Prim walked for days on the Great Road, tucking herself away in the forest beyond for a couple hours at a time to sleep. She loped a few times, but it was hardly more efficient than walking with her magic stores back to their usual amount. Her loping was generally most useful for traveling without detection, not for distance. After the third time, she’d decided to stop and hold her power in reserve in case she came across trouble and actually needed it.
She’d met several travelers, but no guards and no fae--of course they would be in the skies. A few travelers had horses, but they’d been traveling north. There was no one she’d met who could help her get to Hogard faster. So she ignored her fatigue, her legs that had begun to ache, her stomach twisting with hunger--the water and berries she’d scavenged not doing much to fill it--and kept her grueling pace.
She’d left Dante so she could warn the princess, protect the princess. She wasn’t going to let her sacrifice be for nothing. She would arrive before any attempt on the princess’s life was successful. She had to.
Midmorning on the fifth day, the sprawling stone buildings of Hogard came into view. Relief swept through Prim as she took off in a run, desperate to finally make it to the royal complex, winding her way through the city streets until she passed through the gates to the open bailey. She greeted a guard blocking the way to the inner portion of the castle by name, and they let her through with a wide-eyed grin, welcoming her back.
Prim ran through the sprawling keep, stopping to ask guards and servants alike if they’d seen the princess recently. The answer was always no, with inquisitive looks at her appearance. Dread turned her stomach into lead as she skidded down a second-floor hallway that faced the interior royal gardens, then paused at one of the many open arches. She released a sigh of relief at the two familiar figures--one in white, one in blue--sitting on a bench in front of the large mermaid fountain. She whispered her thanks to Solin before bounding down the stairs.
Prim’s frantic, pounding footsteps on the white gravel of the garden paths announced her arrival and had two guards she didn’t recognize gripping either shoulder before she could reach her friends. But Bristol and Kallia turned at the commotion, their long, ash blond braids twisting with the motion. With gasping breaths, they ran to the missing handmaiden, the princess demanding her release.
Prim sobbed as she flung her arms around her friends. Bristol was squealing and Kallia was taking strained breaths as both squeezed Prim so hard her ribs hurt.
“Where have you been?” Bristol demanded. Then she pulled back and looked over Prim. “What are you wearing?”
With Bristol out of the way, Kallia took the opportunity to grasp both of Prim’s hands. “Prim, I was so worried. We all were. Roan went after you…Oh, he’ll be so relieved to find you home safe.”
Prim didn’t bother to tell her the truth about that right now. “Kallia, someone is offering a lot of money for you. The middle man is in the Cavs and I’m sure he can identify who it is. We need to get the royal guards on it.”
Kallia furrowed her brows, but her attention darted behind Prim as the gravel shifted with approaching footsteps. Bristol sank into a curtsy, then Kallia. Prim twirled around to find Queen Mallis approaching in a simple purple dress, her golden hair piled atop her crownless head, an entourage of two handmaidens and five guards following her. Prim dropped into a low curtsy herself, though it felt a bit awkward in her leathers.
With a soft smile, the queen nodded permission to rise and waited for the three women to straighten before speaking. “Welcome home, Primrose. I’m sure we have much to discuss. Bathe and dress. I expect you in my chambers in an hour.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty.” Prim curtsied again and the queen glided away, though one of the five guards flanking her remained. Prim glanced at the unfamiliar fae woman before returning her attention to her friends. “What’s with all the new guards?”
Bristol and Kallia shared a look. The former explained, “After your disappearance, the king and queen added more guards posted around the castle and assigned two to Kallia and one to me. But then some other odd things started happening. On a few different occasions, people were caught hanging around where they shouldn’t have been, trying to get into the castle, filling up the bailey during public hours. So, they wanted even more. They hired new ones to add to the roster.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” Prim said before remembering she was back in the castle and shouldn’t speak her mind so freely as she had when she was with Dante--not because of her friends, but because of any other listening ears. Kallia and Bristol stared at her quizzically. “I just mean, if new guards are being hired during a time of increased attempts to infiltrate the castle, one of those conspirators could just apply for the job and get an easy way in, couldn’t they?”
“I suppose…” Kallia offered.
Bristol shook her head. “All the newcomers have to be personally recommended by a current guard. They go through all the same referral and background checks that they’ve always had to.”
That didn’t ease Prim’s mind, especially after learning about what royal guards had done to Dante’s parents and the rest of the innocent people in that tavern, though she knew no guards from twenty years ago would still be employed--they retired after fifteen years of service; kerns after eighteen.
Bristol looped her arm into Kallia’s. “Shall we accompany Prim to her bath so we can get some of the juicy details about where she’s been?”
The princess smiled, nodding her head, and looped her arm into Prim’s. The trio headed toward the princess’s chambers, Kallia insisting Prim use her personal bath after her ordeal. Four guards followed them: the unfamiliar fae woman the queen had left, a human named Tuck that Prim had never been too impressed with but kept his eyes on Bristol, and--thankfully--two guards Prim knew to be loyal and trustworthy who seemed to be Kallia’s personal escort.
The guards remained close as servants filled the tub, but once it was ready, they took positions outside the bathing room and allowed Bristol to close the doors. Prim uncoiled her hair and undressed before slipping into the warm, floral scented water. The women had bathed and dressed together enough that none of them gave a second-thought to one another’s nude form.
Kallia took a seat at a chair in front of a vanity the princess used when her hair was being tended, crossing her legs and folding her hands over her knee.
Bristol picked up Prim’s discarded leathers, examining them. “Again, what kind of clothes are these? What have you been up to?”
Prim laughed, running a soapy hand along her arm to clean it. “They’re flight leathers from the North. Dragon whisperers wear them.”
Both of her friends' eyes widened at that. “Why do you have dragon whisperer flight leathers?” Bristol pressed.
Prim sunk into the water, wanting to draw out her friends’ anticipation. When she rose, pushing her wet hair back, she blew out a mouthful of water. “Because I met dragon whisperers and flew on a dragon.”
The women gasped and squealed and asked all kinds of questions. Prim answered as best she could, telling them about flying and Pregg without going into too many specifics about who she was with. She explained why she left, giving them the same story she’d given Roan--to follow a lead toward Farren.
She wouldn’t betray Dante, even knowing he was still set on completing his mission to deliver her. She understood he didn’t want to, that he felt he had to for Marnie, and she wouldn’t fault him for that. He made it clear he didn’t care about the money after everything they’d shared, and she would never expect him to put her welfare over that of his niece’s.
She didn’t even mention having a companion between Hogard and Sartu.
“But I found out you were being targeted presently, and I had to abandon my mission. I loped as soon as I heard. Kallia, I loped over half the distance between here and Pregg! I couldn’t believe it. Helena is going to lose her mind when I tell her.” Prim laughed, splashing a bit of water at the princess who ducked out of the way indignantly.
Bristol put her hand in the tub to splash Prim back on Kallia’s behalf. “Sounds like a fun adventure. I bet you missed Roan, though, didn’t you?” she asked coyly.
Prim laughed nervously. “What do you mean?”
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The other two women shared a look and a grin. Kallia answered. “When we told him you’d gone missing, he admitted you’d been with him that night.”
Prim pressed her eyes closed. Dante, Bristol, Kallia…she wondered who else he’d told. Apparently he didn’t comprehend the need for secrecy as well as she’d thought he had. “Not really, no. No more than I missed you two, anyway. You’re all three my closest friends, after all.”
Bristol snickered, but Kallia looked at Prim contemplatively. She’d always had the ability to see through people’s bullshit, though she usually kept it to herself, letting others present themselves how they wished even as she knew it was false. This, apparently, was not one of those times. “You know he’s in love with you.”
Prim took a deep breath. “Yes. But you know I’m not in love with him.”
Bristol stuck her bottom lip out. “Why not? He’s amazing. He’s practically one of us. The sex must be good, too, as this is your second go with him, isn’t it?”
“Was. It was my second go with him. And my last.” Prim splashed some water at Bristol. “If you think he’s so amazing, why don’t you go after him? The sex was good, and I give you my blessing to see for yourself.” Prim wagged her eyebrows at Bristol who just shook her head.
Kallia was still watching her. “You met someone while you were gone, didn’t you?”
Prim looked away without answering and stood from the bath, the sounds of the water dripping off her bare skin into the tub filling the room. Bristol wrapped a towel around her, and Prim thanked her before turning her attention back to the princess. “I didn’t deliver the letter. I’m so sorry I failed you.”
Kallia rose, embracing Prim, her white dress spotting with the water dripping off the handmaiden’s hair and body. “I’m sorry I asked you to do it. If I hadn’t, you’d never have gone missing.”
Prim took a shuddering breath as she imagined what that would have been like. To have never met Dante, never met his family, never rode a dragon, never learned of the threat to Kallia.
“Everything happens for a reason,” she whispered, her voice full of emotion.
The princess pulled back to search Prim’s face, but only offered her a small smile. She would press later, Prim knew, but allow her a reprieve for now. Kallia offered Prim her seat, and Bristol and the princess herself braided Prim’s hair in their customary long braid. While grateful, Prim couldn’t help but lament it wasn’t Dante’s fingers running through her hair.
#
The fae woman walked Prim--now wearing her customary blue dress--to the queen’s chambers, explaining she would be Prim’s primary escort. Her name was Sarasha and she spoke with a slight accent Prim couldn’t place, though her chestnut hair and pale eyes reminded her of the coloring of those she met in the North. She was quiet after her introduction, for which Prim was thankful. She wasn’t in the mood for idle small talk.
The two guards stationed at the queen’s doors opened them upon their arrival, and Sarasha followed Prim in. Queen Mallis was at the table along with her two handmaidens. The four guards from earlier lined the walls. All six stationed here were guards Prim recognized. Good.
Prim curtsied her greeting and the queen instructed her to take a seat at the table.
“Are you hurt?” Queen Mallis asked gently.
“No, Your Majesty.”
“Were you taken?”
Prim allowed no hesitation. “No, Your Majesty.”
The queen tilted her head slightly, looking over the handmaiden. “You are free to resign from your post at any time, Primrose. But to do so without providing the proper time to find your replacement is unacceptable.”
Prim shook her head. “I don’t wish to resign. I was following your orders.” At Mallis’s raised brow, Prim continued. “Princess Kallia assigned me a task outside the complex. Once out, I came upon information about a plot against her. A man from the Cavs whose loyalty lies with the crown informed me that the owner of the fighting pits, Sol Samanti, was offering one hundred thousand golds for her death or three hundred thousand golds for her abduction. He said he was on his way to confront the person who would be accepting the princess if someone had been successful, and I insisted on accompanying him. He allowed it, but refused to wait for me to put my affairs in order before leaving.”
None of the guards showed any reaction, though Prim knew they were listening intently. The queen’s handmaidens allowed a bit of a reaction by the way their mouths tightened and eyes widened, but they said nothing. Queen Mallis, however, took a deep breath. “Where is this man now?”
Prim ignored the burning pain in her chest. “Likely still on his way to Kensut, the potential drop-off location. I left him to return home once I realized the plot was already in motion. I had to get back to warn you and Princess Kallia.” Prim didn’t know where Dante was or what he would be doing. She just hoped that bowerbird shifter hadn’t hurt him or Roan. That the two men she cared about hadn’t hurt each other.
“And how did you come to realize the plot was already in motion?”
Prim wove truths and lies seamlessly. “Men from the Cavs caught up with us. They were after my companion for betraying them, and admitted to such.”
Queen Mallis narrowed her eyes. “And what became of those men?”
Prim swallowed, recalling the crack and thud of Dante’s deathblow. “My companion killed one of them after he alluded to…hurting me. The others he released so they could warn the rest of the Cavs not to interfere with our mission.”
The queen stared at Prim for a moment. “Horen.”
One of the guards extracted himself from the wall, positioning himself just behind the queen instead. The older hawk shifter had a bushy grey mustache, though his hair on top was still dirty blond.
“What is your companion’s name?” Queen Mallis directed the question at Prim.
Prim’s heart pounded, regretting mentioning Dante at all. “Con.”
The queen kept her gaze on Prim as she spoke to Horen. “See what you can find on this man. When Con returns to the city, perhaps we should recruit him. Someone so loyal to the crown and so protective over a member of our court should be rewarded.”
The guard nodded, though the queen couldn’t see with her back to him, then retreated to his place on the wall. Prim silently commanded herself to calm down, trying to convince herself she hadn’t endangered Dante.
“And Somanti?” Prim asked.
“He will be in the dungeons by nightfall,” the queen promised.
Prim breathed a sigh of relief, even as she knew the threat wasn’t fully contained. “He’ll need to be questioned to find out who ordered the plot to begin with.”
The queen offered Prim a small smile. “Of course.” The room was quiet for a beat until she added, “We are pleased to see your safe return.”
Prim rose at the dismissal, curtsying once more before exiting, Sarasha following her out.
She found the princess and the other handmaiden still in Kallia’s chambers; rain had begun to fall outside keeping them in. The trio remained in Kallia’s entertaining room talking and laughing and catching up, the four guards lining the walls as two others stood outside the doors. They had lunch brought in and Prim gorged herself--though the food wasn’t as good as she remembered. Marnie’s cooking was better.
Kallia didn’t bother to leave for her private lessons--the ones where she spent some time learning to defend herself but mostly rules of etiquette, diplomacy, and politics. Prim didn’t bother to leave for her private lessons--the ones where she learned how to defend the princess and attempt to refine her gifts. Helena likely hadn’t even heard of her return. And, of course, Bristol had no private lessons. Her duty wasn’t to protect Kallia, not like Prim’s was. Her duty was to heal Kallia if Prim ever failed, and her healing gift needed no training.
The women only left Kallia’s chambers to have dinner in the great hall, where Queen Mallis nodded with a soft smile at them. King Achrod, wearing a tailored blue suit the same color as Prim’s dress--the same color as the Wassalian flag--sat beside his wife. Though the queen hardly ever wore jewelry, he wore a golden crown atop his dark hair and three rings on his fingers in addition to his wedding band. They ruled together, neither having more authority over the other. Prim knew it was just their personal preference. The king smiled warmly at his daughter, then dipped his chin at Prim in gratitude. Prim wondered if that meant they’d already captured Somanti. If they’d already tortured the information out of him.
After dinner, Bristol suggested the trio retire to one of their chambers together rather than separating to their usual rooms, and the princess offered her own, as the handmaiden knew she would. Prim agreed, forcing a cheeriness into her smile that had Kallia narrowing her eyes. Soon, the princess would start pressing about what was bothering her, about what had happened on her journey that she had not yet shared with them.
But not tonight. The women walked past the two guards stationed at Kallia’s door, then walked through the entertaining suite and into her bedroom. Their assigned four guards allowed them to close the doors after performing a sweep and finding the room empty and secure. Cuddling up in the enormous bed, Prim’s exhaustion had her asleep before either of her friends could even wish her sweet dreams.
Prim awoke to bright sunlight alone, still in her blue dress, her thick braid a messy tangle. It took her a moment to remember where she was, though the enormous bed and beautifully ornate room could only belong to a royal. The chipper voices of Kallia and Bristol fluttered through the closed door that led to the entertaining suite, and Prim rose to join them.
When she opened the doors, her attention fell on her friends lounging in purple chaises just like the ones in the queen’s chambers. Prim smiled as the women turned their attention to her, Bristol motioning for her to join them, a spread of fruit and pastries on the low-lying table before them. As Prim glided across the room, her eyes flicked to the four guards standing to the side, nodding her head in greeting. They’d been replaced with a fresh batch from the ones that had accompanied them yesterday.
Prim’s leisurely footsteps halted, her smile fading as she recognized one of the men in navy. The man only stared at her, not a hint of a smile or a tilt of his head to reveal that they knew one another.
Prim stared right back into the face of the assassin she’d left in Pregg.