My chest tightens in remembrance. In my second year at the Prince’s Company, when I was twelve, an officit took a switch to my hands for the perceived indignity of defeating him in a spar. I couldn’t carry a sword for days. Prince Meilek found me nursing my hands in the garden fountain. He’d taken the washcloth, mottled with blood, and tended to my knuckles with a gentleness that I have never forgotten.

“I’ll have the officit replaced,” he’d promised.

With five arrows aimed at my heart, the prince could easily order us trussed up and delivered to the queen. Instead, he chooses diplomacy. He might present himself as a man of honor, but experience and Kendara’s tutelage have taught me that everyone has an ulterior motive.

Still, I don’t know what to do besides concede and wait for the right opportunity to present itself. The sword slips from my fingers, hitting the ground with a dull clang of metal.

He snaps his fingers at his Blades, who promptly put away their bows. “They won’t run,” he says, and the edge of warning in his voice is very much the captain’s. “Will you?”

I cross my arms. “Nowhere to run.”

“Good. A chase would have ruined both of our mornings.”

Prince Meilek allows us to finish gathering our things. The Blades crowd in, giving me no opportunity to speak with Saengo. As soon as we’re saddled, we set out through the trees, riding two abreast.

Although Saengo rides at my back, I don’t need to see her to reassure myself of her safety. That connection between us lingers even now, the flame of her worries a constant heat at my back. My hands tighten around Yandor’s reins. What did I do to her? To us?

Yandor makes a deep, grumbling sound, sensing my anxiety. I pat his neck in reassurance, although the contact helps to soothe my distressed thoughts as well.

Now that I’m not at imminent risk of being shot, I consider the thick growth in this part of the forest, which could be to my advantage. Unfortunately, so long as Prince Meilek remains with our party, my options are limited. And I can’t risk Saengo getting caught in the cross fire. I won’t make that mistake again.

I mentally sigh and take stock of my captors and their mounts. I’ve never seen dragules this close before. Dragules and drakes are both bipedal species of drakonys.