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They cut their eyes to the supposedly proper princess who was now crouching in the mud.
“No announcement has been made, Pyke,” I insisted.
“Well, yes, but I haveeyes,Zo. I see the way you look at Olympia. And frankly, if you don’t lock it down now, she’s going to wise up and find someonewaybetter.”
I pinned them with a hard stare, my amusement fading.
“Way better than a king?” I questioned.
“Is that youronlyredeeming quality?” Pyke shot back. “Because Sire was a king and Mama didn’t love him any more for it.”
I grimaced. “Right.”
“I call truce!” Olympia’s voice rose to the balcony. She emerged from the bushes with her hands in the air as though surrendering to the enemy.
“Really?” Leigh questioned, peeking out from the opposite corner. “Did I win?”
“It’s a truce, Emberleigh!” Olympia yelled. “Nobody wins.”
My daughter swiped dried mud off her clothes as she got to her feet, a deep pout obvious on her lips. It was like looking into a mirror.
“But I wanted to win!” she protested, her voice carrying on the light evening breeze.
“Sometimes winning isn’t the goal.”
Olympia closed the distance between them, helping Leigh brush dirt from her shoulders and hair. I doubted my daughter would ever look presentable enough for her meticulous and overbearing mother, but Leigh was perfect to me even in mud-flecked clothes and ratty hair.
Although an unexpected gift, Leigh was my most treasured prize.
“The goal is to have fun,” Olympia said.
“She has a good soul, doesn’t she?” Pyke said, drawing my attention away from the duo. “I spoke to her while you rested. She never left your side.”
“And?” I queried, feeling my brows pinch in a frown. “Are you trying to say she’s too good for me?”
Pyke’s bark of laughter was a surprise. “I didn’t say that, but perhaps your conscience is reminding you of Olympia’s enviable qualities and how they don’t match up to yours.”
Miffed, all I could summon was a grunt.
“Have you asked her yet?”
A dull throb began at the back of my head. This was beginning to feel like an interrogation, not a simple conversation. I massaged the spot at the base of my neck, willing the pain away.
“Asked her what?”
Pyke turned to me, their gaze more serious than I’d ever seen it.
“Asked her to stay, silly.”
Memories pelted at my mind. Soft words from the last several nights with Olympia resounded in my chest. I had made my intentions clear—there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted her by my side. Whether that meant commuting between Vetri and Agnivale or setting up a rendezvous point somewhere in between, I didn’t care. The logistics could come later.
Olly had saidyes,but she had yet to take any action to sever ties with Cryssa. It had already been three days. What was she waiting for?
Pyke glanced at me expectantly, and I nodded.
“And?” they prodded.
“And what?”
