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I recalled the book I’d seen in her pocket, and Clemencia telling me that the princess was a writer. “She didn’t last night.”
“She was trying not to scare you away, but she had it on her, believe me. The Book of Fae is always with her.”
I scoffed. “Her journal is called the Book of Fae? That sounds—”
“Pompous,” Sayyida cut in with a laugh. “I’ve told her, but Saga thinks it fits. She writes all that she wants about fae at court in that book. As you can imagine, many wish to get their hands on that book or a journal she’s already filled out and hidden away, but they’re all locked up tight.”
“Yes, I can imagine.” A book written by a royal princess telling of what went on in court? Who she favored? Maybe even who the king or queen favored? Who they hated? That was valuable information, indeed.
I wondered if Saga had written about me, and if so, what?
“Have you seen it?” I asked.
Sayyida shook her head. “No, and I don’t think I ever will. Saga is private about that book.” She paused. “She writes her visions in it too.”
“She’s a seer?”
Being a seer was a rare ability in the fae. Some witches in the human world and mages in Isila possessed the ability too, but from what I’d learned, it was never commonplace, no matter what magical order one belonged to.
“She only came into her power in her late teens, and seeing comes and goes as it pleases, so yes, she is a seer, but with very little practice.”
Another question rested on the tip of my tongue when the door behind us opened, and Sayyida and I turned. She rose.
“Mother! Brother! Where are Njal and Amine?”
I swallowed and stood to hurriedly curtsey to the High Lady Fayeth Virtoris and Sayyida’s brother. Had she not welcomed them as she did, I still would have guessed they were her blood.
Sayyida had the High Lady’s long dark curls and glittering blue-gray eyes. Her brother also looked much like his mother, with the high lady’s light brown skin and a long, lean frame, though he wore his hair shorter, in a cropped fashion I found rather unusual. He appeared to be around thirty, which meant he could be that age, or, as fae aging slowed after thirty, far older.
“Your little brother begged off. He’s in the library, and your sister wasn’t feeling well.” The Lady of Ships shifted to examine me and Clemencia. “And who are these ladies?”
“Lady Neve.” Sayyida gestured to me. “Warden Roar’s fiancée. And her lady-in-waiting Clemencia.”
“Ah, you’re the one that has the king in a tizzy.” Lady Virtoris inclined her head. She did not bother introducing herself, correctly assuming I already knew her. “Good for you.”
“Mother, words such as those are unwise in the current political climate,” the male said before he locked eyes with me. “I’m Vidar Virtoris, Sayyida’s older brother.”
“Neve.” I curtsied again. So this was Saga’s intended mate. “No great house. I’m commonborn.”
Vidar’s smile lit up his handsome face. “We’re happy to host you, Lady Neve. Would you like a goblet of wine?”
“Oh, no, thank you.” My stomach rioted at the mention of alcohol. “I don’t need anything.”
Sayyida let out a bawdy laugh. “I think I gave her too much Dragon Fire last night!”
“Sayyida,” her mother warned. “You must learn to behave.”
“Says the mother who had salt-blooded sailors watch me in the crib damp with spindrift!” Sayyida snorted and turned back to face the field where the warm-ups had now finished, and new archers took to the field.
“I don’t see Roar down there,” I said. “Why isn’t he allowed to practice?”
“I’m sure he did so before we got here. The competitors go in rounds, including when they warm up,” Sayyida explained. “Otherwise, someone will get shot. This will be round one of the preliminaries.”
“Do they actually all compete?” There had to be fifty archers on the field. This part of the tourney would take all day.
Vidar moved to sit next to his sister. “They do, but the rounds weed out the worst quickly. They get three shots and the best archers are the only ones to move forward to the finals.”
The Lady Virtoris took her place on her son’s other side, closest to the box that House Riis called their own. Immediately, she began to chat with the older male fae.
