He climbed from the water completely, no longer bothering to cover himself as he stopped at her side. “I what?”

She turned away abruptly.

He chuckled. “It’s okay, miss. I like Edmund. I won’t try anything with his…” His eyes scanned her body. “Woman.”

The girl hugged her arms across her body.

Dell laughed again as he bent to retrieve his trousers and stepped into them. “Do I make you uncomfortable?”

“Yes.” She refused to look at him and amusement warmed Dell against the chilly breeze.

He slid his shirt over his head, shrinking back at the smell. It would have to do.

“Why are you here?” He bent to tie his boots as he waited for her answer. And for that matter, why was she dressed as a boy again? What was Edmund hiding?

She clicked her tongue. “I couldn’t stop thinking about that fight the other day.” Her voice dropped. “I needed to see if you were okay.”

He grinned and looked up at her. “Translation, the Madran girl was curious about the healing Corban did on me and wanted to see if it really worked or if she’d imagined it.”

“That’s not what I said.”

He straightened. “You didn’t have to. You’ve probably never met anyone with magic before that night–Edmund excluded—and the only stories you’ve heard have come from drunken soldiers who returned from the wars in Bela with tales of magnificent things.”

“Even if all that is true,” she started stubbornly. “It isn’t why I came into the city.”

“Ah, so you don’t live here.” He tapped his nose. “Careful, miss, or I will learn all your secrets.”

He turned and walked back toward the road. The girl ran after him. “Where are you going?”

He didn’t owe her an explanation, but he found himself in a giving mood. “I can’t be seen in this part of the city. Mari will disguise me.”

“How?”

He shook his head. “Don’t ask questions you won’t believe the answers to.”

Mari awaited them in her shop, but she wasn’t alone. The crown prince of Madra loomed over her, his stern face scanning the room. Two guards stood on either side of the front door.

Estevan Rhodipus turned toward them as they entered, his scowl deepening.

What business did a prince have with Mari?

The raven-haired girl behind Dell ran a hand down her still-wet clothing and sighed. “Stev—your Highness,” she mumbled, stumbling into a curtsy.

Dell bowed dutifully, the act clenching something inside him. The Rhodipus line was leading their people into nothing but destruction.

The prince ignored him and fixed his icy eyes on the girl trying to masquerade as a boy. She obviously hadn’t fooled many people with her delicate features and sparkling eyes.

“He-” Prince Estevan started before seeming to catch himself. “Hello, Len.”

Was that her name?