith. Not long after, he received a missive asking for him to return to Murwood temporarily. His apprentice had fallen ill, leaving none to tend to the forge here. He now trained a new young man to take his place and would then return south.

It afforded him an opportunity, Aedre said, to visit those he missed dearly in Murwood End. Men such as Kipp Aldwine, the only person who could bring a quick end to the war that has likely already seen its first battle in our absence.

Instability in Meria was something I’d have once welcomed. But now, having been too long with a husband who carried only hate in his heart, I feel differently. The Isle is one, even if it was split into two kingdoms many years ago. Cettina believes the same, though she despairs that few Highlanders have the will to help her see unity between us and those from Meria.

“Go with him,” Aedre had said. “You are the key, Hilla. If you truly wish to help your sister find peace on this Isle, go.”

But her advice did not include anything beyond my presence, my role still unclear to us both. But the excuse to remain with Aiken was strong. And despite our current predicament, despite how much he still holds back from me, I am glad to be here.

With him.

“I do not know. Lorenson seemed to suggest Aldwine could be unpredictable. But at least he is here.” He pauses. “If you continue to look at me so . . .”

Aiken doesn’t finish. Instead, he watches as two meat pies are placed before us. The maid, as most women seem to do, looks at him with a mixture of appreciation and apprehension. I know the feeling well. A man who looks as he does, but wears the Elderman’s robes and the signature sword of the Shadow Warriors . . . part of his appeal, I do believe, is in the combination of such traits.

“You are no longer angry?” he asks when the maid walks away.

“I am.” Picking up a spoon, I begin to eat, hungrier than I’d realized. In companionable silence, we finish our meal. Aiken, always watching. Watching me, the hall. Ever vigilant, he misses nothing.

“You are speaking to me, at least.”

I push my nearly empty bowl away.

“More than you did when we first met. Tis sometimes difficult to believe you are the same person, Aiken.”

I meant it as a jest, a way to lighten the conversation, having tangled with Aiken most of the day. Tis been a long journey. Indeed, a string of long journeys.

“I am prone to more words with you than most.”

The admission startles me, although it should not. I’ve seen him interact with others, and his words ring true. But it hints at an intimacy Aiken seems reluctant to repeat.

“Yet still, you hold back.”

“If I had a choice, I would not.”

“You always have a choice, Aiken.”

Again, we are at an impasse as he says nothing. And so, I change topics.

“Do you believe you, or the men, will be successful in convincing Aldwine?”

Aiken picks up his mug and drinks. “Nay,” he says after a long swig. “I do not. If Lady Aedre and d’Abella could not convince him, I’ve no reason to believe he will change his mind.”

“And then?” I ask the question that has lingered over us for days.

“And then, Meria will be at war with itself. Either Galfrid or his nephew will be victorious.”