“Company.”
I folded my arms tight, tempted to tell him where to shove that request. I came here to grieve. To unwrap the bandages holding the pieces of my heart together and survey the damage. Take note of what was left. Sitting next to a prince was not the time to do that.
The night was quiet. No gulls. No dragons. Just waves striking the stone. The breeze carried a chill, but the sand clung to the sun’s heat, soaking through my thin dress and breeches.
“What was it like?” His tone held a strange wonder.
My teeth ground together against the irritation. “What?”
“Radaan. Being abroad.”
I searched his voice for mockery. Found none. He’d always wanted to see more of the world. I could answer a few questions.
“Big.”
A laugh burst from him. He tipped his head back, shoulders shaking. I smirked.
“Well, it is.”
“I don’t doubt it,” he chuckled, leaning on one hand. The movement brought him closer. “But I expected more eloquence from a princess.”
“It’s spacious. Roaming. Capacious. Voluminous.”
“Yes, thank you. I’m beginning to grasp the size.”
I rested my cheek on my knee, watching him. His dark brown eyes locked on mine. He winked.
“It’s beyond anything you’ve seen, Adoni. Land stretching forever. Endless plains. Mountains as tall as the Spire and wider than some islands. They run like a god’s spine through the continent. It was… humbling.”
“You? Humbled?”
“Here, Draconia is… well, we have–”
“Dragons,” he finished. “You’re at the top of the food chain. You rule the skies.”
“Yes, as we would there, too. But the scale—it dwarfs even dragons. They could fly for days and still not reach the edge. I’m not sure it ends.”
“I wish I could see it.” His voice dropped to a whisper, his eyes on the sea.
I wanted to tell him he could. Buy a ship. Chase the horizon. But Innaku princes didn’t have that luxury. He was bound as I was—married to diplomacy, anchored by bloodlines.
“And Radaan’s people?”
Kallias or Tallon? The question hovered on my tongue. I bit it back.
“Proud. Loyal.” I scoffed and turned toward the waves. “Much like our own. But worn thin. Tired. Their palaces gleam, their feasts are endless—gods, the food! But gold can’t fix everything. They’ve bled in war nearly as long as I’ve been alive.”
“And Vellos? Did you see their lands?”
“I was only there a few months.” My laugh came brittle. “But the Velli ambassador visited. Egath, that was his name.”
I shuddered. Sharp teeth. Rotten magic that made my blood rebel. He and Tallon had secrets, of that I was certain. Maybe now Kallias would find the truth buried between them.
“You’re more worldly than I am, Princess.”
I wrinkled my nose at the surf. “And yet, here I am. Back where I started.”
Alone.
