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Turning on her heel, Ahnna opened the door and headed back into the common room, sitting down next to William. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James circle the common room and leave out the front door, Georgie on his heels.

“There you are,” William said. “Another round on the crown! And a toast to Ithicana!”

Everyone in the common room shouted, “Huzzah!” and lifted their glasses, but all Ahnna heard was Aren, his voice urgent as he said, Harendell is turning on us, Ahnna. They are no longer our friends.

The core of her heart didn’t want to believe this was the case. Wanted to believe that all of Edward’s kind words and promises were the truth. That the king of Harendell thought she was worthy, even if no one else did. But the pragmatic part of her knew that Aren wouldn’t have left Lara so soon after Delia’s birth if he wasn’t certain that the treaty was souring.

“William,” she said, waiting until he turned his head to look at her, eyes glazed with wine. “Are you familiar with someone with the initials C.F.?”

He frowned. “What an odd question.”

“Humor me.”

“C.F.” He made a soft humming sound, considering the initials, then shrugged. “Nothing comes to mind. Ask me again when I’m sober.”

Ahnna wouldn’t bother, because it was clear to her that William had no idea that his mother was moving money through his accounts. And in truth, the answer might well not be worth Ahnna’s time. After what Aren had said, it was probably some mistress William had gotten with child, Alexandra making the payments to keep the mother silent and content with being ignored.

You are not Alexandra. You’ll never hold power here. It’s just not in the cards. Her stomach tightened as Aren’s voice filled her head. This betrothal isn’t going to save us. It’s going to cost us, one way or another.

His words carved out her heart, the sense of worthlessness that had plagued Ahnna all her life rising to fill the space. Was refusing to leave a selfish choice? A decision made by the desperate desire for atonement that burned in her soul? Was she a fool for digging in her heels? Because Ahnna didn’t think it was that simple.

Next to her, William was jabbering on. About his racehorses. His bulls. His hunting trophies. His skill with cards. He didn’t even notice her silence, which was just as well because her mind was consumed with the dilemma she faced.

Leaving would mean Ithicana was breaking the terms of the Fifteen-Year Treaty. Breaking an alliance that ensured peace and prosperity between Ithicana and Harendell. Even if Edward’s words to her were lies and he didn’t want her here, he would have to act to save face if she left in the night. All it would take was a few months’ embargo on Northwatch as punishment for the violation of the treaty, and Ithicana would be plunged into a true famine. To avoid an embargo, Aren would be forced to make concessions that would result in the same.

Whereas what were the costs of her staying? What were the risks beyond the obvious jeopardy to her own life? Try as she might, Ahnna came up blank as to how her presence in Verwyrd would cost Ithicana, and if Aren had known concrete reasons why she shouldn’t remain, he’d have said. He’d been driven here out of fear for her life, and while it warmed her heart that he cared so much for her well-being, Ahnna wouldn’t allow him to put her life over the lives of their people.

If she remained, she could keep searching for information that could aid Ithicana. Details about competition against the bridge or plans that negatively affected her homeland. Even if the Harendellians had no intention of giving her any influence, knowledge was power, and she could learn more in Verwyrd than anywhere else.

Leaving would be a mistake, and one Ahnna refused to make, no matter how much it cost her personally.

They stayed late into the night, Ahnna listening to William’s endless conversation, pretending to be interested in everything he had to say. As the carriage delivered them into the Sky Palace’s stable yard, William’s overindulgence finally caught up with him. Leaving his friends to stand next to him while he vomited several bottles of wine onto the dirt, Ahnna made her way into the stables.

Walking down the dimly lit row of stalls, she smiled as Dippy stuck his head over the door and whickered softly at her. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t have any apples.”

She stroked his head, then kissed his nose, wishing for all the world that she could climb on his back and ride off into the night.

“Good evening, my lady,” one of the stable boys said, passing by her as he checked the horses. “Will you be back riding soon?”

“I hope so,” she said. “Though I don’t wish to push him, given he’s only just regained his soundness.”

The boy gave Dippy a pat. “Oh, he was right as rain within a few hours of his stumble, my lady. Been going nicely for days now. Taking to his training quite well.”

Days.

More confirmation that James wanted nothing to do with her, yet the revelation still hurt. And then the stable boy’s words registered. “Training?”

“Yes, my lady. His Highness has been working with him for hours every day, even in the rain. Bent and determined on turning Dippy here into a proper saddle horse for you, and did a fine job of it.” The stable boy hesitated, then added, “Pardon my asking, my lady, but do you have horses in Ithicana?”

“No,” she whispered, seeing the faint sweat marks on Dippy’s back that had not yet dried. Marks from a saddle, meaning James had come here after she’d walked away from him in the alehouse. “Ithicanians have no use for horses.”

Which meant James hadn’t been trying to find ways to make her leave. He’d been planning for her to stay.

A familiar voice filled her ears. “Enjoy your evening, my lady?”

Ahnna turned to find Georgie walking down the aisle. He jerked his chin at the stable boy, who swiftly disappeared, leaving her alone with the lord.

She’d seen Georgie in the alehouse leaving with James, so she suspected he was well aware of Aren’s presence in Verwyrd. “I’ve had better nights. But also worse nights.”

He rested his elbows on Dippy’s stall door, watching the horse munching on hay. “Your brother has departed by way of riverboat.”

She made a noncommittal noise.

“Why was he here? It’s more than a little untoward for the king of a foreign country to be roaming Harendell’s lands.”

“It’s nothing new,” she grumbled. “He’s been here dozens of times, though he always favored Maridrina. Aren struggles to sit still. No need to make more out of it than that.”

“He seems a man of action,” Georgie said. “Though to leave his wife and newborn daughter so soon after her birth suggests a more pressing concern than…itchy feet. A concern that you clearly shared, given you were distressed.”

“I appreciate your interest, but it was Ithicanian business.”

“I know,” Georgie said. “Because I had him followed. Verwyrd’s underbelly is full of individuals with a talent for listening in the shadows and who will relay what they hear for a bit of silver.”

Ahnna’s jaw tightened, but she had no grounds to get angry at him for spying on her brother, given that Aren had no right to be in Verwyrd. “And what did your spies learn?”

“That Katarina has made overtures to Ithicana.”

She silently cursed Aren for keeping that from her, even though she knew James had interrupted the conversation before he’d really had the chance. “Ithicana has an existing trade relationship with Amarid. It’s not new for her to ask for revisions to terms.”

“Overtures of alliance.” Georgie brushed a bit of hay off his sleeve, the gesture at odds with the anger that seethed off him. “I don’t recall an existing agreement of the sort between Amarid and Harendell. Especially given that Amarid’s navy laid siege to Eranahl alongside the Maridrinians. Though I suppose you forgave the Maridrinians swiftly enough, so why not their northern bedfellows?”

Ahnna’s hands turned to ice, because if Aren truly believed Ithicana was at risk from Harendell, he might have such a conversation with Katarina. Except it felt entirely wrong: She knew he disliked the queen on a personal level, and the idea of trusting Amarid felt like madness. “He said nothing of the sort to me, if that is your question.”

“Then why was he here, Ahnna?”

“Concern for my safety. He heard about the incident with the wraithroot.”

It was no lie, but George’s face hardened. “Don’t give me half-truths, woman. He was here to take you home. Here to steal you away in the night, which, if he truly cares for your life, was a prudent act if his intent is to side with Amarid against Harendell.”

Ahnna blinked, stunned by the accusation. “He has no such intention. Anyone who has led you to believe that is the case is a goddamned liar.”

“The words come from the lips of the king of fucking Ithicana,” George snarled. “He said, We can’t hope to stand against the Harendellians without Amarid’s aid. ”

Ahnna’s heart lurched, for though the statement had surely been taken out of context, it was damning. She cursed her brother for speaking without care, though she bore part of that blame, for it had been she who’d put him in the sort of mood that would have caused him to be reckless in his words.

“James was convinced the Amaridians acted alone in their attack, but I always had my doubts,” George said. “It was too carefully orchestrated for them to have been working alone.”

“Ithicana had nothing to do with those attacks,” Ahnna snapped. “Our people died in that attack. I nearly died saving James’s life. Nearly died again when they pursued us with their ships, and then nearly died a third time when they attacked me in the Sky Palace. This accusation makes no sense!”

“Nearly died, and yet here you are.” He looked her up and down. “And I cannot help but think that you’ve taken a page out of Lara Veliant’s book, Ahnna Kertell. A fox in the henhouse, and James is too goddamned smitten to see the threat you pose.”

Bile burned its way up her throat. “No! Please, George. I don’t know what conversation my brother has had with Katarina, but I swear I’m here in good faith. I’m here to honor the treaty and marry William and ensure peace and prosperity between Harendell and Amarid. On my life and honor, that is why I came here.”

“Here to marry William, yet you flirt shamelessly with his brother,” George retorted. “What is your goal, Ahnna? To tear the Ashfords apart from the inside? I heard the way you undermined James in the carriage. How you painted Virginia as the villain for holding Lestara accountable for her crimes. I see your angle now.”

“You are mistaken.” Ahnna shook her head, not knowing how to reverse a situation that had spun so far out of control, with yet another person wildly misconstruing her intentions. “The last thing I wish to do is cause conflict between them.” Her hands balled into fists, for it seemed the only way clear of this was the truth. “Aren was here because the tone toward Ithicana has soured. Your merchants aren’t paying their bills at Northwatch. He wanted to know what had happened to cause the change and was worried it was something I’d said or done. But the truth is that I don’t know why it’s happening. And James…” Tears burned in her eyes. “The only excuse for that is my foolish heart. Nothing has come of it, and nothing will.”

“I don’t believe you.”

He took a step back, and Ahnna’s first instinct was to act with violence. To silence him and get rid of his body because if he took this accusation to any of the royal family…

But she couldn’t.

He was James’s friend, and his only crime was loyalty to his kingdom. “What do I have to do to prove that I have only good intentions in Harendell? Tell me what I must do, and I’ll do it. Because on my honor, my brother has no desire for conflict with Harendell, only a desire to protect his people. He will not act against you, I swear it.”

“I cannot keep silent on this.”

Kill him, her instincts shrieked, but instead, Ahnna fell to her knees. “Please, George. I’ve never begged anything of anyone in my life, but I beg you to believe that these pieces do not fit together to form the picture you fear. But if you take them to Edward and he retaliates, it will be catastrophic. So many innocents will die, and all because your shadows heard words out of context. Take steps to investigate further if you must, but please don’t escalate this without compelling proof.”

He took another step back, and Ahnna started to go for the knife beneath her skirts but stilled as he said, “I’ll not say anything while my emotions run high, Ahnna. But my resources are many, and I already have spies watching your brother as he travels south. I will learn the certain truth, and if it is damning, do not think that I won’t bring it to the king. His children are beloved to him, and he will not take kindly to your behavior.”

Ahnna gave a tight nod.

He leveled a finger at her. “If you try to leave, Ahnna, I’ll know your words were lies. So do us all a favor and make like a good Harendellian lady and sit still.” His expression hardened. “And stay the fuck away from James.”