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Now the Frostlake princess pointed at River, who no longer had any glamour. “You?”
River smiled and raised his hands. “In person. No need to thank me for saving you; it was done for him.” He pointed at Fel.
“What saving?” her brother replied in that strange voice that came from nowhere.
Leah shook her head. “I’ll explain later.”
Fel’s huge dragon eyes were on the princess, then he turned to Naia and River. “We went to Fernick. Met other dragons, including some of our family, Naia.”
She swallowed. The idea of being a dragon hadn’t yet settled well in her mind, so the thought of having family also felt strange. “Family? Like… a father?” A father who was not King Azir was also incredibly unsettling.
“He’s dead,” Fel said. “Died a long time ago. His name was Ircantari—”
“I met him,” River muttered, and then sucked in a breath, while staring at Fel. “Your eyes. They’re almost like his. They were more yellow.”
Fel straightened his neck, making him look taller. “How old are you?”
River chuckled. “I was eighteen when I saw Ircantari, and then I got lost in the hollow after that, frozen in time. I came back about a year ago. I’m not sure how old that makes me.”
“Lost in the hollow?” Leah asked. “I met a fae like that.”
“Who?” River’s tone was calm, but Naia could sense the urgency behind the word.
“Her name was Iana,” Leah said. “She also disappeared after the fall of Formosa, but before the end of the war. She didn’t know it had ended.”
River was thoughtful. “Iana…” He frowned, thinking. “What did she look like?”
“Dark red eyes, long pale blond hair, almost silver, and white horns, shorter than yours.” The princess said it as if her description meant anything, unaware that her words were as helpful as saying someone had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, when it came to Ancients.
River was staring at her, eyes wide. “Was she short, tall, old, young? Shape of her face?”
Leah looked up, thinking. “Youngish. Not a teenager, but a young adult. Face…” She shrugged. “Normal? She was also very beautiful, like very, very—”
“Did you mention me?” River asked.
“I did. She told me it was impossible, that no fae would be able to enter the Iron Citadel. But you did, didn’t you?”
River looked down and nodded. He then pulled Naia’s hand and kissed it. She was unsure if he wanted to comfort her or him, and knew well that he had hoped perhaps that Leah had met his dead sister, but the name was different and the description too vague to mean anything. At the same time, holding his hand felt so good, so natural. She could barely believe she had considered leaving him only a few hours before.
Leah then asked him, “And what’s your name?”
“River.” He looked down and squeezed Naia’s hand tight, then added, “Of the Second Dynasty.”
Fel asked, “Weren’t you River Annoying? Or had no last name?” If he had been in human form, Naia was sure he would have raised an eyebrow.
“I got my name back,” River replied, an unsuppressed strain beneath his casual tone. It was clear that the events of that morning had also hurt him.
Naia wanted to change the subject, especially because trying to hold back her anger wasn’t working. “Fair. Meanwhile, I just want to know one thing.” She looked at Leah. “How come you’re here? With him? After writing that note?”
“Sis, it wasn’t her fault,” Fel said, and the words sounded menacing when coming from a huge dragon protecting his rude beloved.
“What note?” Leah asked. “All I did was ask him why he hadn’t proposed, and if something was happening.” She frowned, thinking. “Did you receive something else?”
“Your mother,” Fel said. “She must have faked a note.”
Leah shook her head. “Not my mother. Ironhold. They could be capable of that, and they needed that wedding. Bastards.” She stared at Naia. “What did the note say?”
Could it be? Could it be that her anger at the girl had been misplaced? That Fel’s anger had been wrong? “Uh… bad things. Like…” Naia didn’t want to repeat it, but the girl’s questioning eyes meant she had to give her an explanation. “You wanted a partner who had…” She swallowed. “Physical integrity.”
