Page 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

F lora’s heart felt as light as one of Griffy’s feathers as they hurtled through the air. The sensation of Cassius’s arms around her was delicious, even if his grip was more alarmed than comforting this time. She didn’t mind. She was in no need of reassurance on her griffin’s back. Especially now that she’d escaped the castle in Dernan so smoothly.

“It’s quite something, isn’t it?” she called over the violence of the wind. They were moving at a speed that made her eyes stream like miniature rivers.

Cassius just grunted, and Flora found herself grinning into the wind. After all, it wasn’t every day one got to show off one’s secret pet griffin to a foreign prince. The release Flora felt at revealing her true identity to Cassius bordered on euphoria. His attempts to figure her out had woken such desperate longing in her. She’d been surprised by her desire to be known.

And now she was. Fully and without fear.

The trip to the Siqualian capital would have taken days by horseback, but riding the wind with the magical propulsion of a griffin, it was only a couple of hours. Darkness had fallen by the time Griffy started to dip into a descent. Flora was cold and weary, her battered body in full protest, but she felt triumphant. She’d wondered at times if she would ever make it back to Sindon.

At her direction, Griffy carried them all the way to the castle courtyard. Flora watched nervously as the archers on the walls primed their bows. She raised her arms and waved them frantically in a warning and thankfully no one fired. They did, however, find themselves surrounded the moment their feet touched the cobblestones.

“We’re not a threat!” Flora called, raising her hands in a gesture of peace.

“Flora?” One of the approaching guards squinted at her in the lantern light. “Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me,” she said. “And I’ve brought Crown Prince Cassius of Carrack with me. Plus Griffy,” she added, introducing the griffin as an afterthought. “I really need to speak to Princess Miriam or one of the princes.”

The guard’s mouth had fallen open, but another more senior one stepped forward. His eyes were on Cassius, clearly wondering whether he could really be who Flora claimed.

“Come inside, Sir, and we will notify—”

“No, we can’t,” Flora cut him off. “We need the griffin to carry us again, and he won’t stay unless I stay with him. I’m afraid the princess will have to come to us.”

“The royal family are eating dinner,” the first guard protested.

“If you tell Miriam that Flora is here, she will come,” Flora said firmly. “I guarantee it. And you should tell Their Majesties that the missing crown prince of Carrack is also here. I think they’ll all want to speak with us. ”

Her predictions proved correct. The guards sent two of their number with the message, and it wasn’t long before Miriam came running from the castle with unladylike haste, her parents and Prince Theodore following close behind. Prince Xavier was nowhere to be found, as usual.

“Flora!” Mim’s cry of relief was so high-pitched, it was almost a shriek.

Flora gladly received her friend as Miriam slammed into her.

“You’re alive!” Miriam’s voice was shaking. “When we heard the prince might have been taken hostage, I was so afraid for you, because I knew that of course you would have been dragged into it, too, and—”

“I’m all right,” Flora cut the other princess off. “I’m not so easy to get rid of.”

“Be gentle with her,” Cassius said in a voice of authority as Miriam squeezed Flora in a bear hug.

“He’s right,” Flora said. “I’ve taken a sort-of beating and I’m still very sore.”

“What?” Miriam drew back, distressed. But the other royals had reached them, and Flora gave her friend an apologetic look.

“There isn’t time for me to tell the whole story right now. But it’s been dramatic since I left you, to say the least.” She looked at Cassius for a moment, then drew a deep breath. “To whittle it down to the main points…firstly,” she bowed to the king and queen, “you should know that I haven’t been honest about my identity. I was born a princess of Dernan. I ran away at fifteen, and my parents had no idea that I went to school in Torrens or that I was serving as a guard here.”

The king and queen said nothing, their faces blank with shock .

“The next key piece of information is that an imposter has infiltrated King Aelius’s court and is manipulating the king against the proposed alliance and promoting war within the Peninsula. He orchestrated the kidnapping of Prince Cassius—from which we’ve recently escaped—and is painting it as an attack by Torrens with the assistance of Siqual. I believe I’ve been given the role of Siqualian spy sent to lure the prince into a trap.”

A noise of protest escaped the king’s throat, but beyond that, everyone still seemed too stunned to speak.

“We need to return to Crandell to prevent war,” Flora said. “Immediately. But we need your help first. We have a proposal, and we think that if you provide official confirmation of your willingness to consider it, that will convince King Aelius that the best path forward is to stabilize the Peninsula with an alliance. A three-way alliance between Carrack, Siqual, and Dernan.”

“It’s not likely, Flora,” said Prince Theodore. “I mean,” he started to correct himself, “Princess—”

“No, no,” Flora cut him off. “Flora, please.”

He gave a curt nod, too sensible to be distracted by quibbles. “The advantages of an alliance between Carrack and Siqual have been mutually acknowledged for some time as we’ve prepared for the marriage alliance. Dernan is a different matter. The only circumstance in which an alliance with Dernan would be beneficial would be one centered on the trade of chameleon steel. And as we all know how closed Dernan is to increasing its exports—”

“Not anymore.” Cassius raised the parchment he’d received from Flora’s father. “Flora has negotiated a deal with her parents which will significantly increase chameleon steel exports.”

“It does hinge on one final detail.” The look Flora sent her friend was mischievous, at odds with her apologetic words. “I’m very sorry, Miriam, but I’ve stolen your betrothal.”

Miriam let out a miniature squeal that was drowned out by the queen’s voice.

“You go too quickly, Flora. To be frank, your claims are shocking, and this conduct is highly irregular. We are of course delighted that you and His Highness are safe, but if you will come inside, there is no doubt a great deal to discuss.”

“I’m very sorry, Your Majesty.” Flora bobbed a curtsey. “But we simply can’t afford to delay.”

“What if I step inside with Their Majesties?” Cassius suggested. “We will need to remain within twenty feet, of course. But you could stay with the griffin, and I could explain the situation, hopefully to Their Majesties’ satisfaction.”

He gave Flora a look that said, let me take it from here , and she was quick to nod her approval. The king and queen would speak more freely when they were no longer in the courtyard and no longer grappling with the fact that the princess trying to negotiate with them was the bodyguard who’d been protecting their daughter for minimal wages for a year.

“I’ll stay with Flora,” Miriam declared. “I’m not interested in the politics.”

Flora ran a reassuring hand down Griffy’s neck as the others left. The poor creature was fidgety. Griffins enjoyed movement, and she knew he would fly great distances in her company in a heartbeat. But staying still in a foreign environment so far from his home was making him uneasy.

Miriam turned to Flora the moment her parents were gone. “Tell me everything. ”

There wasn’t time for everything, but Flora didn’t waste a second of what time they had. When she’d recounted her progression through attraction, denial, trust, and finally what she called unashamed adoration, Miriam’s eyes were shining.

“I’m almost jealous,” she said. “It sounds like you’ve stolen quite a prize from me.”

Flora gave a pained laugh. “You say it jokingly, but I really have cut you out, Mim. I feel bad about that.”

Miriam’s laugh was much more natural. “Don’t. I’m not really coveting your prince. I’m delighted for you, Flora. Although I will miss you.”

There was no time for more. Cassius was returning, deep in conversation with Prince Theodore.

“That was quick,” Flora said. When the men reached them, she raised an inquiring eyebrow at Cassius.

“The Siqualians are very ready to negotiate an alliance as proposed,” he told her. “The king has written a letter to my father confirming as much. They have also graciously released me from the proposed marriage of alliance that we had previously discussed.”

He glanced at Prince Theodore as he said it, but Flora didn’t press for details about who had helped convince whom of what. There was no time—everything but the essentials would have to wait.

“We should be off, then,” she said.

“It’s already dark, Flora,” Miriam said anxiously. “Are you sure you can’t sleep here and leave in the morning? How much difference will a few hours make?”

“Days’ worth of difference,” Flora said regretfully. “Because we would lose our magical means of transport.” She buried her fingers in the lion-like fur on her griffin’s back. “But we’ll see each other again before long, Mim.”

Miriam enveloped her in another hug. “I’m glad you’ve reclaimed your position as princess,” she told her. “You deserve it.”

Flora smiled at her friend. “I would have taken that as an insult when we first met. But now…” Her gaze passed to Cassius. “I’m inclined to think it’s a good thing after all.”

Cassius was already holding out his hands to boost her onto the griffin’s back, impatient to reach his home and stop the impending disaster. Once Flora was settled, he followed her on, locking his arms around her and placing his mouth next to her ear so she could hear his words.

“Will he know where to go?”

“He will when I communicate with him,” Flora said. “The journey will be longer this time, Cassius—twice as long.” Her abused muscles screamed in protest at the thought, but she steeled herself. “I was teasing you before, there’s no way Griffy will let us fall. We should both try to sleep if we can.”

Cassius said nothing as the griffin took to the skies again. Flora could feel his doubt, but she suspected he would succumb to sleep soon enough. She was utterly exhausted, and he couldn’t be far behind.

The wind whipped through her hair, cold and unpleasant. Focusing her weary mind, Flora harnessed a fraction of its movement, converting the magic into an invisible blanket of warmth that settled over her and Cassius. It wouldn’t last long, but it was certainly nice. She felt herself beginning to drift…

Flora came to as the griffin began to descend. She was relieved to see the Carrackian capital ahead. She hadn’t intended to sleep the whole time and leave all navigation to Griffy. But he’d managed beautifully. It was fortunate that griffins were drawn by concentrated magic. He would have had no difficulty recognizing the presence of a city by the signature of refined and active magic inside it.

At her urging, the griffin soared gently over the city, too high up for archers to target him. She didn’t steer him toward the castle. She prompted him to descend in a spiral and drop them in one of the city’s celebrated parks. They would walk to the castle rather than arriving dramatically by griffin this time.

“Thank you, Griffy,” she murmured to the creature once they’d both dismounted. “I owe you more than I can repay. I hope we will meet again.”

The griffin rubbed its beak against her shoulder, then abruptly took to the sky. In seconds it was invisible against the inky blackness.

“Will he fly all the way home now?” Cassius asked. “He must be exhausted.”

“I imagine he is exhausted, but he has little choice,” Flora said. “Griffins can’t sleep anywhere but their own nests. It’s why they don’t like to go so far afield.”

She was already walking toward the castle as she spoke, and Cassius kept stride. The cobbled streets were deserted, the hour well past midnight.

“I suppose everyone is in bed now,” Flora said.

Cassius shook his head. “My father won’t be in bed.”

She raised an inquiring brow, and he shrugged. “I’m supposedly abducted, and war is looming. He won’t be in bed—he’ll be in his war room, planning how best to crush those who are threatening me.” He sighed. “My father isn’t the warmest man, but he cares in his way. As your parents’ atrocious conduct reminded me. ”

Flora grimaced, not eager to talk about her family. “Well, if your father is up, it makes our task easier.”

Even if the king had been sleeping, their arrival would have roused him. They caused a sensation when they approached the barred and guarded door of the castle.

It was convenient, Flora reflected, as she jogged along the corridor in Cassius’s wake, that here they didn’t have to convince anyone of the prince’s identity.

Cassius proved to be correct about his father’s location. They burst into the council chamber that Cassius had referred to as a war room, to find the king bent over a map with advisors huddled around him.

“Father!”

Cassius strode into the room, his presence at its most commanding despite his ripped and bloodied clothes and the generally disheveled air of travel.

“Cassius!”

King Aelius hastened to meet his son, the relief on his face softening Flora to him slightly. It seemed he did care. The king clapped his son on the shoulder, his eyes searching the prince’s form.

“You’re injured,” he said darkly. “Who did this to you? They will be crushed.”

His eyes slid past Cassius, hardening as they landed on Flora.

“The spy! Seize her!”

The guards at the door surged forward, and Flora found herself roughly seized. She was taken by surprise, and a gasp of pain escaped her as their hands closed over her bruised limbs.

“STOP.” Cassius’s voice was so terrible, even Flora felt a thrill go down her spine. “Unhand her immediately.”

“Cassius, you don’t know everything,” the king told him. “She has been working against you all this time. She’s—”

“You are misinformed, Father,” Cassius said. “And I know by whom. I—”

“Your Highness.”

The loathsomely familiar voice made Flora freeze, and Cassius stopped mid-sentence, his face going pale with fury. They both turned, and outrage rose in Flora as she saw Sir Keavling, moving forward with casual grace from the corner where he’d remained unnoticed.

“What an incredible relief to see you safely returned!”

The imposter spoke smoothly, but his eyes glittered with a new light as they rested on the prince. His audacity was breathtaking—he was walking right up to Cassius, one hand on his heart as he spoke. Flora struggled with the guards, every instinct protesting the sight of the murderous imposter coming so close to Cassius. She cast frantically around for a source of movement—hampered as she was, she could find nothing better than the pendulum of the great clock that hung on the wall behind the king. She snatched desperately at the Dust it was stirring up, ignoring her own energy stores as she threw the magic indiscriminately at the guards holding her.

With startled cries, they pulled their burning hands back. Flora lunged toward Sir Keavling just as Cassius squared up to the traitor.

“You vile—”

Cassius’s words were cut off by Flora’s scream of warning. Sir Keavling, carefully positioned so that his body hid his hands from the king and his advisors, had yanked a short blade from his belt. As Flora leaped forward, he plunged it toward Cassius.

Flora’s movements weren’t enough to allow her to magically destroy or even block his weapon. But after all, she had received regular guard training as well. She threw her shoulder into the imposter, knocking him sideways and sending the blade clattering from his hand. There was a brief and frantic scuffle, during which his hands found her throat, then the next moment, he stilled.

Flora extricated herself, struggling up to see that Cassius had acquired a blade—presumably from one of the guards—and was holding it to Sir Keavling’s throat.

“If you touch her again,” he told the man calmly, “I will run this blade through your heart before your next breath can pass your lips.” His eyes passed to Flora. “Are you all right?”

She nodded shakily, moving to his side. The guards didn’t attempt to seize her again.

“What is going on?” King Aelius demanded, appearing alongside Cassius and gripping his shoulder as if to reassure himself his son remained uninjured. “What just happened?”

“What happened,” Cassius told him, “is that Flora undertook a final act as my bodyguard and prevented Sir Keavling from plunging that blade into me.” He kicked it with his foot, sending it further from the downed imposter.

“But…I don’t understand.”

King Aelius was looking from his son to the man on the floor. To Flora’s disbelief, he looked like he was still grasping for an explanation where his favorite advisor wasn’t at fault.

“I do,” Cassius said in a hard voice. “He didn’t produce the blade until Flora leaped forward to my defense. I have no doubt he intended to kill me and make it look as though she had done it. You would not have believed her testimony, and he would have been free to continue spinning his lies.”

There was hatred in his eyes as he stared down at Sir Keavling.

“It is not your first offense against her, but it will be your last,” he said, still deadly calm. “I wish I could kill you myself. But my position restricts me. I will see you hanged instead, after you have told us everything you know.”

The man laughed disdainfully. “I will tell you nothing. Do you think I will break as easily as you did?”

“Cassius, I don’t understand,” King Aelius pressed. “There must be a mistake. Why would he attack here, in my own—”

“To prevent me from telling you, as I was about to do, that it was he who orchestrated my abduction, and planned to kill me to start a war between Carrack and the rest of the Peninsula. A war that would require you to turn to the continent for military aid and thus pave the way for full annexation under your very nose.”

“Cassius, what madness is this?” Whatever his words said, King Aelius sounded uneasy.

“It’s not my speculation, Father,” Cassius told him. “It is the simple truth. This man—who is not now and never has been the true Sir Keavling—is the one who attacked and kidnapped me. He was personally present when his men beat me in an attempt to force me to sign a letter accusing Torrens of my abduction.”

“Yes.” Sir Keavling clearly knew his charade was over—Flora even suspected he was glad to drop the mask. His expression and voice were instantly altered as he sneered at the prince. “And you begged for mercy like a whipped dog. You have no honor, you or your insolent kingdom. ”

“How dare you?” King Aelius gasped in fury. “My son would never demean himself to beg.”

Sir Keavling’s cackle dripped with scorn. “Oh, but he did, Your Majesty . It told me all I needed to know about the weakness of your kingdom, and how easily it will be subdued when the time is right.”

The king was pale with rage, his fists shaking as he turned to Cassius. Flora winced at the expression in his eyes, feeling the color drain from her own face. If it was true that Cassius had begged for mercy, she had a feeling she knew why. And it was nothing to do with his own capacity for withstanding pain or pressure.

“Cassius, tell me you did nothing to bring dishonor on your kingdom,” the king ground out.

“Readily.” In sharp contrast to his father, Cassius was cool and unemotional. “It is Sir Keavling’s actions that dishonor his kingdom, not mine. I know what actions I took, and I know why. My reasons were irreproachable—to have allowed my pride to lead me to act differently would have been the greater dishonor.” He sent a fleeting glance at Flora. “If the opinion of a man like Sir Keavling could damage my pride, my pride was at fault in the first place.”

She smiled back at him, her heart swelling at his words. She hadn’t blamed him for the pride he carried—her own experiences had made her assume it was an unfortunate inevitability for those with royal responsibility. But she had never been more proud of him than she was now, seeing him rise above it.

She wasn’t sure King Aelius was equally impressed, but he said no more about it. Instead, he barked an order to his guards to throw Sir Keavling in the dungeon and place him under triple watch. He seemed unable to look at the man, his own unchecked pride no doubt wounded by the realization of how duped he had been.

Sir Keavling was unabashed as he was hauled to his feet. He addressed his next words to Cassius.

“You have only delayed, not prevented what is coming. I regret nothing—it is you who will feel regret.”

His hand flashed into motion with the words, but the warning died on Flora’s lips. Before she could even utter it, he’d whipped a vial from some hidden, interior pocket, and downed its contents. Before her eyes, he seized and then dropped in a heap, going immediately still on the stone floor.

“Poison!” one of the guards exclaimed.

“He didn’t want us to learn what he knew.” Cassius’s voice held angry frustration rather than the sick shock Flora felt. “Which means he knew something of value. Probably many things. We never even confirmed which of the continent’s kingdoms he came from, let alone whether he acted in an official capacity and what his leader plans to do.”

His agitated gaze fell on Flora and softened at once.

“Did you worsen your injuries?”

She shook her head. “I’m all right.”

He stepped closer, running his fingers down her filthy, cold cheek. “And he will never hurt you again.”

“Cassius.” The king’s sharp voice told Flora that he’d finished giving orders about the removal of the dead man’s body and had turned this attention to them in time to see his son’s caress. “You will refrain from a public dalliance with a servant.”

“Actually, Father, I won’t,” said Cassius calmly. “I intend to engage in the most public dalliance possible and marry her. But she’s not a servant, you know. ”

“Cassius!” The king sounded scandalized now. “I don’t have time for absurdities at present. We must fortify our borders. If Torrens was truly uninvolved in the attack on you, then they will be offended by the actions I have already taken. Even if we pull back, we should expect an attack.”

“I don’t think so, Father,” Cassius said quickly. “Torrens would be foolish to attack us.”

“No, they would be strategic,” the king snapped. “I would do the same in their situation.”

“It wouldn’t be strategic to attack us if we were allied with both Siqual and Dernan,” Cassius said.

His father waved an impatient hand. “Enough about the alliance, Cassius. It is less a possibility now than it ever was. Do you not realize how these events will sour relationships further? Our best course will be to withdraw and fortify our own borders.”

“Isolating from the rest of the Peninsula will only leave us vulnerable to being manipulated again by players from the continent,” Cassius said firmly. “This is a strategic moment, Father. We must seize it to secure our future. And Flora has found the perfect means of doing so.”

His father stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “You are taking advice on matters of state from this peasant masquerading as a guard?”

“She has been masquerading,” Cassius acknowledged. “But in the opposite way from what you imagine. She’s not a peasant, she’s a princess. Specifically Princess Floriana of Dernan. It is with her I will form a marriage alliance.” He pulled from his pocket the two billets, each bearing the royal seal of a different king, and slapped them onto the table. “I can explain it all to you in detail, but let us adjourn to my room for the purpose. Then Flora can go to bed in her suite. You see, she can’t go further than twenty feet from me, due to a magical tether imposed on us by Lord Armand when he was in a more than usually interfering mood.”

A movement drew Flora’s eyes, and she realized for the first time that Lord Armand was among the advisors present. He was squirming uncomfortably, and she didn’t hesitate to glare at him. Cassius, however, took a different approach.

“Yes, I see you there, My Lord.” He stared the nobleman down for a moment before he let out a sigh. “I’ll deal with you tomorrow. I know I’m furious with you, but for the moment I can’t remember all the reasons why. I’m too conscious of my gratitude for the connection you created between Flora and me.”

He turned to the king, who was standing motionless, struggling to comprehend all his son had just disclosed.

“Come, Father. It’s time we remembered how to work together.”

Cassius held out his arm to Flora, who was only too ready to lean on him for support as they moved from the room.

“It’s over, my darling,” he murmured as they entered the hallway. The endearment blazed over Flora, holding the fog of her exhaustion at bay. “You’re safe, and you can relax now. Consider yourself off duty.”

She smiled wearily up at him. “Yes, Your Highness.”

A month later, Flora traversed the same corridor, this time toward the throne room. Cassius walked about fifteen feet ahead, to preserve the formality of separate arrivals. It was foolish to make such a fuss about following the rules—it was to be the barest and most practical of betrothal ceremonies.

That fact hadn’t stopped the castle’s inhabitants from gathering to watch her go past. She’d braced herself for ire from the servants once her true identity was revealed, but they’d surprised her. As Flora neared the throne room, a group of maids sank into curtsies, eyes alight with excitement. Among their number was the very maid who’d been offended by her joke about Dust. Apparently they all liked her better as a princess than as a guard. On reflection, Flora suspected that the idea of a lowly servant, like them, winning the prince’s heart and then being discovered to secretly be a royal princess had captured the imagination of every serving girl in the castle. They’d no doubt retell the story in their minds—each girl replacing Flora with herself as heroine, of course—for years to come.

The guards had reacted differently, but their demeanor was equally free of antagonism. Those who’d behaved most distastefully when she was among their number were the most dutiful and proper in her presence now. They no doubt feared recriminations, and although she didn’t intend to cause anyone problems, it didn’t bother her at all to let them squirm in their discomfort for a while.

The court was more mixed in its reaction. Some of them had been eager to meet her in her new guise, full of fascinated questions about her unusual story and her native kingdom. Others had kept more distance, a hint of censure in their eyes when they watched her from afar, no doubt drawing their own conclusions about all that had passed between her and their crown prince. Then there were those who whispered more openly, some of them genuinely offended by her masquerade, others just jealous she’d secured the position they coveted .

They would no doubt be even more annoyed at the proper wedding, where the real pomp and frills would be found. That event would take much longer to prepare than the simple betrothal ceremony. The hope was that she would be free in the intervening period, perhaps even to return for a stretch of time to Sindon, to properly farewell her friends and the life she’d lived there.

And the next time she came to Crandell, it would be to make it her permanent home. She would become Carrack’s crown princess.

It was hard to take in. She’d discarded her life as a princess so long ago, and vowed never to take it up again.

But that vow hadn’t accounted for Cassius. For him, she was ready to put back on the mantle of royal responsibility. With him by her side, she wasn’t even troubled by those among the court who disapproved of her. Choosing not to overvalue the opinion of strangers had been essential to her escape from her first role as a princess of Dernan. The return to royal life didn’t have to mean accepting the same shackles she’d worn in her parents’ castle. If it had, she didn’t think it would be tolerable. But Cassius didn’t expect her to bow and scrape to the offended nobles. He assured her that he knew her behavior had been honorable throughout everything they’d endured, and that the gossip of those who didn’t know her was beneath her notice as a princess just as it had been beneath her notice as a guard.

He was very attractive when he spoke like that. It turned out that princely pride wasn’t always vain and self-important. Sometimes it could be used to excellent effect.

And she was eager to discover how much good a crown could do when on the right head. Together, she and Cassius would help Carrack to prosper, and protect it from any interference from whoever had sent Sir Keavling to start their destructive work. It would help that they would have the support of the alliances they were about to formalize. Further negotiations had remained promising with both Siqual and Dernan.

Torrens was a different matter. They had refrained from attacking Carrack, but tensions remained high. There was now little doubt that Sir Keavling and his mercenaries had been behind the various attacks and disasters that had made the other kingdoms suspect some foul play from Torrens. But that knowledge wasn’t a magical cloud of Dust that could clear the effects of all the tension that had been building for over a year.

The future with Torrens was unsure.

Flora couldn’t find it in her to worry about it, however, not on such a glorious day. She entered the throne room behind Cassius, walking with her best, most stately princess manner up the length of the space. The event hadn’t been widely advertised, and yet, somehow everyone knew. The large room was almost full.

Flora ignored them all. She only had eyes for Cassius as she joined him before his father’s throne, slipping her hand into his offered one.

“Are you ready?” he asked softly.

She nodded, contentment swirling through her.

“I know this isn’t our wedding yet, but it is a legally binding agreement for our kingdoms,” he reminded her. “No backing out after this.”

“There’s no fear of me backing out,” she told him, her eyes laughing at the somber look in his. “I’ve become quite accustomed to being tethered to you.”

That brought out a smile, the one that held the tiniest hint of smugness. The one that Flora found particularly irresistible, although she didn’t intend to admit that to Cassius.

“There’s no way out of this tether, though,” he said. “And I won’t be dancing around the edge of it, either. I can tell you right now that I will not be sleeping on the floor once we’re married.”

Her cheeks heated, the sensation very pleasant. “I should hope not. Shocking behavior from a prince.”

Cassius’s chuckle faded as the official stepped toward them, speaking the formal words needed to seal the betrothal. The ceremony was brief, consisting only of the public speech and the signing of the preliminary alliance agreement by King Aelius and representatives from both Dernan and Siqual.

Brevity was apparently no barrier to the magic. As soon as the last signature was on the page, Flora let out a gasp. The sensation of power that had tied her to Cassius for so long had suddenly snapped.

“The tether is gone,” she said, turning to him with shining eyes.

“Yes,” he agreed. He studied her face for a moment, then pulled her into his arms, disregarding all the gathered onlookers. “Am I a fool for missing it already?”

Flora laughed. “If you are, then we’re fools together.”

“That’s all I ask.” Cassius’s murmur was for her ears only. “Wise or foolish, proud or humble, strong or weak…as long as we fight our way through it together.”

Flora pushed up on her toes, her heart full as she whispered back. “I tie myself to you, Cassius of Carrack. In every season, forever. My heart is tethered to yours, and no magic can ever break it.”

With an expert flick of her hair, she summoned a single puff of Dust, sending it to hover like a warm cloud over Cassius’s heart. To the delighted cheers of those in the crowd who just loved a good spectacle, she pressed her lips to those of her betrothed.

She didn’t know what the future would hold, but one thing she did know. Their love was a tie stronger than magic, stronger than kingdoms, malice, or pride. Stronger even than death.