“Really?” Ren arched a brow. Audrina grimaced, and Ren took a guess. “Your parents?” They were a constant point of contention in her friend’s life. They never approved of anything Aud did. Growing up, they’d always complained they shouldn’t have had her, that she cost more trouble than she was worth. Even after she came to work in the Keep, they remained unimpressed—she could never work hard enough to earn their favor.

Audrina turned the bread over and over in her hands. “Things are actually better with my mother now. But my father…” She drew in a sharp breath. “I just want him to say he’s proud of me, just once.”

“Sun damn him if he can’t see what a caring person you are.” Ren reached for her hand. “You don’t need the approval of a man like that. You’ve got friends who love you like family.”

A ghost of a smile appeared on Audrina’s face. “Thanks, Ren.”

“No, thank you for putting up with me. And for giving me another chance when I was being such a self-involved jerk.”

Audrina’s smile widened. “I’d give you a million chances. But I’ll also tell you if you’re being a jerk—that’s what friends are for.”

Ren couldn’t help but laugh. “I need that reality check these days.”

“No headway, then, on figuring out who’s been doing all this?” Audrina frowned.

“None. Just… well.” Ren tilted her head. “Did you know Rozalind is pregnant? My mother told me rumors have been circulating through the maids.”

Audrina’s jaw dropped. “I didn’t, no. Then again, I rarely talk to the other girls—Sun above, if she’s carrying your half sibling… do you think it could be her?”

“It’s possible. But I don’t understand why. Apparently Andros doesn’t know she’s with child, but if she’d just told him, my sisters and I need never have been dragged into this.”

Aud tore off a fresh piece of bread and chewed for a moment. “Well, there’s the obvious explanation. She’s Genalese.” Audrina said it as though this explained everything. When Ren didn’t respond, Audrina gestured impatiently. “She’s a princess of Genal. Her child is the potential heir to the Sun Throne. That baby would be eligible for both the Kolonyan and Genalese thrones. And what does Genal want more than anything?”

“To reconquer the Reaches…” Ren said slowly.

“Four hundred years of wars haven’t achieved that. But what if Rozalind found a way to do it without bloodshed? What if her father the king sent her here, under the guise of forming a peace treaty, with this goal in mind all along?”

“It still doesn’t explain why she would let Andros publicly acknowledge us. We’re the competition. Our very existence undermines her claim on the throne.”