Chapter 3 #3
I shake my head, not wanting to make this about me. “Dante, your whole world has been turned on its head. I’m worried about how you’re handling it all.”
A muscle ticks in his jaw. “This isn’t the first time my life’s taken a turn, Princess.” The words are even, but I don’t miss the edge beneath them.
I swallow hard, wishing I could ease the tension that never seems to leave his shoulders.
He comes nearer, and I lift my head just as his hand rises between us. He brushes back a strand of hair that’s slipped free from my braid, his fingers lingering when they find my cheek. “But it’s good to finally know what’s been going on in that pretty, little head of yours.”
I shiver, helpless against the soft drag of his thumb across my skin.
The air pulls tight around us, thick with everything we’ve left unsaid.
If we were at Ivystone, if anyone were watching us, I would have to step back, put the space between us that the king demands.
Instead, I reach for him. My palm presses flat against his chest, and beneath my touch, his heart beats as fiercely as my own.
His gaze softens. For all the armor he wears—on his body, on his heart—this is the piece of him no one else gets to see.
His hand covers mine, fingers warm against my chilled skin. “What about you?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “What about me?”
He drops his hand to my waist and pulls me closer until we’re mere inches apart. “This whole ordeal with Torbin can’t be easy for you.”
“He’s not dead, Dante.” At least that’s what I suspect. “And even if he is, I’ve killed before.”
“In battle. Or defending lives. But I highly doubt you’ve pushed someone you once cared about off a castle tower.”
My brows scrunch together as my gaze lowers.
He lifts my chin with a finger. “He was your childhood friend. There was a time you cared for him. And you have a good heart, so I know you aren’t taking this lightly.”
Neither is he, no matter how convincing he thinks he is. He puts on a good face, but I can feel it. A hidden sorrow buried beneath layers of stubbornness and a mask of indifference.
“Of course I’m not taking it lightly.” I move my hand to his arm, giving it a squeeze. “My heart breaks for both of us.”
He nods, leaning down to press his forehead against mine. “Then we grieve together. For the man he used to be. And we can lean on each other to get through it.”
But we can’t, entirely. Not physically, and not yet, anyway. We’re not to be seen alone together, so it’s only stolen moments like this when we can comfort each other. Until the mourning period is over and he’s legitimized for our engagement, no one must find out about us.
Us.
I’m not even entirely sure what that means, but it feels like too big of a subject to bring up right now. Or maybe it’s my nerves preventing me from asking the questions I really want to ask.
The thought leads me down another path. “Torbin’s absence is not the only thing changing your world.” I pull my head back from his and raise my brows. “You’re about to become a prince.”
“That’s yet to be determined.”
“What do you mean? It’s Silas’s plan, and I doubt he’s going to change his mind.
” I can still remember the fury in the king’s face when he proclaimed that Delasurvia promised him an heir.
He’d made it clear that if Torbin couldn’t do it, he’d see to it himself.
I can only thank the gods that he’d decided to legitimize Dante instead, and that he would be the one to continue his line with me as his bride.
“It’s not entirely up to him.” He must see the confusion in my features, because he continues. With a sigh, he releases me and drags a hand through his hair. “The purpose of the tour is not only to introduce me to the other realms as the king’s son, but to get each realm’s consent.”
I blink, letting this information sink in. “So his decree means nothing if the other realms disapprove?”
“Farvis had to explain it to me since a royal legitimization claim hasn’t been made in almost a century.
Apparently, before anyone born outside of the king and queen’s marriage can be legitimized as a royal heir, they have to get the blessing from the majority of the realms. Otherwise, there would no doubt be bastards lined up seeking their places in line for the throne. ”
That makes sense. “The majority. So five out of eight?”
“Six, actually. The propositioning realm is a given. So we would need five more. The realms included in the tour will consist of Podrosa, Bastos, Messanya, and Mersos. My father requested an audience with Alphemra, but they are not known to even respond to correspondence. And he won’t even consider reaching out to Dulcamar. ”
I tilt my head. “That’s only four.”
“Delasurvia would be the fifth.” The corner of his mouth quirks up. “But there’s no need to travel there.”
Because the reigning monarch would make the decision.
Me.
Which means, in the end, Silas would need my consent in order for Dante to be proclaimed a legitimate prince.
Holding back a smile, I raise a brow. “You’re awfully presumptuous if you think I’m so easily swayed in your favor.”
“If it’s convincing you need,” he says as he tucks that misbehaving strand of hair behind my ear again, “I’d be happy to schedule a private appointment with you.”
Before I can respond, Lorne’s voice booms from the watchtower. “Beacons!”
Dante and I dart back to the camp just as Giorgi runs up the ladder to confirm Lorne’s claim.
“Looks like Robinburg,” Giorgi announces, their breaths coming out in short spurts as they hurry down the ladder with Lorne following.
I stretch my neck to check in that direction and can just make out a burst of flame flaring high on the ridge.
As if performing a well-choreographed dance, my squad and I move at once, gathering our supplies and heading for the horses.
My mind is still reeling from what I’ve learned about the upcoming tour, but all of that—and all of the unspoken questions I have—will have wait. The people always come first.