“I’m fine right here.” Even though he was already still beside me, he somehow stiffened further and rooted himself to the ground.
As if she’d heard our conversation, Leena twirled toward us, snaring the first pair of hands she could grab—Ozias’s. She grinned up at him. “Dance with me.”
He blinked in shock, but didn’t put up a fight as she yanked him into the crowd. It only took a moment for the tension in his muscles to loosen, and soon he was spinning her about and laughing in earnest.
“Good to see he hassomemoves,” Calem chuckled.
“The only hopeless one here is you, Calem.” Kost shot him a teasing look, and Calem let out an indignant huff.
Leena and Ozias danced for the length of two songs before he offered a playful bow and rejoined us, grin slowly slipping off his face. “The line is dwindling. We should go now.”
My gaze darted to the gilded gates. The hour was late, and only a handful of people remained in line. Most of the locals were either dancing in the streets or had moved off to the sides, too drunk on spiced ale to move but unwilling to call it a night. Gone too were the countless youngsters who’d pushed between us throughout the evening. Calem had grinned at their games all night long, never once complaining if they knocked into him too hard.
Moving toward Leena, I slipped my arm around her waist and gave her a twirl before bringing her in close. “Time to go.”
Sweat clung to her forehead and dampened her neck, but it did nothing to lessen her beauty. Haphazardly, she wiped it away and then adjusted her shawl, ensuring the griffin tattoo beneath her sternum remained hidden. With Calem, Ozias, and Kost, we moved toward the procession and took our place at the end of the line. It was quieter near the castle gates, the lilting music a gentle backdrop to the soft tidings offered from reverent Rhynelanders to their princess. But as kind as Jayla appeared, I couldn’t help the tightness in my chest. My gaze flitted to her mother, a stoic statue who was both foreign and familiar to me. I saw Amira in her, in the golden locks of her hair now streaked with silver and in the round shape of her eyes. But she lacked Amira’s dimples and button nose, and she was taller than her sister had been. Still, her likeness was enough to make my stomach plummet to my feet.
My grip on Leena’s waist tightened. This was a horrid plan. While I knew little of the political landscape of Rhyne, I knew Elianna’s life hadn’t been easy. Kost had gathered enough details about her past before we arrived to illuminate as much. It’s why we’d asked Leena for help with a beast. Yes, I’d taken Amira from Elianna at a very young age, but it was more than that. She’d had the throne thrust upon her not long after her parents fell ill. They passed quickly, but she was only thirteen at the time. And the countries along Rhyne’s borders saw her misfortune as an opportunity to attack.
Elianna had always been cunning, though, and somehow survived. She’d held Rhyne’s borders and proved herself to her people. Even married someone of noble birth from one of the countries some years later to maintain peace. His death had been equally unexpected, leaving Elianna alone with a newborn child and no one for her daughter to call father.
Gentle fingers grazed mine, startling me from my thoughts, and I glanced down at Leena. She tilted her head to the side in question, and I offered a strained smile as we took another step forward. Another step closer to my past. Bad plan or not, it was the only one we had.
“Hey, Ozias. Isn’t that Isla?” Calem asked beneath his breath.
Ozias stilled, then swallowed thickly. “Yes.” The same woman from earlier had made her way through the remaining crowd to approach the royal family. Unlike the rest of the locals, she was wearing the same outfit she’d donned when we’d first encountered her. Ever the Queen’s Guard, apparently, and still very much on duty. Standing on her toes, she whispered something into Queen Elianna’s ear. She nodded once, unperturbed by whatever insight Isla had shared. Isla seemed content with her response and was about to take her leave when she did a quick sweep of the line, her gaze snagging on Ozias. Her eyes narrowed. Instead of leaving, she folded her arms across her chest and stood by the queen.
“Thank you so much for your kind words. Maddox and I would be honored to stop by your bakery for breakfast,” Princess Jayla said, gesturing to her husband-to-be. She then bowed her chin slightly in gratitude and bade the portly man before us a good night, leaving us to stand before Rhyne’s royal family.
As I’d never seen a portrait of Jayla’s late father, I could only assume she took after him. The bronze glow of her skin was beautiful against her mostly sheer, golden gown. She shared her mother’s smile and the round shape of her eyes—Amira’s eyes—but her braided hair was dark and tumbled to her waist. She clasped her hands together and placed them in her lap as she leaned forward slightly, inviting us to step closer.
For a moment, I couldn’t move. All I could do was stare. At Jayla. At her mother. At Amira’s family. Elianna’s brow furrowed at my hesitation, and her gaze raked over me. Cautiously, I removed my hat. The queen glanced at my hair. At my eyes. At the subtle scar on my cheek. And then she paled, sputtering wordlessly as she gripped the back of her daughter’s throne.
“Mother?” Princess Jayla asked. Beside her, Maddox stood and immediately moved to the queen’s side. He offered his arm, the perfect gentleman, but she refused to take it. She only stared at me.
“Murderer.”
In less than a breath, Isla closed the gap between us and the royal family, positioning herself in front of the princess. Something sparked in her umber stare—a flicker of magic that mimicked a flame—and I immediately tensed.Mage.No wonder I hadn’t spotted a weapon on her; she didn’t need one. Kost, Ozias, and Calem must have picked up the same thing, because they froze, each of them staring at the woman’s hands. What kind of mage were we dealing with? Did she have compulsory powers like Eryx? Or perhaps something more destructive? My mind rewound to the time I’d faced off against a mage during our war with Rhyne. I’d nearly died, thanks to that woman’s sparking, electrical wave of magic.
Isla spat at our feet. “I knew something was off about you.”
“We mean no harm,” Kost said, voice level. “We’ve come to offer our blessing to the princess and her betrothed.”
Maddox inched closer to his lover, dark eyes alight with caution. “Who are you?”
Jayla poked her head around Isla to get a better view of us. Her brows pulled together, and she tilted her head toward me. “Are you a murderer?”
Instead of returning her gaze, I looked straight at Elianna. “Yes.”
“Thatmanis responsible for the death of your aunt. And countless others who fell before him on the battlefield so many years ago.” Elianna’s voice shook, but she braved a step forward. “You are supposed to be dead.”
“I did die.” Slowly, I raised one hand, palm upward. I called forth a single shadow and allowed it to slip between my fingers. “Your soldiers succeeded. But unbeknownst to my family, to all of Lendria, I was brought back. I made no moves to reclaim the throne and instead lived in the shadows. I stayed hidden because I didn’t want to reignite a war.”
With curious eyes, Jayla tracked the movement of my shadow. “You’re Aleksander. The reason we don’t trade with Lendria.”
I winced at the name and allowed my shadow to disperse. “I go by Noc now, but yes.”
“Your presence here is an insult,” Elianna seethed. No longer afraid, she stormed forward to stand beside Isla. “Arrest him.”
