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There was something about her tone that suggested Carys might know more than she let on. As a part of Queen Lirael’s inner circle, I would not be surprised if she knew precisely why the queen summoned us.

Rowan and I exchanged a glance. I attempted to communicate my concern without allowing Carys to see it and might have been too subtle. He simply smiled and continued to eat his meal, praising its flavor and Thalassari cuisine.

When dessert was served, still with no word from the queen, and after more questions from Carys than would be deemed polite, my suspicions grew. And were confirmed when she asked Rowan if he was looking forward to the festival.

Rowan had not told her for certain he was staying until then.

His response was calm, effortless. “Very much. I’ve heard of the Festival of Tides, of course, but never thought to witness it myself.”

Carys’s smile faltered, the polite curve of her lips thinning as though she’d expected more. She swirled the wine in her glass, Carys’s gaze lingering on Rowan in a way that made me tighten my grip on my glass.

As the final course was cleared, she rose, her movements deliberate and poised. “Enjoy your stay, Rowan,” she said, her tone sweetly sharp, like a dagger wrapped in silk.

Rowan inclined his head, his easy charm unbroken. “Thank you, Lady Carys.”

I said nothing as she left, Thalon following not long afterward.

“She summoned us,” I said, keeping my voice low, “and yet she doesn’t appear.”

Rowan lifted his gaze to the empty dais. The sharp planes of his face were steady, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of curiosity. “Carys is close to the queen?”

“She is,” I confirmed.

“Perhaps she wanted her court to ask questions for her.” Rowan’s eyes flicked to mine, and for a moment, the queen’s motives didn’t matter. Earlier, outside his chamber, I wanted to forget our kiss, knowing it was something we should not repeat. But when Rowan looked at me that way, I forgot to care about all the reasons the two of us wouldn’t work. “Then let’s give her something worth watching,” he said, his voice low.

Heat rose to my cheeks. “You’re far too comfortable with this game.”

“You’re far too quick to assume I’m playing.”

Oh, he was playing. If nothing else, this dinner told me as much. King Galfrid had sent Rowan of Estmere on this mission for a reason. And I was beginning to work out at least part of that reason: Rowan’s charm hiding his slyness.

Whether we admitted it or not, liked it or not, we were already part of her game. And I wasn’t sure if Rowan would prove my greatest ally—or my undoing.

19

ROWAN

“This isn’t the way to my chamber?”

“No, it’s not.”

Unlike the keeps that dominated Estmere’s landscape, like the one in which I was raised, which were built in perfect squares and rectangles, the palace was a mass of twists and turns that made little sense architecturally.

Nerys walked briskly ahead of me. Neither of us spoke as we descended a set of stairs and turned at least four more corners.

“This way.”

As we approached a curtain of cascading sea vines, Nerys twisted her hand, fingers outstretched, and the vines parted. I froze at the sight before me. It was the vision I’d had in the market, a place I hadn’t known even existed then.

The grove hummed with the energy of Elydor’s magic. It was a sanctuary of gently swaying flora that cast a soft glow into pools of water in hues of gold and green. Tiny, luminescent creatures darted between branches of trees that could only be found in Thalassaria. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen above the surface, a sanctuary that felt alive.

“The Garden of Luminous Tides,” Nerys said, urging me forward. With another twist of her hand, the vines closed behind me. “It was created by King Aldrion, a Thalassari ruler known for his diplomacy and magical expertise. Reading about his feats, I have no doubt he was one of the strongest Thalassarians that ever lived.”

“I’ve heard of him before. He was king during the War of the Abyss?”

“He was,” she said, sitting on a stone bench at the edge of the water.

I wasn’t ready to sit yet. The shock of seeing this place for the second time, realizing my visions were at least partially accurate, and the beauty of this grove…