Still, I’m not going back. I’m a leader. I should lead from where the action is, like Cata would have done. Not from a crimson throne in a silver palace, bedecked in fine red velvet and adorned with jewels.
No. I belong here, on horseback, with a knife in my boot and determination steeling my spine. Alert and aware to every danger—
“Ahhhh!”
My guard’s shriek stops me in my tracks. Our horses dance in place, trying to back away from the sudden threat. A wolf-bear. Its lips curl up in a snarl to reveal long incisors.
The animals are notoriously bad-tempered and prone to attack. Auralia has a couple of apex predators you don’t want to get too close with. Maned tigers and wolf-bears, specifically. Their territory overlaps in this part of the country. We’ve taken the detour route from River Bend through the relatively unscathed Mountain District, in a bid to avoid the invaders.
Unfortunately, our chosen course put us directly in the path of our country’s biggest predators.
“Remain perfectly still.”
My guard holds out one hand. He’s leading. We have a pack horse, too. The wolf-bear can’t take us all down, but it could badly injure our horses.
The wolf-bear sniffs, grunts, and moves on. A parade of tiny cubs waddle after her. They’re akin to badgers—the North American version, not the bumbling European kind—but taller and shaggier. Meaner, too.
We’re fortunate today. This one just wanted to get her family across the path.
“What is happening?” Tovian demands with an edge of panic in his voice.
“It’s fine. Just a wolf-bear and her cubs crossing the road.”
“Raina, go back to River Bend. Now.”
I waited until we were halfway to Oceanside before I told Tovian what I was doing. I’m not turning around now. “Tovian. I will not cower in comfort while the country struggles.”
I keep my voice low, trying to prevent my stoic guard from overhearing. He hasn’t been particularly gracious about escorting the crown princess into a war zone.
“You could die!” Tovian says.
“So could you!”
We’ve never had a fight before. I’ve never had a real boyfriend before, either. A couple of hookups in Scotland, when I was trying to soothe my pride after Lorcan’s outright rejection. The sex wasn’t great and the guys weren’t people I wanted to be with in the long term. Sex with Tovian is totally different. I cannot imagine a better experience. And I cannot enjoy that rhapsodic experience when I’m far apart from him, so I’m getting as close as I possibly can.
“Where are you right now?” he asks tiredly.
“We’re just north of The Boscage,” I say grumpily. “At least four days out from Oceanside. We’re moving slowly. We’re not taking any risks.”
“Do you have guards?”
“One.”Grouchy silence through the line.“I miss you, Tovi.”
“I miss you, Sunshine. I don’t want to go on missing you for the rest of my life. You need to get somewhere safe.”
“I am safe.” Sort of. Not really. “I’m not breakable. I can help win this war.”
“You already have.”
He’s right. He’s also wrong. I’m not fragile. He knows that. What’s with this protectiveness, all of a sudden?
“Don’t come to Oceanside.”
“Are you ordering me around, now?”
“No. I know better than to try that. I don’t want you in danger, that’s all.”
“Good. I was starting to think Lorcan was rubbing off on you. He used to be so paranoid. He’d tell Zosia where she could go and when, never anywhere alone—”
