Finn stands between us. “He’s doing his diplomatic duty.”“Diplomacy?” Corwyn yanks his hand across his chest, a gesture so rushed I don’t recognize it until a tendril of water reaches out of the bowl at my side and rips back my covers, revealing the scant swell of my stomach. “Is that what you call
“Anyone?” Vedran says, the picture of innocence.Finn. He means Finn. Everything in me lunges toward the suggestion—I need him next to me, holding my hand, another anchor in the storm.“No.” Last time he was in my quarters, he fought Corwyn. Nothing good can come of this.Vedran nods, starts to leav
XandraI lean against the wall of the barracks as healed troops parade before me in Dun’s Crossing’s pale blue and Tansy Beach’s rich indigo. If Father were here, he’d lecture me about my posture, about failing to stand at attention for these brave men who’ve risked so much for our kingdom. But if I
Kieran looks at me for a long moment. He takes in the soaked tunic I didn’t shed, the resolute, if drunken, set of my shoulders. And, fuck, I know what he’s thinking before he even says it.“Corwyn didn’t say anything about Ingrid, did he?”Kieran’s leaving tomorrow. Nothing I say can change that, e
All my frustration rushes back, and I shove the ancient cartography away. Maybe Elian wants to blow off his responsibilities too.***I stumble back up from the cellar, my thoughts swimming with sourplum brandy. Apparently, taking care of all the slightly less wounded has its benefits—one of the sol
FinnFuck the council meeting. Xandra doesn’t need me to cover her near-constant nausea-induced lapses in thought. That’s what I’d do for a damsel, not my Goddess-damned mate—Or my Goddess-damned friend. Whatever. If Elian were sick and hiding it from people, I’d do the exact same thing for him.Cl