Nem arrived only a day after her letter, and Regis almost flew to the stables when he heard she was there. The siblings embraced and didn’t let go for a while. Then they held each other at arms’ length and studied.

“You’re either so horribly lonely you’re ecstatic to see me, or any other emotion and still ecstatic to see me,” Nem said, and Regis laughed.

“Well, you don’t look underfed, so is it a safe assumption you’re not in the throes of agony?”

“Very safe,” she said, and he raised his eyebrows. “Let’s get inside, shall we? Then maybe you’ll tell me where you got those boots.”

Regis looked down and found to his embarrassment that he was wearing some of the boots Charlotte had given him. He’d been planning on carefully wearing all old clothing. He’d just been surprised, since her letter said she wouldn't be arriving for at least half a week, so he hadn’t thought about it.

Nem’s room was next to his, but she demanded to talk in his. With a sigh, he agreed, and when she demanded where his boots came from admitted the truth.

“You what?” she asked.

“I did not have much of a choice,” he said. “Especially after she decided she was going to take me to every event possible.”

Nem was staring at him, so he told her what happened at the first ball. “And the rest of the season?” she asked.

“About the same,” he said.

“Regis,” she said, “you realize—” she cut off at his smile. It had been a month, and he was still happier than he’d ever been. With Nem there he couldn’t imagine being happier.

“Alright,” she said, “tell me what else is going on.”

“Tell me about this Chestern boy first.”

Nem blushed. “Um, actually—”

Regis raised his eyebrows. “You’re engaged?”

“Well, actually—”

“You’re not already married—”

“No! You have to meet him first.”

Regis studied her blushing smile, and her bright eyes. “He makes you happy?”

Nem nodded. “He does. When can you meet him?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I wanted to talk to you about that—I assume it would be easier if I were back in Setan.”

Nem pursed her lips. “Are you ever going back?”

“I’d like to at least once,” he said, and Nem sighed, but with a smile.

“You’re not coming back to stay.”

“No,” he said, trying to stop his smile. He did love the Setan estate, and he didn’t like the idea of being separated from Nem so much, but if he knew she was happy, and if he had Charlotte to take care of, he’d be fine.

“So . . .” Nem was waiting.

Regis wanted to say it—so badly—but it still felt so new, and they hadn’t told anyone. He felt oddly shy about it.

“You’re engaged?” she guessed, and Regis nodded happily.

“I knew she meant to keep you,” Nem said. “She actually knows you by now, doesn’t she?”

“Yes,” he said.

“And she knows . . . ?”

Regis looked away and nodded. He’d forgotten that he hadn’t seen Nem since that night in the library. It felt odd that it mattered, but it did.

Nem took his hands and he looked back at her. “Will you be alright?” she asked.

“More than alright,” he said.

“She’s not accidentally walking all over you?”

“Give me a little more credit than that,” he said. “If I come at things from the side instead of being confrontational she’ll listen, and you know I’m not confrontational to begin with.”

“And… will you be safe?”

At that he fell silent, but only for a moment. He’d thought about it. “Possibilities don’t change facts.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“Do you remember when we were kids, and we’d find a snake?”

Nem pursed her lips. She’d been scared of snakes—she still didn’t like them, but she could do something about them herself. Back then he’d always picked them up and moved them outside the walls.

“Do you remember that ridiculously sized snake we found one year?”

Nem still paled a little at the memory. They’d been playing in a corner of a garden when they’d seen it, and it had blocked their escape by its sheer bulk—and by how neither of them wanted to run by it. They’d ended up killing it, partially because they’d both been warned about that specific kind of snake, that it was poisonous, but they couldn’t have done it without the other there. Nem had always been convinced that if either of them were alone they would have died.

“So you’re volunteering?” she asked, getting the implication. She knew the security around Charlotte was there for a reason.

“Yes,” he said.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Nem sighed. “I’d better not lose you.”

“You’ll be on the border of Adife,” he said. Then he paused. “What are we doing about Setan? It’s too far from there.”

“I wanted to ask you about that,” she said. “I have this idea, but you’ll have to meet him first.”

“I’d be glad to meet him,” Regis said, and Nem grinned at his tone.

“He’s a lovely boy,” she said. “He’s also shy, so give him more than five seconds.”

They had a private lunch with Charlotte, who was also still on something of a high, and hugged Nem as soon as the door was closed and she didn’t have to act as much like a princess.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “but I’m not sorry. I need him.”

“Make him happy,” Nem said.

Charlotte looked beyond Nem to Regis with a dubious expression. “Well, he seems willing to let me try.”

“You keep thinking you’re annoying,” Regis said. “I don’t know why.” Charlotte smiled prettily.

“Let’s sit down,” she said.

“You’re not already hungry,” Regis asked as he helped her into her chair. “You ate five hours ago.”

“Torture,” Charlotte assured him. “Oh, look, they’ve set out the new silverware.” She picked up the fork to inspect it as he took his own seat. “I think they came out nicely.” She hefted the knife. “Yes, I like these. I’ll look forward to seeing them next month.”

Nem paused.

“Charlotte has different place settings every meal,” Regis said. “There aren’t as many silverware, so they completely rotate every month or so.”

“Really?” Nem asked.

“I keep meaning to ask,” he said, looking at Charlotte, “if you have different sets for your snacks.”

“Yes,” she said. “Though that’s a smaller rotation. I move around a lot when it’s only a snack, so they can’t be to easily breakable. These,” she picked up a goblet and studied the glass with gold designs on it, “would break in an instant.”

Nem asked about the snow season, and Charlotte started telling her about it, talking about Regis being there as if it were as normal as anything. He smiled to his glass when he thought of how it really was.

“Regis?”

He looked up at Charlotte, who was smiling softly at him. “What are you smiling about?”

Regis considered, but then shrugged and said the truth, despite how much he blushed at saying it with Nem there. “You.”

And Charlotte went prettily pink.

“I have to ask,” Nem said to Charlotte, “are you going to call him King?”

Regis put a hand over his eyes with a groan, and Charlotte giggled.

“No,” she said. “I’m actually surprised your parents didn’t see that one coming—Regis Regis—oh dear.”

“Wait,” Nem said, looking back and forth between them, “you know about that?”

“I pried it from him,” Charlotte said. “I hear you’re going to be a duchess and convert Adife to our culture?”

Nem burst out laughing. “No,” she said. “The best case scenario is that they don’t know who I am because they have no interest in the borders.”

Charlotte raised her eyebrows. “Setan isn’t on the border.”

“No,” Nem said. “Regis has to meet him, but I have tentative plans.”

“What about Setan?” Charlotte asked, with a hint of the princess.

“I have no intention of abandoning Setan,” she said. “I still have my irrigation system overhaul.”

“Of course,” Charlotte said, the hint of princess gone. “Chestern’s rich enough to finance that. Even if not, I can do something about it—or Regis, I suppose, if you don’t want me paying for the most necessary things, either. He’ll have his own stipend.”

“I hope not too much,” he said. “I wouldn’t know what to do with it.”

“We’ll talk about it,” she said. “We’re not even technically official, yet.” She looked at Nem. “We wanted to wait for you.”

“Oh,” Nem said in surprise. “Thank you.”

“Also,” Charlotte’s mouth quirked to the side with a dark look at her steak—only Charlotte, Regis thought, would have two large steaks for lunch, “after the announcement . . .” she looked at him in worry. “I’d rather you not leave.”

Regis nodded. “I’m surprised you’re thinking about letting me go at all.”

“I’d rather not,” she said with a sigh, “but Geo assures me you should be safe enough for now.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Well, he’ll send some security,” she said, “but minimal. He’s uneasily decided that they’re set back a ways for now.”

“Can I know a little more?” Nem asked. “I’ve only gotten dark hints.”

“Oh, some large group really wants to kill me,” Charlotte said. “Regis already found himself in the way of their fire once, but we made it out.” She went silent.

“It’s probably good,” he said, “so I definitely know what I’m facing.”

Nem was watching him with more blatant worry than usual. “Was that when . . .”

“Yes,” he said.

There was a moment of silence, before Charlotte set her utensils down. Regis looked over at her to see her staring a little wistfully at her empty plate. He handed his over, and with a little laugh she took it.

“You can’t just ask for more?” Nem asked.

“I don’t like to make them get more ready than I need,” she said, “but lately I’ve been eating even more than usual.”

“You’re not sitting in meetings all day,” Regis said. “Is Geo allowing us to ride later?”

“It took some convincing,” she said, the mischievous spark in her eye, “but yes.”

Regis grinned, and wished it wouldn’t be so awkward to simply tell her he loved her in front of his sister.