“Tea! Fox!”
Our family stood several yards away, waving. My parents looked unchanged, though my dad stooped a little more than I remembered. Wolf and Hawk had gone from chasing each other around my father’s forge to becoming bearded blacksmiths like my father. Wolf was even starting his own family, which made my head spin. Beside them, Marigold, Violet, and Lily bloomed like their namesakes. Rose and Lilac, not quite asha but my sister-witches still, were the same as always, but Daisy had become even more beautiful. My heart ached, knowing how fast they had grown. Was this how Fox felt whenever he had come home on leave from the army?
Yes, my brother murmured.
We were swept up in a sea of hugs and kisses, my siblings surrounding us. “You rarely write!” Hawk complained, clapping his oldest brother on the shoulder. “You used to write enough to fill a book when you were in the army but then practically nothing after you and Tea left for Kion!” He turned to grin at me then—they all did, a little awed as I stood in my hua with its delicately embroidered waist wrap. What money Fox or I could save, we always sent their way, but I was self-conscious that my outfit cost more than what my family normally made in a year.
“Lady Mykaela was kind enough to invite us for the ceremony,” Marigold said happily. “So many people! It’s like solstice back at home, only the dresses are prettier.”
“I got a new heart for the occasion,” Daisy informed me proudly, displaying a gorgeously intricate heartsglass around her neck, gleaming red.
I groaned. “Daisy.”
“What? I dumped him because he was a louse. I wish I had a pretty silver heartsglass of my own.” Ever the opportunist, she turned to smile brightly at Kalen. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, Tea bunny?”
Growing older hadn’t altered who my family was. Had I changed to them? Did they still see me as the twelve-year-old with her head constantly in a book or did they see me as an asha?
Because I had changed. I wasn’t the girl they remembered. Would they be afraid of me if they knew the runes I wove, if they knew the monsters I’d raised? Would the girl they knew have hidden an azi in her mind and told no one? I knew the answer to that, and it hurt. I was a puzzle piece that no longer conformed to the shape of their lives.
“Thank you, Mykaela,” I whispered as my family joined the rest of the asha.
She smiled. “I know how difficult it is to be away from family.”
I had no time to voice more of my gratitude when my parents descended upon me.
“You’re not eating right,” my mother fretted. “Have they been feeding you well? Are you working too much?”
“Please, Mama,” I mumbled.
My father was a man of few words. “We’ve missed you, Tea,” he said in his low rumble, and I blinked back tears.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit.”
“We heard about you putting down daeva.” Worry colored my father’s heartsglass.
“I’m protected. The Deathseekers and the king’s soldiers make it a point to accompany me…and Fox, of course. The prince even accompanied me once.”
“The prince!” My mother clapped a hand over her heart. “Lady Mykaela told me she would introduce us to him today. Imagine that! Never in my lifetime did I think we would meet the king and his son!”
“Everyone’s excited.” My father cast a glance back at Daisy and Kalen and added dryly, “Even your oldest sister, although I suspect it’s for a different reason.”
To set Daisy loose in a roomful of eligible noblemen was always a bad idea. I hesitated. On one hand, it was amusing to see Kalen looking out of sorts. On the other, he had been nicer to me as of late.
Fox approached, knowing the plan that ran through my mind. My parents turned delightedly to him as he began introducing the other asha.
“Perhaps one of the king’s soldiers can show you around the city,” Kalen said as I headed for Daisy.
“But I’d feel much safer with you,” Daisy persisted, her hand tightening on his Kalen’s arm. I felt a twinge of irritation. This was moving too fast, even for her.
“He’s right, Daisy,” I said cheerfully, worming my way between the two, taking great care to remove my sister’s hand from Kalen’s as I did. My sister glared daggers at me. “Lord Kalen is a high-ranking member of the Deathseekers. What little time he can spare, he spends with me.”
“With you?” It was my turn to grab Kalen’s arm, pulling him away. “You can have your pick of suitors in Kneave, Daisy, but it would be nice if you could leave mine alone.”
Kalen’s mouth was working soundlessly. I stepped on his foot, warning him not to speak.
“Goodness!” Daisy’s hand flew to her mouth, looking both surprised and pleased. “Really? You never mentioned—”
I looped Kalen’s arm around my neck and snuggled closer to him. “It’s not like we want to announce it to everyone, but our relationship is not forbidden. Right, my love?” I poked Kalen in the ribs.
The Deathseeker coughed. “Yes. I, uh…”
“Oh, Tea! My little sister is growing up so fast!” Daisy clapped her hands in delight. She’d gone from flirt to doting sister in less than a second. “My apologies, Lord Kalen. I haven’t seen Tea bunny in such a long time, and I still see her as the shy girl she always was. So you really do love him, Tea?”
I planted as genuine a smile on my face as I could muster. “Of course! I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.” I tugged hard at his sleeve. Kalen was selling this poorly, and Daisy would be sharp enough to figure it out.
“Agreed.” Kalen’s voice sounded so strange that I had to peek up at him to see if he was all right. The next thing I knew, his grip around my shoulders tightened, and he pressed his lips against my cheek.
It was like a jolt of lightning lanced through my skin. I jumped, though it was not an entirely unpleasant shock, and Daisy looked satisfied.
“My apologies, Lord Kalen. Tea bunny, I can see he’s quite smitten. Ooh, Marigold and Lily will be so thrilled to hear!”
“Wait!” I shouted, to no avail. Daisy was already dashing over to my sisters.
“Tea bunny?”
“Shut up,” I hissed. “What did you do that for?”
“I thought you wanted me to be convincing,” he hissed back. “And whatever possessed you to say we were in a relationship?”
“Daisy has a lot of bad habits, but she would never chase after a guy who’s already taken.” I stepped out of his reach. “Look, since you’re clearly uncomfortable, let’s just pretend this never happened. I’ll deal with my sister.”
I was spared from making a further fool of myself by the trumpets sounding as the ceremony began.
My family looked on in awe as both Prince Kance and Princess Inessa stepped into view. I could feel a faint tightening in the corners of Fox’s thoughts, his heartsglass gleaming too brightly to be natural. I reached for his hand and squeezed lightly. After a moment, he squeezed back.
Together, we watched them formalize their betrothal. They exchanged heartsglass, as was the custom, a symbol of their commitment to one another, and I felt my own heartsglass flicker when the prince leaned over and kissed the princess, concluding the celebrations.
? ? ?
The party was in full swing by the time I entered the throne room, where dignitaries from most of the kingdoms mingled. Prince Kance smiled, catching sight of me as I entered.
“I’ve been looking for you all evening,” he said, folding his hands over mine, as was his habit.
“Are you feeling all right, Your Highness?” His face looked pale again.
“Kance,” he corrected me.
“Not today—a formal engagement in a public setting. Calling you by your first name wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“Then at least let me apologize.”
“That’s not necessary, Your Highness.”
“It is to me,” he said earnestly. “I wanted to tell you personally about the engagement, but I didn’t quite know where to begin. After all my talk about taking command of my own life, this reeks of the worst hypocrisy.”