He kept his pace, a rhythm that had me breathlessly begging him to keep going. He pulled back to watch me as I came, and though quiet, the release left me shaking. Adrian withdrew and placed his fingers into his mouth before he kissed me deeply.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes,” I whispered, and then we laughed together.

It was a beautiful moment, a brief second in our lives that felt simple and easy compared to what we faced outside this room—a life that would not wait.

Adrian helped me stand. “I will leave you to finish getting ready,” he said. “Today we have court.”

I could only imagine what stories we would hear. It was the first court since Ravena’s attack, since the aufhockers’ behavior had changed, and I was filled with an acute sense of dread.

Nine

Isolde

It did not take me long to restore my appearance. I smoothed my skirt and pushed my hair over my shoulder, hoping that it would help cool my heated skin, which was covered in a fine layer of sweat. I was slightly jealous of how quickly Adrian had pulled himself together.

I was still eager to speak with Ana and had time before court. I retrieved my daggers, fitting them to my wrists beneath my sleeves, and left my room in search of her, finding her in a smaller room down the hall from the sanctuary where the remaining wounded had been moved to finish healing. The room itself was long and narrow, more like a wide hall, with patients lined up in a row on cots.

When I walked in, Ana was rewrapping a leg wound.

“My queen,” she said when she saw me, smiling softly.

“M-my queen!” The patient, an older man, seemed to panic at my presence. He tried to push himself up onto his elbows, but I stopped him.

“Do not trouble yourself, please. I expect you to heal, not to bow.”

“You are kind, my queen,” he said as he started to relax, letting his head fall into his pillow.

“I am hardly kind,” I said. It was the last word I would use to describe myself.

“You fought for us,” he said. “You fought with us.”

I did not know what to say because I felt very differently about how I had fought.

“All done, Petar,” Ana said, patting his newly bandaged leg.

“Thank you, Lady Ana,” he said as she rose to her feet. “Thank you.”

Ana met my gaze as she came around the cot, wiping her hands on her apron. “I did not expect to see you before court.”

“I hoped to speak to you first,” I said. “If you have time.”

“Of course,” she said. “Would you like to walk?”

I hesitated. “I think we should find a more private place to speak.”