Page 31 of The Prince and His Stolen Throne

“We’re almost there,” he said, gesturing out the window.

I peeked outside to see a line of carriages all heading in the same direction. Beyond the carriages, there was a stone wall so large I couldn’t see the whole of it. Colorful banners hung over the doors and windows, proclaiming shop names and special prices. “Whatisthis place?”

Shuffling sounded from the other seat, and then Fitz asked, “Have we arrived?”

“We’re pulling up.”

“Fantastic. I asked the coachman to drop us off at the main door. Finding a place to park the carriage is always a nightmare, so I’ve instructed him to come back for us in about six hours.”

“Six hours? Just forshopping?”

“Honestly, I’ll be shocked if we’ve covered half the plaza in that time,” Fitz replied. “I’d planned for us to stick together to do some bonding, but perhaps we should split up into two groups.”

“We can still bond in smaller groups,” Maximus said.

Has he had a hard time opening up because there’s too many of us?It took a lot more coaxing for Maximus to speak up during quest planning, and he’d easily been overshadowed by the louder voices in our group.

Fitz considered the idea, then tentatively asked, “How do we split the ranks?”

Translation: who gets stuck with Angelica?

“Boys together, girls together?” I suggested, sending a silent apology to Delilah who couldn’t defend herself against underhanded attacks while she slept.

Fitz hesitated. “Couldn’t that be perceived as … sexist?”

“Alright, Maximus and I will go together, and you can join Angelica and Delilah. Then it won’t be sexist.”

“Or,” he countered, “Maximus and I can go together, andyoucan join Angelica and Delilah.”

“Delilah and I are as bonded as we’re going to get.”

“Then you can go with Angelica, and Delilah can come with Maximus and I.”

I smiled at him.

He blanched at the sight of it. The man had good instincts.

“Why are we arguing? Why don’tyou and Igo with Angelica, and Delilah and Maximus can split off together.”

“I can go with Angelica and Delilah,” Maximus offered.

Unless the man had unseen depths—in fairness, I barely knew him—I doubted he could handle Angelica’s sharp tongue and Delilah’s sharper claws. Their strong personalities would overwhelm his calm presence. If he couldn’t defuse their fight, he would end up as collateral damage.

I had to protect Maximus before his good intentions led to disaster. “Seriously, Fitz. The girls have the worst relationship right now. If they don’t purge the poison, it’ll fester during the quest, weakening all of us. Do you really want to go up against something like the Star Swallower—"

“Star-Devouring Horror.”

“—only for them to start fighting each other rather than the monster?”

Fitz pursed his lips. “When you put it that way …”

The carriage slowed to a stop. Delilah yawned and stretched. “Are we there?”

When she was sleepy, she looked like a cute, soft kitten. This was the best time to break the news to her. “Yes, we’re here, and we’ve decided to split off into two groups. Fitz, Maximus, and I will take one side of the center, you and Angelica will take the other.”

“Alright,” she agreed, rubbing her eyes sleepily. After a second, the words penetrated her groggy haze. “Wait a minute!”

The carriage door opened, and I hopped out. “Have fun!”