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“What reason?”
Anxiety tickled his chest. “Has my brother been acting…odd?”
Some of the tenseness left her composure, replaced with haughty annoyance. “Odd is a word for it.”
“How so?” Larylis held his breath, hoping her answer would be something mundane, dismissible.
“In the way he talks, I suppose. For a handful of days, I thought I could come to like him as a brother, but then he got…weird. There’s something going on with him. Did you see his hair?”
Larylis frowned. “He was wearing a hat when I saw him.”
She barked a laugh. “Of course he was. His hair has gone half white, like an aging old man, but he acts like it’s nothing. He looks unwell lately, yet he refuses to acknowledge it.”
His mind stumbled over her words. Teryn’s hair had gone half white? He was unwell? Larylis didn’t know what to think. The hat had hidden Teryn’s hair and had cast his face in shadow, so he hadn’t noticed anything too odd about his appearance. Then again, he could deem Teryn’s sudden inclination for tricorns odd enough. Not to mention that too-formal tone he’d used.
“Did he and Cora quarrel?” he asked. “That you know of, at least? Have you seen her lately?”
Her brows lowered, revealing a hint of concern. “I haven’t seen her since the day she found out she had to marry Teryn. She was worried about…about a certain conversation they needed to have before she’d feel comfortable marrying him, but I thought she’d made peace with it. I tried to see her on her wedding day, but Teryn said she’d taken to seclusion for her own protection. He said I wouldn’t be able to see her until after the peace pact was signed.”
His muscles tensed. He’d already been alarmed when she’d used the wordshad to marry Teryn, for that wasn’t right. Teryn had come to propose to her and fulfill the terms of the pact, but he’d never force her into something she didn’t want. That, however, wasn’t the most troubling thing she’d said. “What do you mean their wedding day?”
“They were supposedly married five days ago.”
“Why? The alliance terms should have given them a year.”
She pulled her head back. “Has no one told you?”
“Told me what?”
“Dimetreus was deemed incapable of ruling by his council. Cora was forced to take his place and ascend to queen, but the alliance agreement states she must marry Teryn for the council to accept her rule.”
A chill ran down his spine. He hadn’t heard a word of this, and Verdian hadn’t said anything either. He could understand some level of secrecy, but this…
This felt like something else.
He rose from the bed and began to pace. “You said you haven’t seen Cora in how long?”
“Six days.”
“And how long has Teryn been acting different?”
“A week at least.”
He halted in place. He still didn’t know what it meant. How could Teryn not be Teryn? And where was Cora? If she was in seclusion for her protection as Mareleau had said, then why had she sent that letter with Berol?
Another roar shattered the air, severing Larylis’ train of thought. This time, the sound was closer. It had come from the other side of the meadow, if he had to guess.
Muffled shouts of alarm followed, but far fewer than he’d expect from a full camp. A rhythmic thud like galloping hooves sped by the tent.
Then came a scream.
Larylis charged across the tent, gathering up his sword belt and strapping it around his waist. Mareleau followed after him, panic lacing her voice. “What are you doing? Where are you going?”
“To see what the seven devils is going on out there.”
She clung to the front of his shirt. “Don’t you dare leave me.”
His resolve cracked, along with his heart. But he couldn’t hide when people were screaming. When something dark and twisted was happening around him. He pulled Mareleau to his chest, pressing a kiss to her forehead. As they broke apart, he reached for his belt and unsheathed a dagger. He pressed the hilt into her palm. “Stay safe. Hide. I love you.”
