“Quite the prize, is she not?” the coldland lord said, nodding in the direction of the tree on the other side of the wall.
Paxton shrugged, sort of wanting to silence Lief with a punch to the throat at that moment. “If you fancy the circus life.”
Lord Lief Alvi gave a loud laugh. “If only marriage were as entertaining as a circus. But at least that one would bring a bit of fire to the arrangement. Not all royal lassies are so . . . interesting.”
Paxton said nothing, unsure if Lief was baiting him for his stance on royals. He sometimes forgot the hunter was royalty in Ascomanni.
“Your man Harrison, though. He’s got a history with the princess, aye?”
Paxton shrugged. “They know each other. Friends, supposedly.”
Lief’s eyebrows went up and down, and he chuckled. “The lad’s in love, I’d say. This hunt’s a dual purpose for him—vengeance and love.”
This turned Paxton’s stomach for some reason, and he found himself saying, “I believe there is only friendship between them.”
At this, Lief laughed and slapped Paxton’s arm. “He’s after her hand, just like you and I.”
“I don’t fancy the idea of marriage,” Paxton stated.
“Aye. I probably wouldn’t either if it wasn’t expected of me.”
Paxton supposed each man and woman had their struggles to overcome, but he was glad not to be a royal with all the ridiculous things expected of them.
“I daresay you will fancy the idea of marriage a bit more if you kill the beast and earn a plump bed inside that castle.” Lief elbowed Paxton in the upper ribs, making him grunt.
Paxton grumbled, and the Ascomannian lord chuckled, walking away.
Chapter
21
The next morning, after the night’s silent hunt and silent breakfast, Paxton and Tiern sat with the other hunters around the fire pit to discuss. Though it was daylight, the fire was good for keeping them warm against gusts coming up from the sea. The Zandalee were the last to join, one of the women shamelessly rubbing her hip against the back of Tiern’s head as she passed. His mouth froze midsentence. Samuel and Harrison choked back their laughter.
“I agree, Tiern,” Lief said from across the fire, not having seen. “It seems to set out at random. There’s no pattern to where it chooses.”
“Jes,” said the Kalorian man who’d seemed to have aleadership role among his men, and one of the few who spoke Euronan. His hair was shaved along the sides, a strip of black slicked down the middle. “This is like no animal I have hunted. I cannot predict.”
Paxton and the others nodded.
“Auda,” Zandora said in a low voice from where she sat behind him. Paxton nodded. He recognized the Zorfinan word for water.
A hissing sound was made from across the fire. Paxton was surprised to see the Zorfinan men staring at the Zandalee with contempt. When Zandora made a gesture with her fingers, they all looked away.
“Why do you think they hate each other?” Tiern asked Paxton.
“They say our tribe is cursed,” Zandora murmured from behind them. “They are fools.”
Paxton, Tiern, Samuel, and Harrison all swung their heads around.
“You speak Euronan?!” Tiern said.
Zandora gave a shrug. “When it suits me.” Her accent was strong.
“Why am I not surprised?” Samuel chuckled, shaking his curly head.
The three Zandalee looked smug in their black head scarves wrapped securely around their dark faces and necks. They each sat on the grass lazily, two leaning back, Zandora in the center with an elbow on her raised knee.
“My sisters speak only Zorfinan.”
