Page 18 of Twin Crowns

“Such as war, no doubt.”

Rose ignored him. “With the might of the Gevran army at my beckoning, Eana will be the strongest it has ever been.” She watched Shen squirm, smiling like a satisfied cat. It seemed he was finally starting to regret kidnapping her. “And Ansel and I will live happily ever after.”

Shen kicked his legs out, disturbing a cloud of golden dust. “Youseem very certain about that.”

Rose nodded, telling herself that shewassure, even if sometimes she struggled tofeelit. “The moment I met him, I knew we were destined to be together.”

“Have you even met any other men?”

“Of course I have, you brute! I am not as cloistered as you seem to think.”

“Name someone you’ve met outside the palace walls,” said Shen. “And don’t just make up a name.”

Rose threw him a withering look. “Marino Pegasi,” she said primly. “And I assure you, he is as real as my disdain for you. Marino is the brother of my best friend, Celeste. A wealthy merchant sailor and quite a handsome one at that.”

Shen snorted. “And what does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, if I were the type to simply fall in love for no reason, which you are implying, I surely would have fallen for Marino for his good looks alone.” She lowered her voice, as if she was telling Shen a secret. “I think many women already have. Celeste has seen them up at Wishbone Bay, parading along the dock in their best dresses, waiting for his ship to come in. It drives her mad, of course.”

“I’m sure he enjoys it well enough,” said Shen thoughtfully. “But we aren’t talking about this dreamy Marino. We’re talking about your prince.”

“I assure you, Ansel hasmanyvirtues.” Rose smiled as she recalled the prince’s bright blue eyes and long lashes. “First, he is very well mannered,” she said pointedly. “And he understands what it means to be truly royal. To grow up with a hundred pairs of eyes on you at alltimes. To feel lonely, even when you’re surrounded by people. He cares very much for me. I can’t imagine I’ll ever meet anyone who makes me feel so adored. And he loses graciously at chess.” Shen was infuriatingly silent, waiting for more. Rose frowned, trying to think of what else she loved about Ansel. “His hair shines like gold in the sunshine. And... and he dresses impeccably.”

“Hmm,” was all Shen said.

She huffed a sigh. “Not that I even care what you think, but what doyouknow of love, Shen Lo?”

“Clearly not as much as you, Princess.” He got to his feet. “My best wishes to you and your groom.” He muttered to himself as he paced the cavern, and Rose noticed that he was limping a little. The wound in his leg was clearly bothering him, though he was doing his best not to show it.. “Gevra...Gevra... Good luck with that, Wren.”

Rose’s ears pricked up. “Who is Wren?”

Shen spun around. “Shen,” he said quickly. “I said, ‘Good luck with that,Shen.’”

“Are you feeling frightened, bandit?” Rose reveled in her sudden rush of triumph. “After all, it’s no small task to face theentireGevran army on your own.”

He stared down at her, a smirk twitching on his lips. “I suspect they wouldn’t last a day in the desert. They’d surely melt.”

Exasperated with his smugness, Rose threw her piece of lamb at him. “Take your rotten mutton meat. I don’t want it.”

Shen caught it with ease. “All the more for me,” he said, tossing it in his mouth. “And perhaps I was being too nice by sharing. We’re not friends. Better for you to remember that.”

“You forget yourself, Shen Lo of the Desert.” Rose’s words hung heavy with scorn. “I may be dependent on you now, but it would behoove you to remember who truly holds the power between us.”

She fixed him with a stare so withering, he broke eye contact.

He began to search through his pile of supplies. “We need to sleep. It’s too hot to ride.” He tossed her what looked like ragged bedclothes.

Rose batted it away from her. “What is that supposed to be?”

“It’s your bedroll, my lady,” said Shen with an exaggerated bow.

“It’sYour Highness,” Rose corrected him. “And I’m not sleeping on a bunch of rags!”

“It’s that or the cave floor,Your Highness.”

Rose was certain that nobody had ever hissed her title at her quite like that, and she found she did not care for it. She cleared her throat. “And where am I supposed to lay my head?”

“You’ve got your pick of any spot in the cave. I’m going to go right here, though.” Shen unfurled his bedroll. A spider skittered out of it. Rose bit back a shriek.

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