“What are you doing here?” My heart kicks in my chest. Finn drops away. The rest of my people fade. We might as well be alone, because our eyes meet and she’s all I see.
There’s no hint of the laughter that stole my breath the first time we met. No sign of her soft smile, her sweetness, the shy way she looked up at me as I kissed her and drove her into the heather. No. This is the princess of Asturia.
Shoulders square as if she’s facing the gallows. Chin raised as she stares me down. I finally see a hint of her mother about her expression, but there’s a strength there that Adaia has never owned. This is defiance. This is reckless courage.
This is power.
It near takes my breath away.
“My mother was going to cut his head off and deliver it on a platter,” she says, “when you arrived to exchange him for Mistmere. I didn’t know he was yours until you told me. I didn’t even know he was in the camp until yesterday.”
“So you rescued him?”
I don’t know what to say to that.
Neither does she, apparently. “I… It didn’t seem right.”
“Tell him the truth, Princess,” Finn says. He plucks a platter from the table and offers her some of our finest grapes. “Adaia was trying to force Iskvien into an arranged marriage. She used me as the bargaining chip to force Iskvien to sign the marriage contracts.”
Arranged marriage?
Over Adaia’s dead body.
“To who?” There’s a snarl in my voice.
Vi stills. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It fucking well does. Who?”
“Etan of the Goldenhills. Queen Maren’s nephew,” Finn says, then gives a shrug when Vi shoots him a furious glare. “He’s my prince, sweetheart. And from the sounds of if, he’s got a vested interest in this.” A brilliant smile flashes over his face. “What have I missed?”
“Nothing,” Vi says.
At the exact moment I say, “Everything.” And then I continue. “What do you mean Adaia forced you to sign it? Is that what those bruises were about?”
“The pet interceded and pointed out that if Iskvien was bruised, Maren would want to know why.” Finn’s mouth twists. “So Adaia put a knife to my face and promised to cut out my eye if Vi didn’t submit.” He rests a hand on Vi’s shoulder. “I never did say thank you for your bravery.”
“It wasn’t bravery.” It discomforts her, I can see. “I just…. I couldn’t….”
“I know,” Finn says. “But that is where you are wrong. To show kindness and empathy in such a world is the bravest thing that one can do. I know she says it makes you weak, but I disagree. Those are the sort of qualities that a warrior will fight to the death for.” He suddenly goes to his knee in front of her. “I owe you two boons. You fought for me when your mother threatened to harm me. And then you freed me, at considerable risk to your own skin. You have my life, Princess. Merely tell me what you desire and I shall make it happen.”
I slowly ease out the breath of fury I contain.
Because Thalia is softening toward her, and I know that with Finn’s recommendation she will now follow Vi as her queen. Lysander will welcome her with open arms.
Even Baylor will give a shrug and a gruff, “Fine.”
Only Eris stares at the princess with her arms crossed over her chest. “This is going to end badly,” she promises. “Rescuing Finn is one thing, but now what? We have Adaia’s daughter in our tent and no matter what Iskvien claims, her mother will call it kidnapping.” She meets my eyes. “She’s not Finn, Thiago. She’s not merely… a reputable servant. She’s her daughter. Adaia will demand satisfaction. Iskvien has to be returned before Adaia can even notice she’s missing.”
It’s the wisdom of a general who can see a war brewing.
But I cannot agree. “I want a word with her first.”
Finn pushes to his feet, and Lysander helps steady him.
“Alone,” I say softly.
Eris looks like a spitting tom faced with a vicious dog.
“And then you may return her,” I promise.
“You have ten minutes,” Eris warns.
Finn winces. “Our prince may need slightly longer than that, my love.”
“Ten minutes.” She stalks toward the tent flap. “If he’s that desperate to have her, surely that’s long enough.”
Oh, she’s furious all right.
But I wave the others out after her.
I’ll deal with Eris’s misgivings later.
“You saved him,” I murmur as soon as the tent is empty. “Thank you.”
Iskvien pushes to her feet as if sitting leaves her at a disadvantage now we’re alone. “It was nothing.”
“It wasn’t nothing.” I take her hand. “I was about to sacrifice any claim upon Mistmere. Instead, your mother is left with a hand of useless cards.” My voice roughens. “Can she trace this back to you?”
“I don’t think so. We weren’t seen. Edain will suspect someone helped him, though I doubt he’ll think of me.” Iskvien bites her lip. “Nobody ever suspects me.”
I capture her face in my hands. “Come to me, if you think she knows. I’ll protect you.”
But Vi tears away from my grasp. “I didn’t just do it for you. She was holding him over my head. Now I’m free.”
“To break this marriage contract?” I hate those words. To even think she’s being forced to marry another….
She hesitates. “Yes.”
My eyes narrow at the tone of voice used. That wasn’t an emphatic “yes”. Our eyes meet. “You don’t have to marry him.”
“If not Finn then it will be someone else,” she says with a shrug. “My maid perhaps. My groom. She’ll put a knife to their throat and force my hand and—”
“No.” I slide a hand through her hair. “You do not have to marry him.”
Fury suddenly blazes in her expression. “And how do I avoid such a fate?”
“By marrying me.”
The words simply force their way past my lips.
Vi freezes.
Even I can’t believe I just said it.
But the second I put them into the world, I know they’re real.
This has been where my heart has been heading from the moment I laid eyes upon her.
I stroke my thumb over her satiny cheek. “Marry me,” I whisper. “Be mine, Vi. She’ll never be able to harm you again.”
“As tempting as that is,” she whispers, “I barely know you.”
“You trusted me with your body.”
She pushes away, pacing through the tent. “I know.”
“Then why doubt me now?”
“How do I know that this hasn’t been planned from the start?” A look that slays me. “I want to trust you. I want to believe this is real. But it’s one thing to kiss you and lie with you, and quite another to bind my fate to yours.” She swallows. “This is forever, Thiago. And I can’t help thinking about the war between you and my mother. I can’t help thinking that you would do anything to destroy her.” Her voice grows very small. “What if this was your plan from the start? Ruin me. Woo me. Steal me away.”