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Grae grinned at my sister’s antics, giving me a wink that made my whole body tingle. “I’ll speak with you after we arrive in Highwick?”
I nodded, cringing at myself as Grae strode away. I climbed into the rounded belly of the carriage, sitting on the crushed velvet bench beside my sister. Satin cushions sat on either end and gold filigree papered the walls. It was the most opulent space I had ever been in... and this was just the carriage.
I adjusted the neckline of my cloak as Maez’s face appeared in the window. She had short-cropped hair, light golden brown skin, and a mischievous twinkle in her hazel eyes. Her lips twisted into a smirk.
“Ready, Your Highness?” she asked Briar, casually leaning her forearms through the open window. Her eyes lingered on Briar before she peeked at me. “It’ll be about six hours.”
Briar pursed her lips, pulling Maez’s attention back to her with ease. “Are you driving the carriage?”
“No, Your Highness, I’m just riding with Hector.”
“Why don’t you ride with us?” Briar offered, gesturing to the empty bench.
I cut my sister a look that I knew she was ignoring. She’d told Grae we wanted to sleep and now she was inviting company intoour carriage? Briar waited for Maez’s response with innocently raised eyebrows.
“Oh.” The guard’s eyes widened as a grin stretched across her face. “Okay, I’ll grab my satchel.”
As she retreated from the carriage window, I elbowed Briar in the ribs. “What are you doing?”
“Ouch,” Briar snapped, though we both knew I hadn’t injured her. “I just wanted some entertainment on the long ride.”
“I thought you were going to desist with that form ofentertainmentnow that Grae is around.”
“Can you blame me? Look at her! Besides—” Briar shrugged. “Grae and I talked last night.”
“When?” Mouth agape, I glared at my sister. “What does that mean?”
The door opened.
“It means we talked last night,” Briar muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
Plastering that queenly smile back on her face, she greeted Maez.
As the guard sat across from us, my mind spiraled. What had Briar and Grae talked about? What agreement had they reached, and had it something to do with this mysterious suspicion of Grae’s? My nerves were as tight as a bowstring, ready to snap.
“Did you grow up in the capital?” Briar asked, breaking into light conversation.
“All the Silver Wolf families live in Highwick,” Maez replied. “Grae and I are cousins on his father’s side.”
I racked my brain for note of the King’s siblings, but whoever Maez’s father was, he must’ve passed long ago. I couldn’t recollect his name in any of our classes, though Vellia’s tutelage had been more focused on the living royal lines.
“I entered my apprenticeship with the royal guard at thirteen,” Maez said. “And Grae invited me into his personal guardabout . . .” She looked at the ceiling, silently counting. “Four years ago?”
“Impressive.”
Maez shrugged. “It spared me from my uncle marrying me off to another kingdom. I pledged my sword to the crown prince, so I’m not a threat to his line.”
I pursed my lips, considering Maez. It was a smart move. She’d been confronted with the possibility of an arranged marriage and she’d found her own way out. I respected her more for it—her charming swagger suddenly more understandable, that bravado hard won. She knew what she wanted from life, and she’d taken it, just like Vellia had bid me to do.
“How old are you?” Briar asked.
I glared at her again, knowing she was shamelessly interrogating the guard for her own purposes.
“Twenty-four,” Maez said, cocking her head at Briar, a mischievous fire in her hazel eyes. “And you will be twenty at midnight tonight.”
Briar scanned the guard from head to toe, playing along with her game. “And do you have any... sweethearts in the capital?”
Goddess, I wished I could fade into the cushions and disappear from this conversation. I nudged Briar with my knee, but she moved her leg away, merely blinking back at Maez with her blue doe eyes. Briar and I didn’t need to say a word to have an entire conversation. She knew I was warning her to behave, and I knew she was ignoring me.
