I nearly refused the coins—and the pretty fabric that held them. His offering money now made the trip feel like a transaction, which it was. But I didn’t want that memory of this remarkable day tainted by the Lys’Careths.
“I’d already planned to give it to you,” he said quietly, as if he understood my mind.
I was a servant. Pride would only get me so far, and it wouldn’t keep me or Wren alive. So I plucked the bag from his hand and tucked it away. And said nothing else.
“I’m sorry, Fox. Be angry, if you need to be. Be furious at me. But I’m glad you know. I’m glad you can see me for who I am.”
I looked back at him. “Which is what?”
“As I told you—a man who wants to be a different kind of prince.”
“A paragon of a man?” I asked, repeating how he’d described himself before the attack.
“Never that.”
Maybe that was supposed to be an apology. Maybe it was an offer. I couldn’t afford either.
“I hope you’re able to do it. I hope you’re able to save the people who need saving in the stronghold.”
“Why does that sound like a goodbye?”
Because I had to build a wall. For our safety, for our security, and to limit my options. “You know why. We talked about why. Because we’ve finished our task and you’ve paid us. And you shouldn’t be seen with people like us.”
“Like I said, I can be seen with whomever I want.”
“No, Your Highness. You can’t evenbewhoever you want.”
That had him going quiet.
“It’s better anyway if we stay away from each other.” Even if some secret part of me wished it were otherwise. “It’s safer. Besides, you need an Aetheric scholar or an Enshrined Monk. Someone who studied the mysteries, or remembers when the god was still here. Someone who can explain what’s happening and how you can stop it.”
“You might overestimate a scholar’s willingness to jump into an assassination fight and tromp through mud to find clues. And you underestimate your value. But it’s your choice. I won’t force you to be friends with a gods-damned Lys’Careth.” There was a bite in his words now. He was angry, too.
Good. We could curse our fate together.
“Galen will escort you home,” he said after a moment.
“We don’t need an escort. And I’m pretty sure you already know where we live, because you sent Galen to figure that out.” I raised my brows in question.
After a moment, he nodded. “But it wasn’t Galen. It was Yue. You saw her?”
“No. Wren had a sense. She’s very good.”
“Except at Vhranian.” He watched me for a moment, clearly wanting to say more. But he held his tongue.
“You shouldn’t have to apologize for who you are any more than I do,” I said. “But fate is fate.” And fate didn’t care about feelings.
With that, I climbed out of the prince’s carriage. And for the first time, the gold in my palm felt like meager compensation.
So I grabbed the wine, too.
“He’s trusted you with a secret,” Galen said, having ignored our request to let us walk alone back to the Lady’s manor. Instead, he clomped behind us, his footsteps loud and extremely noticeable.
“We didn’t ask to receive a secret, or to be trusted with it.”
“He had a good reason for deceiving you.”
“Look,” I said, stopping to face him. “You don’t like me, and I don’t like you. But let’s get this straight: I’m not interested in him or the political games he’s playing. I did what I was asked to do.”
