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Her eyes shifted back and forth between mine. “We go to Delacroix. I tell my parents I’m alright. Then I’ll order your ship. You can travel to the port city and take off to wherever the fuck you want to go. Good riddance.”
“The second I face your father, he’ll kill me.”
“He won’t if I ask him not to.”
“He’ll be deaf in his rage.”
“All he’s going to care about is that I’m okay. You are not the priority, Aurelias.”
“I don’t buy that, sweetheart.”
Anger rushed out of her like a billowing cloud of smoke. I noticed a subtle change in her eyes, a sharpening of daggers. “Don’t call me that.”
“We go to the port city.”
“I’m going to Delacroix—and that’s final. The only way that’s not happening is if you force me. But you have no horse, no rope, and I doubt you have any more of whatever that was that put me out. All you have is that sword, and that’s not going to earn my compliance. If you’re that concerned about your neck, you should travel to the port city alone and steal your precious ship.”
“I can’t make the journey without a crew.”
“Then kidnap the steward and force him—”
“We made a deal.”
“And I will honor that deal in Delacroix.” Without waiting for my consent, she headed down the path toward the castle that was far away in the distance, past all the farmland that provided the meats and produce to feed its residents.
I stared at her retreating back, furious that this petite woman who was inferior to me in size and strength was calling the shots. “Harlow.”
She turned back around.
“I want your word.”
“I said I’ll get you a ship—and I will.”
“And?”
“My father won’t kill you.” She turned forward again and continued her walk. “Come on. I’m tired, hungry, and ready for a bath. A triple threat.”
I detected no hint of a lie, no malice. When people lied, their expressions gave them away, and the same was true of their hearts. I could feel a surge of dread whenever someone tried to deceive me—and I didn’t feel that when she spoke.
* * *
We approached the gate of Delacroix, and the second the guards spotted their princess, they started to blare the horn so the king and queen would hear it up at the castle. They didn’t draw their swords on me, probably because she and I walked side by side like allies rather than enemies.
We walked up the hill toward the castle, the sunshine blazing hot and painful against my skin. We said nothing to each other, and I could feel the building emotion inside her chest, the invisible tears that she didn’t shed, the anticipation of relieving her parents’ fears that she was no longer in this world.
The queen appeared at the top of the stairs to the castle, dressed in her uniform and armor like she was ready for battle if she were called. She looked down at us, and even from this distance, I could see the overwhelming emotion on her face. She took off at a run, sprinting toward her daughter with the desperate need of a worried mother.
“Mama…” Harlow ran forward to meet her mother halfway, and they collided like two powerful boulders slamming into each other.
Her mother squeezed her tightly, breaking down into painful sobs as she held her. “Harlow…”
“I’m okay.”
Her mother continued to cry as she held her, and the scene reminded me of my own mother’s reaction when I’d been lost in the forest for several days. I’d gone there to hunt, but I fell and sprained my ankle, and I was stuck alone for several days and several nights, afraid my father would never find me. I was a boy at the time, so he carried me home in his arms, and when my mother saw me…she was delirious with relief. My father was vocal about his favorite son, but my mother truly loved each one of us equally.
“Are you okay?” Queen Rolfe pushed Harlow’s hair out of her face as she cupped her cheeks.
“Just hungry.”
