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Corrick was right about Erik Rocco, and the first time Olive leaves Kandala to return home, Erik is right by her side.
They’ve been back and forth from Ostriary three times now, always bringing lumber in exchange for steel—since we no longer need Moonflower—and I know Corrick is happy to see that she’s kept Mouse among her crew, because the man refuses to call him anything but Captain Lark.
But in the palace, I can curl up with Corrick in front of a roaring fire at night, and he’ll draw a blanket around us both. Karri and I can drink chocolate creams and play games and read books and never go cold. I rather like winter here.
Miss Tessa Cade, Thank you for allowing us to select a well-bred horse from our stable for your riding needs. We believe we have found the perfect creature, a small black palfrey that is guaranteed to be sure-footed over the cobblestone streets of the Royal Sector. You are invited to visit at your leisure to determine whether the animal is suitable. Yours sincerely, Sullivan Lark
A small black palfrey. That’s the exact kind of horse that Harristan and I shared on the night the rebels took the Royal Sector.
There’s an address at the bottom of the letter. It’s out in Moss-well, and several hours away in this weather. “Tessa?” I look back at Corrick. “We need to go see a man about a horse.”
Quint’s eyes flash my way with feigned annoyance. I reach up to brush snowflakes out of his red hair, and the annoyance is replaced with a smile. Miller, I think. Not Quint.
the two palace guards who’ve driven the carriage are Thorin and Saeth.
Then Saeth grabs Thorin’s arm. His eyes are wide. “You’re a ghost,” he whispers. “No,” I say. “Just lucky.”
I haven’t seen him since the moment he got on that ship to Ostriary.
Then I reach out to rough up his hair the way I did when he was a boy. “It’s all right, Cory.”
“There’s a part of me that wants to punch you, you know.”
“You thought I didn’t know?”
“Every single time we went into the Wilds.” His voice drops to a mockery of mine. “ ‘Go find a game of cards, Cory. Doesn’t that look like a lively dance, little brother? I’m going to go see some horses. Why don’t you join those boys by the fire. I’ll be back in an hour.’ ” He rolls his eyes. “I was young, but I wasn’t stupid. Lord, Harristan. No one likes horses that much.”
“Enough. Let’s go inside with all of you. I’ll take the crown back if this is how it’s going to be.”
It settled something in my heart to see them look to Corrick first, to know he’s won their loyalty the way I did.
Tessa looks between us, and she smiles. “I’ll have an invitation sent anyway,” she says. “If any of you are good at anything, it’s sneaking.”
We were trapped below for a time.” I hesitate and meet Quint’s eyes across the room. “Two days. Maybe three.”
“By that point, too much had happened,” I say. “You were already home! They were calling you king! Consul Beeching had kept his promise. Rumors were saying that King Harristan had sacrificed himself to save the people from the wrongdoings of the consuls. We kept hearing it in the streets.” I shrug. “Too much had gone wrong. Too many people had been hurt. The wheels had already been put in motion. I couldn’t undo that.”
“If you knew, you never would have risen to be king. You always would have known I was in the shadows, judging your choices, your movements, your ideas.”
“Then why did you tell me at all?” he demands. I reach out and ruffle his hair again. “Because I love you too much.” He catches my wrist, but then he grips my hand tight. His eyes gleam. “I’m very glad you did.”
“Oh, escaping from the palace took quite a bit of time, and once we knew you’d arrived safely, it’s rather possible we snuck back through some other tunnels because we knew how to reach the treasury—”
“You thief!” I smile. “You outlaw.” Tessa lifts her cup. “Cheers, gentlemen. We can all drink to that.”
