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No mistake, some sort of power lived in their soils for seers such as the Gammal woman. She’d unraveled lands and crafted wars, all from her words. How she convinced kings and queens of such things, I still did not comprehend.

The journey over the ledges would not be simple, but it was not so treacherously guarded that we’d be unable to reach the borders. In truth, my unease came more from how we’d be received once we reached the clans.

“Nivek was able to leave his shard. He was the one who arranged for Gammal to take me,” Lyra said when I confessed as much. “Whether they will admit it or not, the Unfettered Folk have a part to play in all this. We simply need to find out what.”

And it was that unknown that I despised.

Lyra had been hunted for her craft since her first breath—I’d been one of her hunters—and I did not relish the idea of my wife facing a new threat in a new land we did not understand.

Outside, mists rippled over the damp grass like the tides on the fjord. Thane and his Stav worked together wrapping the fur bedrolls and weapons. One of the guards kept looking at the prince, as though discomfited by his royal charge working side by side with him.

Must’ve been new to the Stav.

Thane did not believe any task beneath him, not when being beyond the gates of the keep did not favor royal lives over low-ranked warriors. Everyone risked greeting the halls of Salur in the wood.

So to the prince, everyone worked together to stay alive.

Gunter leaned against a thick oak, a twig between his teeth. He jutted his chin at Thane and the Stav Guard. “And where were you, my royal sod? We’ve already secured our packs. Take a lesson from the Jorvan, Roark.”

I clapped the side of his neck, grinning. I spent most of my life as a servant. I plan to take advantage of shouting orders at others instead.

Gunter squinted, watching my hand speak, but when he chuckled, I assumed he gathered most of the words.

“Gods, you’ve become a tyrant. You could be, you know. Threaten those who stand against you by tearing out their souls. You could control the world. Think on it. If this goes sour, I’ll be the dark blade who brings your subjects to cower at your feet.”

I shoved his shoulder, shaking my head, and went to help Lyra and Emi secure the horses. Emi’s braid was not as tightly kept and hung loose over her shoulder. Red lined her eyes, but when I tried to press her on if she was well, my cousin simply shook her head and turned to fasten another satchel to a spotted mare.

By the distance Yrsa kept across the camp, it was not hard to guess what troubled Emi’s soul.

No mistake, Yrsa felt betrayed by Emi for keeping my secrets, but Lyra heard me, and Thane found understanding. What kept the princess from doing the same?

I feigned the need to inspect the tents once more, but when I strode near Yrsa, I paused. The betrayal was mine. Not hers.

Yrsa had a good heart. I’d known the woman since I’d gone to live in Stonegate. Her friendship with the prince was heartening, and when she loved my cousin, I accepted her—unbeknownst to anyone—as part of my folk too.

She’d even learned my words when she did not need to.

Yrsa’s jaw tightened. “Yes, and I am furious with you as well.”

But you will not let her explain.

“Have you ever wondered why Thane and I have never kept secrets from each other?”

I shrugged.

“I caught my father bedding a young servant woman. Barely a woman, really, and she looked terrified. But he was her king. He made me vow never to speak of it to my mother. From then on, he would force me to be what he called his little liar.”

For what?

Yrsa’s features hardened. “When he took more mistresses, when he mistreated our folk, he forced me to go with him, forced me to stand nearby, to hear everything he did.” She let her eyes close. “Then he would say, ‘Now you know this dark truth that will ruin your mother. She is already weakhearted, and to know this might send her to the gods with pain.’ ”

I’d always thought Hundur was more twisted than even Damir. Deep in the shadows of my soul, I could feel the click of a name added to a list of those whose souls would die.

“I have lied to my mother all my life.” Yrsa scoffed bitterly. “Not that she doesn’t know. I’m certain she does. But the extortion of breaking her heart with the truth has kept me silent. I despise liars, Roark. Truth was my one condition for all my relationships.”

I folded my arms over my chest. Emi is not your father.

“But trust is lost.”