“All the Silver Wolf families live in Highwick,” Maez replied. “Grae and I are cousins on his father’s side.”
I racked my brain for note of the King’s siblings, but whoever Maez’s father was, he must’ve passed long ago. I couldn’t recollect his name in any of our classes, though Vellia’s tutelage had been more focused on the living royal lines.
“I entered my apprenticeship with the royal guard at thirteen,” Maez said. “And Grae invited me into his personal guard about . . .” She looked at the ceiling, silently counting. “Four years ago?”
“Impressive.”
Maez shrugged. “It spared me from my uncle marrying me off to another kingdom. I pledged my sword to the crown prince, so I’m not a threat to his line.”
I pursed my lips, considering Maez. It was a smart move. She’d been confronted with the possibility of an arranged marriage and she’d found her own way out. I respected her more for it—her charming swagger suddenly more understandable, that bravado hard won. She knew what she wanted from life, and she’d taken it, just like Vellia had bid me to do.
“How old are you?” Briar asked.
I glared at her again, knowing she was shamelessly interrogating the guard for her own purposes.
“Twenty-four,” Maez said, cocking her head at Briar, a mischievous fire in her hazel eyes. “And you will be twenty at midnight tonight.”
Briar scanned the guard from head to toe, playing along with her game. “And do you have any . . . sweethearts in the capital?”
Goddess, I wished I could fade into the cushions and disappear from this conversation. I nudged Briar with my knee, but she moved her leg away, merely blinking back at Maez with her blue doe eyes. Briar and I didn’t need to say a word to have an entire conversation. She knew I was warning her to behave, and I knew she was ignoring me.
The carriage lurched forward, and I leaned out the window to wave goodbye to Vellia. The cool morning air tousled my curls as we rode down the forest path. My godmother waved her white handkerchief to us in farewell. Once, twice, and on the third time she disappeared, a trail of glittering stardust left in her wake. Another breath, and the cabin disappeared, too.
I squinted, trying to find the seam of warped air, the glamour hiding the edifice . . . but there was none. It was simply gone. All evidence that we had ever lived there—the place that held every one of my childhood memories—had vanished.
My eyes welled again, and I kept my head half out the window to let the breeze stymie my tears. I hated that the tears came so easily. Warriors weren’t meant to cry.
My excitement dampened, I stared at the morning sun rising through the trees. I felt the absence of Vellia’s magic more with every turn of the carriage wheel. We had to make it on our own now.
“Hardly.” Briar’s voice pulled me back into the moment. I leaned back beside her, not hearing a word of their conversation as I watched the vacant spot where our home had once been. “I don’t know why anyone would fancy men, Moon help them.”
I pointedly cleared my throat.
“Calla likes men and women,” Briar said to Maez in a conspiratorial whisper. “We’ll forgive her for that.”
“You’re about to marry a man, might I remind you?” I gritted out.
There was nothing Briar could say that would untie the knot in my stomach. I didn’t know if it would make it easier or harder if Briar loved Grae . . . probably harder. But Grae deserved someone who adored him, someone who got butterflies in their stomach every time they looked at him. Someone like me. I grimaced at the sharp pang of that train of thought, and instead tried to shift it to why Briar would be an excellent mate for him. For one thing, he needed a consort who was regal and elegant, too, someone who commanded a room just by entering it, someone who could be his queen. Briar would be perfect for that, and that made this arrangement make at least a modicum of sense. None of us had chosen these lives for ourselves, but the future of Olmdere was at stake. All Wolves sacrificed for their pack, and for princesses, that meant marriage.
“These things are never love matches.” Briar waved her hand, giving voice to my churning thoughts. “Our kingdoms have an alliance. With Damrienn’s backing, we will help save Olmdere and, in return, they’ll get access to Olmdere’s gold mines and natural resources.” Briar glanced longingly back at Maez. “What happens outside of that is no one’s business but ours.”
I hated that answer. I had heard it so many times over the years. But Briar was willing to sacrifice to uphold our parents’ wishes. The least I could do was stay out of her way.