Damien paused, his face still glistening and now pale. “No. I feel weak all over.”

“I thought so. Let us help you, my lord. We should be to Northwind Castle by midday.”

Damien nodded, then closed his eyes.

An hour later, Cohen took his turn riding with Damien on a fresh mount, the other horses attached to Selene’s saddle. The sky was clear overhead and the trees thick, with conifers set between the naked oaks and maples.

Midmorning, Taegis took Damien again. Selene almost offered but wasn’t sure how well she could hold Damien and guide her horse at the same time.

Just as the sun reached its zenith, there was a break between the trees and a city came into view. Selene’s eyes went wide, and she sucked in a breath. A collection of multistoried houses, slate-colored tile roofs, turrets, ivory towers, and round domes rose in tiers along high cliffs, above a thick grey wall. Light blue banners emblazoned with the symbol of House Maris snapped against the salty wind on the topmost poles. Trees of every color and type were scattered throughout the city. And the entrance to it all was an enormous double gate made of pale wood, with waves carved along its surface.

Nor Esen. The famed city of the Northern Shores.

It was magnificent, incredible . . .

And foreign.

A heaviness settled over her as she followed the men toward the large gate. To the right of the city, the trees grew sparse and beyond them, she could see endless blue.

The sea.

The thought lightened her mind for a moment before she sunk back into the hollowness inside her chest. Suddenly, she wanted to go back home, longing for what was familiar, what she knew and loved—the open sky above the Magyr Mountains and the pine-scented air. The open walkways that let the crisp, cold mountain winds flow through Rook Castle. Deep snows and the howl of the timber wolves.

But there was no going back. There was only forward.

Selene straightened in her saddle and held the reins tightly between her hands. She was Lady Maris now, wife to the grand lord of this land. As such, she would enter her new home with pride and dignity.

She buried deep the feelings of homesickness until she felt nothing. Then, with her chin raised, she watched the gates open up to Nor Esen.

People gathered in the streets as the small party entered the city. Taegis kept one hand near his sword, the other wrapped around Damien’s waist and holding the reins. Selene rode beside him, her eyes forward. Most of the glances sent their way were focused on Damien, usually followed by gasps and whispers. A few curious stares landed on her as she rode along the cobblestone street, but she did not turn. Inside, her heart beat like a trapped bird.

The street wove along the tiers of the city, first left, then right, as it made its way to the other end of Nor Esen, where a castle of grey stone stood at the edge of the wall. She recalled Damien saying his room overlooked the sea.