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Alex lasted three seconds before laughing. "Oh, this is going to be good."

He abandoned the research crate entirely and turned toward Nykos with the expression of someone about to make a terrible decision. Then he straightened, adopted a painfully formal voice and announced, "His Royal Highness, Prince Nykos Galan Vividus, Third Prince of the Realm of Aracardis."

The pen left Nykos's hand.

Alex ducked.

It struck the wall behind him.

I stared at Nykos.

He picked up another pen.

"You're a prince."

"Yes."

"A prince."

His expression darkened. "I heard you the first time."

I looked at Corian, then back at Nykos, wondering how I'd managed to live with these people for two weeks without discovering that one of them was nobility and another was part of the royal family.

Alex was still laughing.

I pointed at him. "What stupid title do you have?"

His laughter stopped.

Then I looked at Halver, who was crouched beside one of the open equipment cases checking the seals. "And you?"

Halver glanced at Alex before looking back at me. "We don't. Just the groundskeeper’s kids."

Alex put a hand over his heart. "Painfully ordinary."

"Right," I said. "Completely normal squad."

Alex grinned. "You'll fit right in."

Nykos threw his second pen at him.

I went back to my knives.

That was what the last two weeks had become, strangely enough. Not entirely comfortable and definitely not normal, but easier. I knew where everyone sat at breakfast now. I knew Halver preferred the chair nearest the kitchen, Alex abandoned cups in every room he entered and Nykos would steal fruit from anyone's plate except mine because I'd put a knife through the table beside his hand the first time he tried.

Corian usually sat where he could see the doors. I noticed things like that now. More importantly, I no longer felt as though I needed to understand every rule before I could exist inside them.

I closed my pack and followed Corian.

He led me through the hallway toward the small rear room Nephrite used for maps, mission briefings and anything that required a table large enough to spread half the kingdom across it. Nobody else was inside. A single crystal lamp burned low near the far wall, throwing more shadow across the maps than light. Corian shut the door behind us, then leaned back against the edge of the table rather than taking the chair at its head. That felt deliberate.

Everything Corian did felt deliberate.

"What?"

His mouth twitched. "I haven't said anything yet."

"You brought me into an empty room for a private conversation the day before deployment."