Chapter 22
Randi
The first thing Randi noticed when they landed in the Iskara Northlands was the cold. After being in Florida, she had forgotten the deep, biting cold that settled into her bones and made itself at home there. It wasn’t unfamiliar but it was certainly an eye opener.
“You good?”
She smiled at Chance. “I am. Just hoping my Florida blood thickens up pretty quick.”
Randi spotted Bryn before the car even fully pulled up to the curb. They had flown into Stagholt just in case King Gunner was watching the airport in Noriveille. A train ride would transport them to their final destination. In the meantime, it was all about some quality family time.
Her sister was half out of the driver’s seat and waved both arms like she was trying to guide in a plane instead of greeting family. Nothing about Bryn had changed in that regard. She was still dramatic and incapable of subtlety.
The sight of her hit Randi square in the chest with a sudden rush of relief she’d been holding back since the flight landed.
“Randi!” Bryn shouted as if they were separated by miles instead of a narrow strip of pavement.
Randi laughed despite herself but was already moving faster. Her bag bumped against her hip. “You’re going to get us arrested for causing a scene.”
“Oh, please, these people need excitement in their lives.”
They collided halfway. Bryn’s arms wrapped tight around her shoulders and squeezed hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs. Randi hugged her back just as fiercely.
“Let me look at you.” Bryn pulled away but kept her hands planted on Randi’s arms like she might disappear if she let go. Her eyes scanned Randi’s face. “You’re okay, right? You look okay. A little tired. Definitely underfed. Have you been eating?”
“I’ve been eating,” Randi said with a smile. “You haven’t changed at all.”
“Rude. I’ve matured.”
Randi raised an eyebrow. “That’s a bold claim.”
Bryn grinned, unbothered, and then her gaze flicked past Randi. “And this must be Chance.”
Chance stepped forward and offered his hand. “Guilty.”
“Not Chauncey yet?”
“I’m trying to hold off on that as long as I can.”
“Chance it is.” Bryn shook his hand before she pulled him into a quick hug. “Anyone who gets my sister here in one piece automatically gets upgraded to family.”
“I’ll take that,” Chance said.
“You should. I’m very selective.”
Randi watched them with amusement. Despite the circumstances of their visit, everything felt normal.
“Come on,” Bryn said, already turning toward the car. “We need to get moving. I parked terribly, so there’s a high chance we’ll be towed if we stand here any longer.”
“Aren’t you the queen here?” Randi felt silly as she pointed out the obvious.
“Yeah, but I don’t like to flaunt it. I live to serve.”
They were almost to the car when Randi paused mid-step. “Wait.”
Bryn froze. “What?”
Randi narrowed her eyes slightly. “Why are you walking like that?”
“Like what?” Bryn said too quickly.
“Like you’re…careful.” Randi gestured vaguely. “You’re waddling. And you didn’t hug me as hard the second time.”
“I hugged you plenty hard.”
“Bryn.”
There was a hesitation and then Bryn sighed and a reluctant smile tugged at her lips.
“I was going to tell you after you got settled,” she said.
“Tell me what?”
Bryn hesitated again just long enough to make Randi’s stomach flip. “I’m pregnant.”
The words seemed to hang in the air for a second like they needed permission to land. Randi blinked. “You’re what?”
“Pregnant,” Bryn repeated. “Surprise?”
Randi stared at her and searched her face for any sign this was a joke. Following her sister’s previous miscarriage, this was amazing news. “Oh Bryn…”
“Good Bryn or bad Bryn?”
“Good. Definitely good.” Randi stepped forward and pulled her into another hug. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I wanted to do it in person,” Bryn said into her shoulder. “And also I was afraid you’d hang up on me and then immediately book a flight just to yell at me for not saying it sooner.”
“I still might do that,” Randi said and pulled back. “I can yell now if you want.”
Bryn laughed. “See? This is why I waited.”
“This is kind of perfect.”
“Okay,” Bryn said and clapped her hands lightly like she needed to shake off the emotion before she started crying. “No more standing around. We have more things to talk about.”
Chance opened the back door for her, giving her a small, knowing smile as she slid into the seat. “You good?”
Randi smiled. “Yeah, I am. Everything is actually really good.”
And as the car headed toward whatever came next, that feeling stayed with her.
They drove to the castle where Sven waited for them.
Randi stared out the window as the mountains rose in the distance, jagged and commanding against a pale, unforgiving sky.
Something in her chest tightened at the beauty, both isolating and fiercely alive.
Cold. Brutal. Beautiful. It hadn’t changed.
They spent the night at the castle where Randi caught up with her sister while Chance and Sven spent time in private chambers while they discussed the issues that needed to be addressed. Parting the next day was hard, but Bryn pulled her tight.
“You’ll be back. Just be safe in the meantime.”
They reached Noriveille midday and headed for their hotel. Despite their intentions of maintaining a low profile, people recognized Chance. No, they recognized Chauncey.
The name struck her every time she heard it, spoken with familiarity by townspeople and shop keepers alike.
Even Chance was surprised at the recognition since it had been years since he had last stepped foot in the town.
It was as though Chance had never existed at all and Chauncey had never left town.
“Chauncey,” someone called, a nod of acknowledgment following.
“Your Highness,” another added with more formality.
“I hate that word,” Chance mumbled under his breath. Randi squeezed his hand.
She stayed close to him, her awareness heightened not just by their surroundings but by the shift in him.
He carried himself differently than he had in Tampa.
Here he was straighter, more contained, and every movement was deliberate in a way that reminded her that this was not just where he came from, but what he had been shaped for.
It became clear very quickly that they were going to have to face his father. Most of the people expressed hope that Prince Chauncey had come home to save them all.
It really made Randi wonder exactly what King Gunner had been doing to make all of his subjects afraid of him and praying for his overthrow.
They waited until the following morning to seek out Chance’s father. The palace loomed stark and imposing that seemed to hold the cold in. As they stepped inside, the change in the atmosphere was instant. The air was thick with judgment and hostility.
Randi felt it in the way conversations quieted as they entered. The guards followed their movements. They weren’t curious, but assessing and unmistakably disapproving.
“Stay close,” Chance murmured under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear, though he didn’t look at her as he said it.
As if she would do anything else.
The court gathered quickly, drawn by their arrival, forming a silent, watchful presence that lined the edges of the great hall.
And then King Gunner stood right in front of them.
Randi felt the oppression in the room before she fully focused on him. The weight of his presence commanded attention, and when her gaze settled on him the first word that came to mind wasn’t power.
It was cruelty.
“Chauncey,” he said in a tone that was condescending and bitter. “You return.”
Chance stepped forward. His posture was rigid and stiff. “I was told it was necessary.”
A faint smile touched his father’s lips but it looked more like a snarl.
“Necessary,” he repeated. “You abandoned your post, ignored your responsibilities, and now you speak of necessity as though it were not your absence that created it.”
Randi felt the tension spike instantly. She resisted the urge to step up beside Chance.
“I didn’t abandon anything,” Chance replied, his voice steady but edged now. “I refused to become what you wanted me to be.”
A murmur rippled through the court, quickly subdued but impossible to miss.
His father’s gaze sharpened. “You refused your duty,” he corrected coldly. “You ran.”
“And you executed my brother and killed my mother,” Chance shot back. His control slipped just enough to let the truth cut through the room like a blade. “So forgive me if I didn’t feel inclined to stay.”
His father’s expression didn’t change much, but something darker settled into it, something that made the air feel even colder.
“And this,” he said after a moment, his gaze shifted to her. “Is what you bring back with you?”
Randi straightened and refused to shrink, though she could feel the scrutiny press in from all sides now with the entire court watching and waiting.
“A distraction,” he continued. “A weakness.”
Chance stepped slightly in front of her, not blocking her entirely but enough to make his stance clear. “She’s neither.”
“You bring an outsider into this court, into this conflict, and expect me to see strength in that?” he asked. “Or is this simply further proof that you are not prepared to rule?”
The accusation hung there, heavy and deliberate, and Randi felt it. It wasn’t just as an attack on Chance, but it was something directed at her very presence, as though she were nothing more than evidence of failure.
Her jaw tightened slightly, but she held her ground.
Because now she understood that this wasn’t just about earning acceptance, this was about surviving judgment.
And she was already seen as a liability.