A servant crossed the bridge with a tray bearing a jar of sweetwine and cups. The prince had apparently made arrangements before they’d come this way.
I glanced at him and found his gaze on me. “Don’t you have guests to attend to?”
“They’ve seen I exist,” he said with a smile. “That’s good enough for now.”
Doubtful, given the ravenous looks they’d given him. But it was his party and his sweetwine.
“I believe it’s my turn to toast,” the prince said when the drinks were poured. “To friends.” He raised his cup.
“To friends,” we repeated, but the look Wren gave me said she was thinking the same thing: We were friendly with the princes, but we weren’t friends. There was too much difference between us.
“I understand you were attacked,” Savaadh said, his eyes big and full of concern. “You’re all right?”
“I’m fine. What do you know about the Luminae?”
Savaadh and the prince exchanged a look. “Is this rising up again?” Savaadh asked.
“I don’t know,” the prince said.
“Rising up?” Wren asked.
“Many leaders were relieved when the Aetheric god left our realm,” Savaadh said.
“No competition?” I wondered.
“Exactly.”
That was something to search for in the library—a Carethian history that discussed the god’s disappearance.
Savaadh leaned toward me. “Is he truly Luminae?”
“No.”
“So sure?”
I glanced at the prince, wondering how much he’d told Savaadh.
“Your secret,” he said. “Not mine.”
“You know of the Guardians?” I asked. “The Aetheric guides?”
“Of course.”
“I have a Guardian friend.”
“Well,” he said, sitting back again, as if he needed room to consider this information. “You are a very lucky soul indeed, Little Fox.”
“We’re searching the city,” the prince said. “But we’ve found no sign of him yet.”
“Have there been any more, as you call them, possessions?” Savaadh asked. “Other than the one that brought Fox to the palace.”
“Not that we know of,” the prince said, and looked at Wren. “Rumors?”
She shook her head. “I worked in the district yesterday. There’s fear of another attack and wild speculation, but nothing credible.”
The prince pulled a couple of coins from his coat and extended them to Wren. “Thank you.”
“What’s that for?” she asked, her gaze narrowed with suspicion.
