“Yes.” I refuse to cry in front of this stern woman. I’m prone to tearing up. Gods know I’ve had to bottle up my emotions to get through this summer of fire and hardship. But suddenly, I’m having trouble keeping my shit together.
“And she is yet missing?”
“Also, yes,” I confirm. Fear splinters my heart. If she’s been captured…I hate not knowing whether she’s okay or not.
“What is it you wish my people to do?”
Right. Focus on the next steps. “We’ve managed to interrupt the enemy’s supply lines from the port in Oceanside to the north. Their fighters have razed villages, set the Grasslands district on fire, and taken over most towns and villages between here and The Walled City.”
“You haven’t answered my question, Princess.”
I swallow. I am not up to this conversation in my depleted state. Still, I have to try. Ephram and Luza are counting on me. I can’t let Orisa be recaptured.
“We need reinforcements. Fighters to work hand-in-hand with us and drive the invaders back out to sea. We’re badly outnumbered.”
Brenica cocks one eyebrow skeptically. “They have technology I’ve never before witnessed. My son tells me they ride mechanical horses.” She mimes revving a motorcycle. “He says they have sticks that shoot pellets that can kill a man in seconds. I have witnessed such atrocities first-hand on the ridge.”
“You should not have gone up there,” remonstrates the man sitting beside her. I realize with a start that he must be Tovian’s father.
“I go where I please.” Brenica rebukes her husband mildly. “Princess Raina, I cannot give you what you ask. My first priority is to protect my people. We have enough supplies to last through the cold season.”
Not that it ever gets very cold in southern Auralia, but there’s enough of a shift in the weather that certain plants go dormant in the winter months.
Zosia would love studying this stuff. She once smuggled seeds into Scotland just to keep experimenting with them while we were at school, even though she risked creating a diplomatic incident and, more worryingly, introducing an invasive species.
“With trade cut off, we won’t last the year.”
“We don’t need a year, Tovian” Brenica barely glances at her son. “We need a few months to see whether the Myseci and Auralian contingents can come together and defeat the enemy. It will be a chance for them to prove that the schism between the tribes that drove us into hiding five hundred years ago is truly mended. Perhaps then we will assist you with the rebuilding efforts.” Brenica sounds bored.
“But there might notbea victory unless you help us now.”
I can’t hold in my frustration any longer. Tovian cuts me a sharp look. I know I’ve blown it in that moment. Despair tugs at me.
Gods damn everything, leadership ishard.No wonder Zosia hated being forced into it.
“Rest, Princess. You may remain here as my son’s guest.” Her gaze flicks, not to the first time, to her son’s marks on my body. Acute self-awareness sizzles down my spine. “He will see you to his quarters.”
That’s the end of the debate. What a way to meet your possible-boyfriend’s family. It’s so fucked up.
“Come, Sunshine. Let’s put you to bed.”
It’s barely midafternoon, but I’ve been awake for over thirty-six hours and I’m dead on my feet. I trudge wearily up the winding spiral ramp. We pass openings carved into the cliffside along the way. Rooms. Leather flaps tanned to closely match the color of the volcanic rock cover each entrance. Some are folded back. I catch glimpses of low beds piled with furs.
A gurgling sound brings my head up. A system of wooden pipes are fastened to the rock facing.
“Ansi villages might not be as fancy as what you have in Oceanside or at River Bend, but we have running water and everything, Princess. You’ll be comfortable here.”
“I wasn’t questioning it.” A yawn nearly cracks my jaw in two. Gently, Tovian slides one arm around my waist, bare skin on bare skin. The pathway is just wide enough for the two of us to walk side-by-side. My hair sticks sweatily to my back. Near the top, Tovian folds back a flap and gestures me inside.
It’s several degrees cooler inside. A shiver rushes over my skin as I register the change in temperature. The cavern is tall enough for Tovian to stand upright. Even the prince’s chamber isn’t especially large. Daily life clearly centers around the fire pit where the village gathers. Private quarters don’t seem to be meant for much more than sleeping.
I stare at the low bed frame piled with furs. Then at him.
“Listen, Raina, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want—”
I cut him off with a kiss. He grunts and rocks back on his heels, slipping one arm around my waist to anchor me against his hard chest. Tovian’s low chuckle rumbles through me, a tickle in the back of my brain. It’s the lightest, happiest feeling I’ve had in months. I clutch at him with desperate strength.
“I want to,” I whisper against his mouth when we part for breath.
