Page 58 of The Queens and the Kings
Was that respect or frustration in her voice? He couldn’t tell, so he responded with another shrug. Wind whipped the hair out of her eyes. Her open expression, so curious, almost made him laugh.
“You answer my questions,” she said.
“Well, I care about you.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. I’ve . . . never . . . never had . . . friends before.”
Surprise registered on her expression for only a heartbeat before it cleared. She smiled. “You’re my friend too, Henrik.”
He didn’t know how to say,that is not all we’ll ever be, without sounding like an idiot. An admission of friendship barely stuttered out of him, and he wanted to throw up. Britt couldn’t hide a thing. He saw her admiration, her affection. She treated him unlike any other male in her vicinity, which he rather enjoyed. But he wasn’t sure he couldpromise what she sought.
What sort of life could a lost soldat guarantee?
Einar’s harried expression and deep loss struck him hard in the chest. Did he want that? No. Was he willing to let Britt go to someone else?
Absolutely not.
Which was utterly impossible to articulate in a fair way.
Besides, now wasn’t the time. Not only did she have to mentally work through the Ladylord, but also to glean information on wyverns without being caught. He had a meeting with the Ladylord that he had to convince Einar to join, and revenge against his former tyrant to plot.
Freedom, freedom.
How liquid her reality.
“I noticed,” he leaned into a splashing wave with a grunt, “that you didn’t mention the wyverns.”
She propped a hand on her chin and stared beyond him. “Not yet. General Helsing didn’t want me to and I can see why. Alma was far more focused on you. Once she affirmed our relationship, there was little to distract her from her obvious purpose.” Her nose wrinkled. “General Helsing was, as usual, right. It rattles me how that woman so correctly reads situations.”
“You won’t bring them up to yourfriend?”
“Despite only seeing her once or twice a year, Alma was like a second mother.”
“Really?”
A ghost of a smile wobbled. Britt dropped her hand, running her bottom lip through her teeth. “It felt that way, once. To say that I was shocked to see Almaas the Ladylord drastically understates it. I feel . . . I feel as if I didn’t really know her at all.”
“I noticed.”
Her shoulders hunched. Grimacing, she asked, “Really?”
“I don’t know if she noticed.”
Britt tossed a hand. “Oh, well. I warned General Helsing that I was no agent. There’s only so much I can do.”
“Who is Alma? Besides the Ladylord and former Lordlady assistant, anyway.”
“Alma is Carina’s mother, a formerly destitute woman who, like many previous Lordladys and Ladylords before her, worked from unexpected angles to a position of great power.”
“Really?”
“She wasn’t kidding when she said that the mainland supports leaders who are willing to lead the people, but appreciate all walks of life. Alma must have been keeping track of and understanding the machinations and politics as his assistant.”
Henrik let those revelations settle, leading to his greatest question. “When she said she saw an opportunity, and she took it, what does that mean?”
Britt’s expression darkened. “She killed him.”
