Page 35 of Until the Stars Fall

Maybe it’s just a friend.

My mind whirring, I tried to find some silver lining in this moment. But Brennan had no friends.

Their voices hit my ears before they came into view. My brother’s flirtatious charm answered by a female voice that sounded vaguely familiar and not at all like Princess Calla.

I turned the corner of the house to find one of the staff walking a pair of horses—Brennan’s and another I’d never seen before—toward the stables. My brother’s back was to me, blocking my view of the female. They didn’t notice me when I stepped into the courtyard, nor did they react when the gravel crunched loudly beneath my boots as I approached them. My mind turned the female’s voice over and over, trying to place it, until a breeze swept past them, carrying their scents my way.

I froze mid-step.

No. It couldn’t be her.

I shook my head, hoping I was wrong. She’d been sent away. Mrs. Bishop hadn’t mentioned any word of her return. Why was she back?

Squaring my shoulders, I drew in a deep breath and pushed myself forward. As I stepped alongside Brennan, I cleared my throat. They both turned to look at me, but it was her face that held my attention.

“Well hello, brother,” Brennan said, giving me a single slap on the back. “Look who I found being frisked by our guards at the gate! You remember, Lieke, don’t you?”

All I could manage was a dip of my chin as I fumbled around for the right words to say.

“Hello, Your Highness,” she said with her own graceful nod. Her dark blue eyes sparkled with delight, though her voice held a hint of apprehension.

“You’re back,” I said flatly.

My brother frowned at me. “That’s no way to greet an old friend, is it, Connor? You could at least smile at the woman.”

Slowly I turned to face him, but I couldn’t manage a smile, not when we were so close to sealing the alliance with the Arenysens and my brother was here flirting with one of our cooks.

“It’s okay, Brennan,” Lieke said. “He doesn’t need to smile for me.”

“Can I have a word, brother?” I asked, trying to keep my tone serious but not rude. Not waiting for an answer, I turned to Lieke. “Please excuse us, Miss Berg.”

“Of course,” she said, lifting her chin toward me before turning back to Brennan. A small smile pulled at one corner of her lips. He watched her walk away toward the palace.

“Can you believe it, Connor?” he asked, giving her a wave when she looked back from the open doorway.

“Brennan,” I said with icy venom coating my tongue. He didn’t seem to notice as he continued to watch the now closed door. I repeated his name, and he finally turned to me with that stupid grin still on his face.

“If I’d known she would one day look like that—”

“Like what?”

“Are you blind, brother?”

“She looks the same to me,” I lied. Her time away and the training she’d received had, in fact, honed her muscles, tightened her curves, and given new life to those sapphire eyes. Confidence suited her. Not that I needed to admit any of that to my brother. Especially when it would be the death of me—and our kingdom—if I didn’t fix the trouble she was already causing.

“Liar,” he said, calling me out.

“Is this going to be a problem?” I asked him, waving a hand between him and the palace door where she’d disappeared. “You have a princess to propose to, you know.”

Brennan offered me a casual shrug. “As if I could possibly forget. My plans haven’t changed.”

My breath escaped me in a rush of relief. “Good, but just promise me you’ll leave the human alone.”

He held up his hand with his palm toward me—a sign of honor and promise—as he continued to retreat, but my insides twisted with dread all the same. Now that Lieke was back, I wouldn’t get to relax or celebrate tonight after all.

CHAPTER 18

Lieke

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