Quinn stepped up beside Cole. Every inch of them was identical, but she’d been able to tell them apart from the first day they arrived eleven years before. Cole had an infectious joy, an incredible zeal for life. But he’d never opened himself up to the family. The hatred between him and Stev was too much to bear at times and occasionally she caught him eying their father with the same dislike. But he loved her and Kassander.

Quinn had become a part of them. No one was as close to him as Cole, but he’d still crafted strong bonds with everyone else. He had a calm confidence about him that was unmistakable.

“Hey Kassander.” Cole grinned. “Take Quinn’s sword.”

Kassander looked to her as if asking permission. She nodded, and he followed Cole across the training yard.

Quinn crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Cole let Kassander chase him with the sword before turning on him to teach him a few moves.

“I missed you two,” Helena said.

“I heard what you’ve been up to.” Unlike with Stev, there was no disappointment in Quinn’s voice, only curiosity.

“Edmund or Stev?” she asked in resignation.

“Our brother is only worried. Should he be?”

“I’m being careful. Quinn, there’s so much to see. The city. The people.”

“If you’re amazed by Madra, you should see Cana.” That was why she loved Quinn. He wouldn’t judge her for her deceptions or stress over her. He could move on. “Mother Chloe was right. It’s a beautiful country. Dangerous too.”

“Are you going back?”

He shook his head. “After your ball, I am being sent to Gaule with my troops. We’re the aid promised in the betrothal agreement between Stev and the princess Camille.”

“Have you met her?” They’d all been told of Camille Durand, the widowed princess of Gaule. Her husband caught an illness more than a year before and died in his bed.

“I’ve heard stories, but most people only speak of her brother and his queen.”

“The king of Bela?” She shivered. “Is Queen Persinette really as powerful as the stories? Her magic…”

“They say it’s mostly gone.”

Disappointment seeped into her. Thinking of an all-powerful queen had led to many fantasies.

Quinn glanced toward Cole again. “He is to stay though.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Once you’re betrothed, you will gain your own guards. Cole is to choose them.”

She nodded, thankful for that. Once she could go into the city as the princess rather than disguised as a boy, guards would accompany her, and if her brother chose them, she knew she’d be safe.

Cole and Kassander dropped their swords and wrestled in the dirt, their laughs punctuated by grunts.