But when I raised it with Gia in our tent that night, she waved away my words. I couldn’t dismiss them so easily, however.
After she had left to refill her water skin, I turned to Karielle. “What do you think? You have more experience of court than I do. Is Gia making a mistake with this?”
She hesitated, concern lining her face. I could read her reluctance to interfere, but after a moment her lips twisted.
“I grew up with siblings always jostling for rank and position. And let’s just say, I wouldn’t sit back and let my brother forge such connections without me.”
Her words stuck with me as I lay on my soft pallet once the lantern had been extinguished. The memory of Nikolas’s smirk as he carried off Liara and Jaylen swam before my eyes. Maybe I had interpreted it wrong. Had he seen the situation as a personal victory?
Eventually I rolled over and forced myself to empty my mind for sleep. But not before I resolved to keep a closer eye over Gia’s interests in the future. If she wouldn’t do it herself, then her loyal friends would have to do it for her.
Traveling on the barges, it had been easy enough to avoid Liara and Jaylen, and even Annora to some extent. I hadn’t even managed another private conversation with Zeke about my training. But traveling west along the southern coast, we rode on horseback—an enormous cavalcade that stretched along the road and out of sight, with wagons at the front and back.
When we stopped for meals, and even on the road to some extent, more mingling was possible. After my resolution on Gia’s behalf, I welcomed the change. I wanted to keep a closer eye on Nikolas as well as the nomads.
On the first day, we stopped for lunch on the edge of a field, looking out over a beach of perfect white sand. I ate quickly, my eyes on the water, but I’d barely swallowed the final bite when Liara appeared. She dropped a shallow curtsy to Gia beside me before including us both in a blinding smile.
“My cousin Jaylen and I are about to sneak off to dip our feet in the ocean before it’s time to ride again. Would you like to join us?”
I didn’t stop to analyze the strangeness of her sudden friendliness, instead leaping in before Gia could say no.
“That’s just what I’ve been thinking about all meal. We’d love to, wouldn’t we?” I gave Gia a pointed look.
I needn’t have worried, however. The suggested activity held enough hint of illicit behavior to appeal to her adventurous spirit.
“Of course we would.” She jumped up, abandoning her half-eaten meal. “Zeke and Nik will want to come too.”
She waved at them both, while I suppressed a sigh. I could hardly refute the suggestion, although it hadn’t been what I’d had in mind.
The two boys wandered over, looking curious. Zeke was grinning before Gia was halfway through outlining the plan, but Nikolas’s brow creased.
“Cadence can go, and Zeke, of course. But I hardly think it’s fitting behavior for us. We’re not children anymore, Gia.”
She rolled her eyes. “When did you get so boring, Nik? Stay behind and make chitchat with diplomats if you want. I’m going to feel the sand between my toes and the ocean on my legs.”
“Gia.” He gave her a warning look, but she just blew him a cheeky kiss and breezed away.
I followed behind at a more sedate pace, worried I’d made a mistake. Maybe I hadn’t thought the situation through. I had wanted to improve Gia’s position with the nomads, not undermine it. I’d forgotten which nomads really mattered—and it wasn’t the apprentices.
But Zeke followed along with only a swift, calculating look at Nikolas’s stern face, so it couldn’t be as serious an issue as Nikolas made it sound. Zeke wouldn’t do anything to harm his mother’s position with a change of monarch coming up.
Neither Liara nor Jaylen commented on Nikolas’s choice, merely leading the three of us on a roundabout route that avoided anyone with the authority to stop us—an effort which Gia heartily approved.
And as soon as I kicked off my boots and let my feet sink into the sand, I sighed in bliss, all thought of politics forgotten. The silky-smooth feeling was like nothing I had ever experienced.
“Come on!” Zeke grabbed my hand and towed me along. “It’s even better under the water.”
“Oh!” I squealed and picked up the pace as we hit the part of the beach in direct sunlight. “It’s hot!”
Dancing awkwardly across the sand, we raced for the line of wet sand left by the retreating tide. As soon as we reached it, we slowed, sighing in relief. The sand was packed more firmly here, making it easier to walk, but less soft, so I headed straight for the water.
Liara had already hurried ahead of us, pulling up her skirts so she could stand at the edge of the incoming waves. She gestured me over.
“Come on in, Cadence. It’s cold at first, but you soon get used to it.”
Zeke had turned to talk to Jaylen, so I approached her with caution, gasping when the first wave rushed up and over my toes.
“So…cold…” I gasped, and she laughed.
“You really do get used to it. I promise.”
I stopped beside her, sucking in several breaths as I forced myself not to run back up onto the higher sand. But as the waves came in and out, she was right. The intensity of the cold faded, leaving only a cool, refreshing feeling.
I watched the white foam swirling around my toes as they slowly sank into the wet sand. Zeke was right. It was even silkier beneath the water, and I pushed my feet back and forth, enjoying the sensation.
“This is a beautiful beach,” Liara said. “But we have some even lovelier ones along our coastline. If you come to visit Zeke, we could go see some of them.”
“That’s…very kind.”
I glanced behind to where Gia had joined Zeke’s conversation. There could be no confusing that Liara’s words were directed solely at me. What had happened to the superior nomad girl I had met previously? She seemed like an entirely different person.
Liara continued to chat about some of her other favorite locations within the nomad kingdom while I contributed occasional vague answers, most of my attention on the ocean and the sand. At one point, I looked up to find Zeke watching me with an expression of amusement. I rolled my eyes at him, and his grin broadened. I reminded myself to ask him what was going on with Liara the next time we were alone.
The delight of the beach made me lose track of time, only a loud commotion from the direction of the road recalling me to our situation. I gasped and rushed out of the water.
“The meal must be over, the first riders are already leaving,” I said. “We need to go back.”
Liara laughed, apparently unbothered. “We’ll just join at the end of the line. No one will miss us.”
Gia returned her laugh, looking delighted at our new friend’s attitude, but I couldn’t share it. The nomads clearly had a more relaxed approach with their children, and it was true no one would be looking for me. But it was different for Gia.
Sure enough, we neared the road just as Nikolas rode by in conversation with Drake and the head delegate from Tribe Callen. He looked at us disapprovingly on the way past, drawing the attention of the two older men. The nomad looked indulgent enough, but Drake frowned, turning slightly in his seat to watch Gia with narrowed eyes.