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“I don’t need anyone to keep me safe. Not you, Doman, and not you, Father. I asked you to come because this ritual means something to me. I’d have my family witness it, if they will come.” I’m yearning to see my sister and mother. They truly feel like home, and I still can’t believe they didn’t come to greet me.

My dad’s brows furrow. He’s confused. He looks over at me, and so does my brother, and I understand.

They weren’t trying to snub me, or the princes.

They were trying to spare me humiliation. To them, this ritual must be my deepest shame, planting the concord pineswith the men I hate. I understand now how hard it was for them to wait in the trees, but they were trying to help, because if they were forced to do something so debasing, they would have the shame be as private as possible.

My dad looks up at Doman. “I think it’s time you and me took a walk.”

His tone is neutral, but despite being towered over by the Aurelians, it’s tense. He’s not talking to Doman as warden of the forests anymore.

He’s talking to them as a father who is protective of his daughter, trying to get a read on the three men I will be wed to.

“It would be our honor,” replies Doman, bowing his head in respect.

My dad cocks his head over at my brother. “My eldest. Captain Oakly. He’ll escort Adriana back to our home. I give you my word of honor, she will be unscathed.”

Doman looks over at my brother, who rises up against his gaze, not blinking as he meets the prince’s stare. They look at each other like mountain goats preparing to smash their heads together.

Doman nods, ever so slightly, and the boiling tension lowers to a simmer.

My dad whistles, low, a call that sounds exactly like the birds that weave through the tall grasses. As one, the wardens turn, striding back to the forest at double pace, disappearing into the trees like smoke.

Oakly smiles at me, his lips thin, and it’s the first time since I’ve landed he’s looking at me like my brother. I walk to him, giving one last glance back to the triad, who are in a low conversation with my dad.

As I walk at my brother’s side towards the trees, I can remember trying to catch the swallows with him when we played as kids. “You look weird in that uniform. The only time we get tosee you is when you address the planets. Would it have killed you to return Mom’s calls? She’s been worried sick.”

“Fuck, man. That’s the first thing you say? A guilt trip?” Worse yet, it’s justified. I’ve acted horribly to them in the last week. It’s just been so much.

He turns to me, and suddenly, he’s my older brother again. I remember the day me and my sister snuck frogs in his bed, and how his cheeks swole up. We’d accidentally picked a slightly poisonous species, and we got a four-hour-long lecture from my dad on the species of the forest which only ended when we could recite what felt like a hundred facts about them.

“Come here,” he says, and gives me a huge hug. When we break if off, he looks down at me with a grin. “I know you’re the big important Prime Minister—hey hey. No more guilt trip, I promise. I’m just glad you were able to visit. I thought you’d be in and out in under an hour.”

He’s got the same eyes as my dad, though a little less kind. “And I thought I’d see my whole family at the welcome party. Now I’m realizing you weren’t missing to save your pride, but mine.”

The trees are so thick they would feel like a wall to anyone not born on Virelia. For me, it is a welcome. I have a mental map of the forest, from my childhood running free through the woods, and the lakes and streams are imprinted in my mind, the homes built up around the trees. As we walk through the first row of the evergreen sentinels, I feel like I’m coming home.

I take in a huge breath, savoring the air oxygenated by the ancient trees.

“I almost feel sorry for those three. Let’s see what’s left of them when Dad’s done ripping them apart,” chuckles Oakly.

“They can handle themselves.”

Oakly stops, turning to look down at me. “What’s going with them? Something feels off, sis. I watched that Magnar ritual.I was fucking pissed. Couldn’t believe when that bastard leapt over the magma flow. He’s got balls, I’ll give him that. You were doing everything you could to stop this sham marriage from going through.”

“It’s better that the planets see this as a real union. Our customs protect them. Pentaris sees the Aurelian Empire abiding by our joinings to smooth conflict.”

“Is that what this is?” He reaches into his cloak, pulling out a bag of cured tobacco leaves. He places it in his mouth, chewing and tucking it into his cheek as he thinks. “Cause you might fool Pentaris, but you don’t fool me. I know you. Somethings changed.”

“They’re not what they look like.”

He puts his hand on my shoulder, his bright eyes flashing with concern. “They’re warlords. And if tricking you to play the part of their blushing bride helps their war effort, they will do everything to influence you. They’ve lived hundreds of years. You’re a bullet to them, a sword. They need access to our territories.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“You’re my sister. And I love you. I spent every second of my free time and days off getting you votes. And as hard as it is to think of you sacrificing yourself to Pentaris…”

“You’re scared I’m going to fall for them?”