“Come along, Hanne,” said the prince. He was still holding out his arm. It was not an invitation. It was a demand.

“You must let go,” Hanne whispered.

Never.

Nina forced her fingers to release. Hanne smiled and drifted over to Rasmus, looping her arm into his.

“See you in victory,” said the prince.

Nina met Joran’s eyes and willed him to understand. You and I have accounts to settle. Watch over her.

“Will he … will he offer for her?” Ylva asked. She’d been delighted at the notice Hanne had garnered from the prince, but this was not attention any girl wanted.

“That uncooked cutlet wouldn’t dare do otherwise,” Redvin growled. “Commander Brum would have his head.”

Redvin could bluster all he wanted. Nina and Ylva knew better. Brum didn’t have the status to gainsay a prince. Though if Brum found victory today, who knew what power he might attain in the wake of it?

“She will be a princess,” Ylva declared as they followed Redvin into the observation tower, as if she could cast a spell and make it so. “All will be well.” Nina said nothing and Ylva took her hand, giving it a quick squeeze. “The prince must ask and she must accept. You see that, don’t you? It is the only thing that can keep both of you safe.” She hesitated. “You can join their household. It’s not unheard of. If you’re careful.”

Nina made herself nod and say, “Yes. Of course. Whatever Hanne wants.”

Ylva’s gaze was distant. “What we want … what we want for ourselves and for our daughters has never been the question. Only what we can bear.”

Survive this place. Survive this life. Find someone to protect you since you’re not free to protect yourself. Sire children. Pray for boys. Pray the strange and willful daughter you raised will somehow find her way. Fear for her, watch over her, realize your fear and your watchfulness mean nothing when the storm comes on. Ylva couldn’t see any other path for Hanne. And Nina wasn’t sure she could either.

Redvin led them inside a steel elevator that carried them skyward. Even the elevator runs better, Nina thought miserably, recalling the clanking brass contraption she’d once ridden in at Lazlayon. Only hours ago, she’d felt sure that she and Hanne would find a way out of all this. Now her fear had swallowed that hope.

The elevator lurched to a stop at the top of the tower, and they emerged into a room lined with windows that had been fitted with different types of lenses. A large crowd of officers had gathered to watch the invasion, and the mood was tense but jubilant. In the distance, Nina could see the curve of the bay, the seagrass-covered knolls teeming with Ravkan soldiers and tanks, and churning through the water, Fjerdan ships, tank carriers, and troop carriers driving toward Ravka.