Page 193 of Rule of Wolves

“We’ll practice. We have time on the journey.”

Hanne didn’t look convinced. “If the king and queen ask me questions about Rasmus’ childhood…”

“I can help with that,” said Nina. After all, they had the counsel of the dead.

“Will you?” Hanne’s brow creased. “Can you love a murderer?”

“I might ask the same.”

Hanne hesitated. “And can you love me in this body?”

“It is your heart I love. You know that, don’t you?”

Tears formed in Hanne’s eyes. “I hoped.”

“But where does this end? How long can you stay trapped this way?”

“I’m not trapped, Nina.” Hanne blew out a breath. “What if I told you there’s a rightness in this body? That ever since I understood what tailoring could do, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what might be?”

Nina remembered the guilty look on Hanne’s face when she’d admitted she’d been tailoring herself in secret. She thought of the way Hanne’s eyes had slid away from her own reflection. Nina hadn’t understood. “You said you didn’t know if you could be happy.”

“I still don’t. I don’t know what it is to live in a body that feels like it could be mine. All I know is … I lost my father today, maybe my mother. But not myself. And if I have to play the role of prince for this possibility, then it’s a trade I’ll gladly make.”

“This from the person who said she hated parties.”

“It isn’t the face I would have chosen. I don’t want to be Rasmus.”

Nina put her hands on Hanne’s shoulders. “You aren’t Rasmus. You’re someone new, someone I can’t wait to know.”

Hanne’s smile was small, a precious, fragile thing. “We wanted to change the world. Maybe this is our chance.”

“The prince and the fishwife? If you live as Rasmus, you know you’ll be king one day.” A king who knew what it was to be a woman in Fjerda, what it was to feel alone among her people. A true warrior.

“And you will be my queen.” Hanne’s shy glance pierced Nina—sudden light, too bright after so much darkness. “If you’ll have me.”

Nina laughed. “Oh, I’ll have you, Hanne Brum.” Hanne’s cheeks flushed. It was glorious. “Two Grisha living in secret, ruling Fjerda, guiding them toward peace with Ravka? It’s too beautiful a dream. But a prince can’t wed a commoner.”

“Then I’ll give you land and titles. If you’re willing. Can you stay here with me and live this lie?”

Nina stopped Hanne with a kiss, gazing down at the person she loved, alive and happy. “It’s not a lie. You are my prince and you have my heart.”

“You would wear a false face forever?”

“Well, Mila may develop some new hobbies and stop wibbling and wringing her hands so much, but yes. For the dream of you, I could.”

“If you want to go back to Ravka—”

“I do. And I’ll miss it and make you command the chefs to cook blini and beet soup.” She planted herself in Hanne’s lap. “But this is where I belong.”

They stayed there, curled against each other, Hanne’s arms wrapped around Nina, as they watched the sky turn the deep blue of twilight. Just beneath Hanne’s left ear, Nina saw two rosy freckles, missed in the panicked rush of tailoring. She did love those freckles. Maybe they could keep one of them.

What would Matthias think of all this? Nina wondered. A Grisha king. A Grisha queen. She hoped he would be glad to see her happy, that he would want her heart to heal. Save some mercy for my people. Sitting there, in the quiet, watching the clouds slide by, no sound to break the silence but the steady hum of the engines, Nina felt a strange sensation creep through her, an ease that she had all but forgotten. Peace.

There were battles ahead, dangers she and Hanne would have to face. What they were attempting was audacious, maybe impossible, but somehow she knew they would manage it. Nina rested her cheek against Hanne’s. She’d honored Matthias, and this path, somewhere between revenge and redemption, was the right one. My place is with the wolves.

Nina sat up straight. “Hanne, what do I call you now? Rasmus?”

Hanne shuddered. “I can’t stand that. We’ll have to choose a new name. A Saint’s name. To honor the prince’s newfound faith in the Children of Djel.”