One of the guards yanked him to his feet. “Deep’s sake, son, you almost got yourself killed. Call out next time!”
“Aye,” said the boy, looking around warily as the bows lowered. “The king sends message to remind the princesses and lady to be back by dusk.”
Aerity rolled her eyes. As if they needed a reminder. As if they could forget the dangers for a moment—oh, how she craved that.
“We’ll have them back,” the guard promised, and shoved the lad gently back toward the woods. “Rush back now, don’t dawdle in the forest.”
Tiern and Lord Alvi both chuckled, and a sense of relief blew through their group.
Aerity felt even hotter now after the scare. She gazed longingly at the water.
“Remember when we used to race to the barrier islands?” Aerity mused.
Wyneth laughed. “We were well matched, weren’t we? It’s as if we took turns winning.”
Truth be told, they’d never been competitive with each other. Those races were for fun, and she missed those days of childish wiles.
“You swam to those islands?” asked a deep voice beside them.
The girls looked up into the handsome face of Lord Alvi, his glistening skin on full display. Wyneth quickly averted her sight back to the water.
“Aye, it’s not that far,” Aerity said.
He nodded. “I could make that in a blink. It’s just that most Ascomannian women don’t swim, so you’ll forgive me for finding it hard to imagine the two of you out there.” His smile was so dashing that Aerity’s breath caught, and then his words hit her.
“You don’t think we can do it?”
His smile turned to a teasing grin. “Well, if you say you can, then I’ve no choice but to believe you. It’s just that all I can picture is a bit of this.” He flapped his hands wildly, like an amateur swimmer flailing to stay afloat.
Wyneth and Aerity had to laugh at his ridiculous antics. The others came over to see what was going on.
“I assure you we can swim as well as any men,” Aerity said.
“Or better.” Vixie grinned.
The older guard stepped up. “We should get you back soon, your highnesses.”
“Soon?” Wyneth asked. “But we’ve got a couple hours before dusk. Plenty of time for a swim.” She shot a rather challenging glance toward Lord Alvi and his chest seemed to puff in pride that she’d acknowledged him.
Aerity looked at Paxton, whose eyes were trained on the trees behind her, as if lost in thought. “How about this?” she began. “Us three girls versus you three lads. We race to the Isle of Loch and you race to Red Crab Island—that’s what Wyn and I used to do.”
“Absolutely!” Tiern rubbed his hands together.
“We can’t let you go alone,” said the younger guard to Aerity. The older one frowned at him.
“Then come along,” Aerity responded.
The two guards exchanged a glance and the younger one spoke up. “I’ll swim with them and you keep watch from here.”
“I’m not sure the king would approve—”
“Father won’t mind!” Vixie said, already peeling off her riding boots. “He knows we’ve done this loads of times.”
“Aye, your highness, but that was . . . before.”
“The beast has never attacked in daylight, has it?” Vixie challenged. “And besides, it’s probably still in the mountains.”
The older one let out a huff as if all this silliness were an unnecessary waste of time. Aerity disagreed. Her spirits were already lifting as she bent to untie her boots. At Lord Alvi’s side, Tiern took off his shirt. He was lean but strong.
“Are you sure you want to swim in your riding clothes, Your Highnesses and lady?” asked the older guard. “Perhaps we should return another day when we’ve had time to prepare and speak with the king.”
“Rest your mind,” Aerity told him, pulling back her hair with a leather strip from her pocket and tying it tightly. “We’ll be to the islands and back in less than an hour and return to the castle straight away. We’ll dry a bit on the walk back, and all will be well.” She gave him a reassuring smile, but his face remained creased with worry.
Aerity knew if they asked her father to swim to the barrier islands he would refuse. His overbearing rules of late were suffocating her, and she longed for one moment of freedom and peace. Rebellion, even. Plus, she wanted Lord Alvi to eat his words.
She turned to see if the lads were ready, and had to swallow hard. Paxton’s back was to them as he pulled his brown tunic over his head and tossed it onto a rock. He turned and immediately locked eyes with Aerity. Under his shirt had been a diagonal strap from his shoulder to waist holding sheathed daggers. She didn’t bother looking away. She’d seen his chest before in the healing room, but seeing him standing there at a distance, his trousers hung low and his hair escaping the messy knot . . . all of it made Aerity’s body tighten.