Theo stood in the moonlight, gripping one of his earned swords. The second hung from the sheath at his belt. Both had pommels carved into the shape of a leaping deer.
I’m sorry, Roa.Essie dived out of the moonlit sky and onto Roa’s outstretched fist.I fell asleep and only woke as he was walking through the entrance.
“What in all the skies ishedoing here?” Theo growled, pointing the tip of the blade at the son of the king.
This was Roa’s fault. She’d stayed up late talking to Dax on the garden shed roof and by the time she returned to the study, Theo wasn’t in the best of moods.
When she told him she was going to Firgaard with the son of the king, Theo was furious.
And the wedding?he’d demanded.
We’ll postpone it,she’d told him.Until I get back.
For several heartbeats, he’d stared at her like she wasn’t the same girl she’d always been. Like he didn’t know her at all. Then he got to his feet and walked away.
And now she’d made things worse by bringing Dax here, to the House of Shade. Her and Theo’s meeting place.
“Theo... ,” she said, rising in front of Lirabel, who snatched up the map and folded it quickly. “I can explain.”
Can you?asked Essie, eyeing the heir of Sky. Roa could feel her sister’s agitation buzzing in her own blood.He looks like he wants to bash Dax’s head in far more than he wants an explanation.
Dax stepped past her.
Roa reached to stop him.
“Theo,” said Dax, avoiding Roa’s grasp, “why don’t you put down the sword.”
“Or,” Theo growled, “you can pick one up and we can finally settle this.”
Oh no,thought Essie.
Roa and Lirabel exchanged a look.
Fire burned in Theo’s eyes. “You’re no different from the tyrants before you, Dax. Coming to our home under a banner of peace, expecting us to give you everything you ask for. But it’s never enough, is it? You always want more.”
Torwin stepped into the space between Roa and Lirabel. Under his breath, he asked, “How good is Theo with that sword?”
“Very,” Roa and Lirabel said in unison.
In the scrublands, weapons were earned, not given. They were symbols of skill as well as belonging. Scrublander children went through years of training before receiving the honor and responsibility of bearing one. This training was as important as learning their letters and numbers.
Roa knew—from the summers he’d spent living in her house—that Dax avoided swords the way he avoided vegetables. Roa and Essie and Lirabel used to regularly beat him in the lessons they shared.
Maybe he’s improved,thought Essie.
Hmm,thought Roa.
“And Dax?” Lirabel asked, putting a voice to Essie’s hope.
Torwin kept his eyes on the king’s son. “Let’s just say he’s better at talking his way out of problems.”
Theo drew his second sword and held it out, hilt first.
Dax didn’t take it. “I’m not going to fight you.”
Theo threw the blade on the ground at Dax’s feet, where it clattered on the cracked stone.
“Pick it up,” Theo said.
