Page 19 of A Cage of Crystal

He couldn’t help the flush that heated his cheeks as he spoke her name. “Princess Aveline.”

His mother’s eyes flickered with a sympathy that seemed suspiciously feigned. “Did no one tell you? She already left.”

Teryn’s muscles went rigid. “When? Why didn’t I hear about it?”

She gave a flippant shrug. “One of my ladies told me the princess left while everyone was at dinner. Rumor has it, she didn’t want to take away from such a special occasion with her hasty exit.”

He rubbed his temples as if it could grind away his disappointment too.

“My suspicions were correct,” Bethaeny said, an edge to her tone. “You have feelings for the princess. You intended to wed her when you proposed the marriage alliance.”

He gave her a pointed look. “Yes, and you shouldn’t have intervened.”

“Like I said, Teryn. I am your mother. My protection does not need permission. I was worried you were about to make a hasty decision and destroy your engagement to Mareleau. That was before I knew the girl was a scheming harlot, of course.”

“I fear your protection has made things far more difficult,” he said, trying his best to keep his voice level.

“Tell me this, son. IsCora, as I’ve heard you call her, worth giving up your crown for?”

“I didn’t do it for her.” His words were true. He’d done it for Larylis too. He nearly left it at that but there was a deeper truth yet to be said. “But yes. She’s worth it.”

“Do you love her?”

His heart hammered at the question. Heat crawled up his neck, his cheeks. He was grateful that night had fallen to hide the blush that had certainly taken over every inch of his skin. “One step at a time,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant. “First, I need to make sure she doesn’t try to shoot me in the heart with an arrow when she sees me next. Which…I don’t know when that will be.”

“Promise me you will not go after her,” she said with a stern raise of her brow. “Promise me you will be there for your brother. You owe it to him and your kingdom.”

He hated that she was right; Larylis needed him. His brother had a heavy responsibility he’d never expected to take on. And yet, Teryn couldn’t find it in his heart to make the promise his mother asked for. He’d long since learned not to utter promises he knew he wouldn’t keep. “I’ll do what is needed of me.”

She narrowed her eyes but made no argument. Seeming satisfied with his answer, she left him alone. Berol flew back to his shoulder. He fed her a strip of duck he’d taken from dinner, but in his mother’s absence, the uncomfortable itch to move returned. He’d managed to keep it at bay while he’d been waiting for Cora, but now that he knew he wouldn’t get to see her tonight, he was back to feeling unsettled. Stuck.

With a heavy sigh, he turned from the palace doors and headed deeper into the garden, past the candlelit alcove where a single table stood, upon which sat a bottle of wine and a pair of glasses. He couldn’t bring himself to look at it. Cora probably would have hated it anyway. He walked past the harpist and shook his head. With a nod, the musician rose from her seat at the edge of the fountain and departed. Cora would have hated that too. They’d danced to a harpist once, but…what had he been thinking? She’d hated him then. She probably hated him still.

And yet…

For one moment, I thought she meant you.

Damn it all, itwashim. It had always been him. He couldn’t tell her now, and maybe he couldn’t tell her any time soon. But he would. Eventually…he would.

Deeper and deeper, he walked into the garden, Berol his lone companion, determined to walk until he was tired enough to sleep and forget the hollow ache in his heart.

9

The smell of the forest was so soothing, Cora almost wept. Aromas of earth and pine surrounded her, carried by the mild breeze. Closing her eyes, she tilted her face to the sky, basking in the morning sun that warmed her skin. If it wasn’t for the dozens of hoofbeats that echoed on the road around her, she could almost pretend she was deep in the woods, riding one of the Forest People’s horses alongside Maiya. Instead, she rode a borrowed palfrey alongside her brother on their way home.

She still didn’t know how to feel about the wordhome, nor the pain that lanced her heart at the thought of Maiya. She hadn’t communicated with any of the Forest People since the battle, and she was desperate to know how they fared. They’d come to her aid, fought Morkai’s wraiths, defended royal soldiers. All in the name of protecting fae magic. They’d come out victorious, but she knew not all the Forest People had survived. She’d seen Druchan’s dead body. Witnessed Roije get his arm severed by Morkai. Had he survived such a grave wound? And if not…would Maiya ever forgive her?

She shook the question from her mind, for it would only plague her to no end. Perhaps someday soon she could seek out the commune, at least for a visit, but this was not the time. Right now she needed to be Princess Aveline.

She turned her face away from the sun and opened her eyes. Her gaze landed on a less pleasant view—Lord Kevan’s backside. He rode ahead of her while Dimetreus kept to her side. Guards took the lead and rear, while dozens of other horses, wagons, and coaches filled the middle of their entourage. Lurel rode in one of the coaches, alongside other handpicked servants and staff, all selected by Lord Kevan.

Cora and Dimetreus had stayed at Kevan’s estate for three days while their preparations had been finalized. That had given Cora more than enough time to set her opinion of her kingdom’s new Head of Council. He was gruff, short tempered, and the complete opposite of his bright and bubbly daughter. The more she got to know him the harder it was to believe they were related. Even their looks were at odds. Where Lurel was willowy and fair, Kevan was a brutish bear. He was barrel-chested with piercing blue eyes, gray-brown hair that framed his face like a wild mane, and a thick beard. He was never short on cutting remarks and made no effort to venerate Cora and Dimetreus more than necessity required.

Cora had been eager to get out of his home and on the road to more neutral territory. Yesterday, she’d gotten her wish, and today had brought them to the forest road. To pine and birdsong and a mountainous view beyond a sea of endless green. It was the closest she could get to the forests she craved.

Closing her eyes again, she focused on her breath, on the air caressing her nostrils, brushing her cheeks, dancing over her gloved hands as she held her reins. She let the horse beneath her root her to the earth, every hoofbeat serving as an anchor. The warmth of the sun connected her to the element of fire while her emotions, her blood, and the aroma of dew-speckled leaves connected her to water. The elements thickened around her, feeding her mental shields.

Her shields had been especially necessary lately. Without them, she’d likely have a migraine by now from all the emotions she’d have picked up from the strangers around her. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t let them down for at least a moment…

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