Her mother suffered greatly when she chose to honor the Tether—though she hadn’t intended to be queen when she did it. No, the girls grew up understanding they were destined for alignment and alliances, not star-crossed love affairs.
“That second feeling you shared…”
“Seeing you slipping your way into the palace the other night,” Mirquios whispered.
“That feeling. That could be enough, couldn’t it? Our lives are so carefully curated on our behalf, but there’s comfort in knowing that people can still catch us off guard, even without Fate pulling the strings. I almost think it might be preferable to stay Untethered. There’s no distraction. No loyalties to consider except to my people. It’s liberating if you think about it.”
A quiet smile unfolded across his face. “You almost sound like you believe yourself.”
“Almost,” she admitted.
“Princess?” Three soft knocks against the door jolted Astra out of her chair.
“Come in,” she said, Ameera’s honey-gold energy rolling into the study. Took you long enough, she beamed to her maiden. “Mirquios, King of Mercury. Meet Ameera, my Head Maiden and best friend.”
Ameera bowed, tucking one ankle behind the other. “Your Highness.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Mirquios said. “I’ll see you two back out there?”
Astra nodded as Ameera studied her, searching for what might have caused her panic. Mirquios slipped out of the study and surely wasn’t even out of earshot when Astra turned and hissed at her best friend.
“We have a major problem, Ameera!”
“What? You might actually be enjoying yourself?”
Astra rolled her eyes. “Beyond that, though, add it to the list. There was someone out in the garden. I couldn’t see him. He was on the other side of the hedges. He was scorching hot, Ameera. It was unbearable, just like in the Midwood the other day. I’m concerned there’s a Solarian spy in the court.”
Ameera’s eyes widened. “The Midwood?”
“Sorry,” Astra muttered. “I forgot to tell you about that.”
“Are you sure, Astra? The wards in the Rift wouldn’t let anyone with Solarian blood through.”
“That Solarian orb didn’t just fall into the court, Ameera.”
Ameera sighed. She had a point.
“I felt this storm of awful dread, but it was like when he spotted me, he shoved it all away. Completely untraceable. I could hardly read a whiff of him, which means he knows how I work, and he knows how to defend himself. He must be Solarian.”
“Shh,” Ameera hissed, all too aware there were always maidens in the walls. She pointed to her temple, switching to a silent conversation. Tomorrow we’ll speak with Archera. Surely the sentry can locate him.
Astra nodded. That was really all they could do, she supposed.
Perhaps we should consider telling your mot?—
No. If I’m wrong, if he’s not Solarian, it’ll look like I’m trying to get out of whatever plot she has for my hand. A dark cloud of violets and navy blues settled over Astra’s chest.
Ameera frowned. What do you mean?
She’s clearly trying to marry me off to Mars to atone for her broken engagement. I had to cling to the Mercurian all night just to stay out of the infant’s path!
Certainly not the worst Fate, Ameera giggled.
Astra closed her eyes, leaning her head against the armchair. If there was one Solarian in the court, there could be any number of enemies lurking.
If they could get this close to the palace, they could get to her sister.
They could all be in terrible danger.
