“What did the note say?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Suspiciousandstubborn.”
“Tenacious,” I corrected. “Let me guess: He demanded youbring me to him or, what, he’d overrun the stronghold with Anima and tell the Emperor Eternal?”
“Close enough.”
“We could have planned it together.”
“I was hoping to protect you from this.” He paused. “You’re the Luminae.” He looked like he wished he could have protected me from that, too.
I nodded. “So it seems.”
“Let’s go back to the stronghold and drink wine until we’re sick.”
“Yes,” I said, nodding vigorously. “Yes, that.”
I walked through the men to where Grim stood waiting, Galen holding his reins. He nodded at me. “Good work.”
“If you keep complimenting me, I’m going to get used to it.”
He smiled.
I mounted Grim and the prince climbed up behind me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and pulled my body against him. He clicked his tongue to get Grim moving.
And nothing happened.
“Grim. Home. Let’s go.” He shook the reins, tightened his thighs, nudged his flank with a toe.
Grim whinnied, shook his head, and pawed at the ground.
“Apparently,” Yue called out, “Grim has decided he doesn’t much like snow.” A few of the soldiers, bloodied but tired, laughed, which relieved a lot of the tension.
“You can take my horse,” Galen said. “I’ll walk.”
“I’d prefer to walk,” I said. “But thank you.”
“There’s an inn,” Red said, walking toward us. “We didn’t find a house, but there’s an inn up the road. Only a few minutes’ walk. There’s also a stable. Maybe the practitioner stayed there.”
“Good,” the prince said. He dismounted and offered me a hand. Even though I didn’t pay for the service.
It was decided that most of the soldiers would return to the palace with their prisoner assassins. Grim was apparently willing to walk without riders, so the prince and I walked him, Yue behind, while Galen rode ahead to the inn to make arrangements.
The snow nearly reached our ankles by the time we arrived. The inn was old, but tidy. Two floors of aged wood, with a porch across the front and cheery flowers in boxes. The stables beside looked clean, and a man was shoveling hay into bins for feeding.
Yue took Grim to the stables, and we mounted the stairs.
“I thought the stronghold was supposed to be warm,” the prince said as we shook snow from our clothes.
“Spring snow,” I said with chattering teeth.
Galen whisked us through the inn’s front room to the surprise of the few people who’d taken shelter there, huddled over steaming cups of what smelled like sweetwine and spice.
My stomach rumbled audibly as we climbed creaking stairs to a narrow balcony that ringed the second floor. I had no more love for balconies, and hewed close to the wall as we moved across dark wooden floors to a second corridor, and then a heavy wooden door.
Galen opened the door and gestured for the prince to enter. “Your Highness.” Then he pointed to the door beside it. “Fox, this one’s yours.”
“Thank you.”
