“Some of us several times,” Jak noted, sliding Stella a grin.
She snorted at his black humor. “Don’t get comfortable thinking I’ll drag you back from Glorianna’s arms every time you end up there.”
“I’m not sure Glorianna would have me,” he mused. “At any rate, Your Highness, consider me properly castigated and apologetic. I should get up top and relieve Zeph of the reins before she drives us off the road.”
Astar waved a hand at him. “Give it a little time. Zephyr is determined to prove she can do this, and she’s feeling guilty about abandoning you in the alter-realm.”
“She shouldn’t feel—” Jak started.
“But she does,” Astar interrupted. “So let her do this for you. Take today to rest. Try to stay warm.”
“You can snuggle with me,” Stella said when Jak opened his mouth to argue. Tugging the fur blanket more fully over both of them, she scooted up against him, making a show of shivering. “Brr.”
Jak raised a dubious brow at her, not really fooled, but he put his arm over her shoulder and drew her close. The chill bothered him more than he’d admit to, and Gen had explained that it was common for people who’d nearly frozen to death to be susceptible to the cold, and to find it painful. Even with the healing, it would take time for his body to equilibrate again.
“You can keep an eye on me this way,” she added, and he relaxed, happy with that much. Jak worried more than he’d said that the intelligence had taken such an interest in her, and he kept replaying that scene in his mind, fretting over it. Both of them had, by unspoken agreement, glossed over that aspect in their report to Astar.
They spent the day cuddled together in the carriage, discussing their various adventures and debating the implications. Zeph, Gen, and Astar took turns driving the carriage, scouting in hardy winter forms and coming inside to warm up. Rhy never came in, assiduously avoiding her. It was a very long day, but at least nothing attacked them, though Jak maintained vigilance, refusing to doze as she’d hoped.
By the time they reached the next inn, situated on the banks of the frozen River Eva, they all barely managed to eat before they crashed, exhausted, into their individual beds.
They reached Castle Marcellum the following afternoon, delighted to find the lovely, comparatively small castle amid picturesque snow-covered rolling hills. Frozen lakes in crystal blue nestled in the valleys, surrounded by forests frosted in ice.
“It’s like a winter fairyland,” Gen commented, her eyes wide and wistful.
Rhy, who’d finally conceded to pressure to rest in the carriage—though he still brooded and wouldn’t look Stella in the eye—made a disparaging sound. “Looks like boring mossback farms to me.”
Gen poked him in the arm hard enough that he scowled at her and rubbed the spot. “Farmers are good people,” Gen informed him. “Without agriculture, there’s no foundation for a stable civilization.”
“Stability is overrated,” Rhy replied.
“Not everyone is a predator, Rhyian,” Lena said. She’d been talking to him more the last couple of days, perhaps in the vacuum of his determination to ignore Stella. Or maybe just trying to find something of a friendly common ground between them. Almost losing Rhy to the alter-realm had frightened Lena enough that she wanted her ex-lover to be a friend again, but she also couldn’t forget how he’d betrayed her all those years ago. Stella didn’t know what she’d do in Lena’s place.
Hopefully she’d never have to find out.
“There’s a great deal to be said for a stable community,” Lena continued when Rhy didn’t immediately retort. She gazed out the open carriage window, a wistful smile on her face. They’d drawn back the heavy curtains so they could see, the climate around Marcellum gentler, free of the biting winds of the high plains. “Peace and prosperity, along with a stable food supply, allows for other endeavors to flourish. Scientific study, the proliferation of the arts, refinement of crafts and tools.”
“Is that the kind of life you want?” Rhy asked, sincere curiosity in his voice.
Gen and Stella exchanged covert glances, doing their best to be unobtrusive. Rhy and Lena having a civil conversation—and one where he seemed to be genuinely listening to her? Near-death experiences were terrible to deal with, but they certainly resulted in interesting changes of character.
“Is it?” Lena mused, still staring out the window. Then she met Rhy’s gaze, her mouth in a curve that was both bitter and rueful. “I don’t know. I thought for a very long time that I only wanted to be left alone to my studies in Aerron, but now that feels long ago and far away. I’ve been so clear on what I didn’t want that I think I haven’t given much thought to what kind of life I would like to have.”
“One blissfully free of my presence, no doubt,” Rhy said without rancor.
Stella held her breath for Lena’s explosion, but her friend only laughed, softly and without music. “Rhyian,” she said, “after you—after we broke up, it never once occurred to me to imagine you would ever be a part of my life again.” She returned her gaze to the frozen landscape. “It simply wasn’t a possibility.”
Pressing his lips closed, Rhy nodded, gaze lifting to Stella, where she sat across from him. The pain there caught her like a cramp, and she sent him a wave of compassion. He closed his eyes briefly, then inclined his chin in silent gratitude. A start, anyway.
They rode the rest of the way to Castle Marcellum in silence.
“It was so thoughtful of Queen Nix to spare us the formal audience,” Lena commented on a groan, flopping back onto the bed in the suite of rooms she, Gen, and Stella would be sharing. Castle Marcellum wasn’t big enough for them each to have their own room, but Astar and Zeph had gotten a room of their own, with Rhy and Jak sharing another. They were all looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon thawing themselves out in hot baths.
“And having a ball in our honor!” Gen exclaimed from the hot bath she’d lucked into the first turn at. “I can’t believe they can put one together on such short notice.”
“I suspect we’re a welcome excuse,” Stella commented, well familiar with Ordnung’s social occasions and what kind of planning was involved. “Midwinters here are no doubt dull. It’s a long stretch between the Feast of Moranu and Glorianna’s spring festival. Tonight won’t be especially fancy, but it’s not as if the people around here have much that they’re suddenly dropping to make this happen.”
The door burst open, and Zeph practically flew in, carrying a bundle of glittering silver fabric.
“Why are you here?” Gen demanded. “I thought you had plans to debauch Astar into unconsciousness.”
Lena giggled, as those had been Zeph’s exact words.
“Done and done,” Zeph declared, swanning toward Stella, looking far too pleased with herself. “The poor bear is worn out, so it didn’t take much. And look what I found!” She unfurled the fabric and held it up against Stella. “It’s tiny, like it’s made for a doll, so I’m thinking it’s perfect for our Nilly here.”
“Wow, um, thank you?” Stella said, taking hold of the dress that Zeph thrust against her.