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The gateways served as the official entrance for those visiting another court’s underhill. They were in a specific, guarded location that could be blocked—magically and physically—if a court was being attacked. Usually, I preferred to travel through the mortal realm to get from court to court. It gave me a break from all the political plotting and a chance to catch my breath, but using them today meant that going from our court in Ireland to Gales in the North African desert would take no time at all. Since I only had a fortnight—fourteen miserable days—to find someone to marry, today I would force myself to use them.
Van walked beside me, his hand on the hilt of his sword. I thought about calling in some weapons but dismissed it. If we passed someone in the hall and I had a weapon out, it would send a message that my guards weren’t trustworthy and that I was vulnerable to attack.
Everything I did, everything I said was scrutinized. It was one of the many reasons I hated living here.
I glanced down the corridor that we were passing and stopped.
Tiarnan.
I assumed he was waiting for me. The guards must have told him we were walking the halls. But why he was there, I didn’t know.
Of all my siblings, Tiarnan looked the most like me. Same dark-blond curly hair. Same brown eyes. Same small nose—although his was a tiny bit bigger than mine which suited his more masculine face. But despite our similar looks, we’d never gotten along.
He didn’t approach and I didn’t either.
Finally, after a long moment, he bowed his head ever so slightly.
I gave him a little finger wave. I’d won the first round, but there would be others.
Van nudged my shoulder with his to get me moving.
“If he comes after me again, I’m going to have to do something about it,” I whispered quietly to Van.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Doesn’t he know that he’ll lose?”
Bronio’s laugh came from behind me. “I think that’s why he keeps trying. He doesn’t think he’ll lose.”
I spun to walk backward so that I could see Bronio’s face. “And if it came down to me and him?
Who do you think would win?”
Bronio’s smile fell. “I don’t know.”
Wilken was walking beside Bronio, and I couldn’t stop myself from asking him the same question. “Between me and Tiarnan, who do you think would win?”
“I honestly don’t know, which is why I joined your guard.”
I held his gaze for another moment, two, three, but his face—his eyes—were giving me nothing. He could’ve joined my guard to help me win or—far more likely—he could’ve joined my guard to make sure Tiarnan won.
Van grabbed my hand and spun me so that I was walking forward. “Enough of this. Focus on where we’re going.” He gave me a sly smile. “Plus, interrogating your personal guards while in a public place is a little too flashy.”
“And throwing the beheaded man into the hallway wasn’t flashy?”
He laughed. “Fair enough, your highness. Fair enough.”
Ugh. Why was he being so formal? “I hate it when you call me that.”
“We’re going to have to be formal for a while.”
There was nothing I could say to that, so I didn’t. I’d wanted to leave court—desperately—but not to head to Gales to see if Ziriel’s son was serious about his offer of marriage.
Too soon, I saw the great doors to the gateway. For some reason I expected my mother to be waiting to say good-bye or wish me luck or something, but the three visible gate guards pushed open the massive door—the room was as empty and hollow as my aching heart.
When I was younger, I used to like coming here. No one ever bothered me and it made me feel like I was outside and far away. The ceiling had been magicked to look like the night sky. The moon hung low and full, providing enough light to see the room. The stars glittered, and every so often, if you stayed in here long enough, a shooting star would cross the sky.
The walls were meant to look like the Irish forest outside the underhill. When I stepped inside the room and the doors closed, it would almost feel as if I’d left the court. It would smell like grass and dirt and the dewy night air, and as far as I could see, it would look like I was outside, but the illusion was broken by the ring of six hexagonal floor tiles, each leading to a different court.
