She cracked her knuckles. “Yeah, but I’m not usually unfair.”

“You should give Anya a chance,” I said quietly. “She’s not toying with him.”

“You give out a lot of chances.” She paused. “As long as we’re, you know, analyzing each other.”

I shrugged, grinning thinly. “I gamble on forgiving people as often as I can.”

You didn’t let Bear explain himself, said a critical voice inside. For the first time, I thought of the sadness in his face as I’d left him behind, and felt a little guilty.

“I’m counting on that,” came a low voice from the end of the hall.

My head shot up. “Torden.”

“I came to see if you were all right,” he said simply. “May I speak with you?”

I nodded but didn’t move until Cobie gently shoved me in his direction. “Do I smell like barf?” I hissed in her ear.

Cobie gave a tiny shake of her head as Torden led me around a corner, listening for a long moment before he spoke. “I do not want us to be overheard.”

“Just—explain.” I flopped against a wooden door post. “Anya was miserable today. When I asked her why you hauled Skop off, she just said something about Asgard and bridges and walls.”

“Anya cannot be with him.” Torden ran a hand through his hair, avoiding my eyes. “Pappa will not allow it.”

“Why not?” I demanded. “Skop’s steady and smart and good.”

“The konge says a time will come when—” Torden paused, his jaw tight. “When we will need Anya to marry and forge peace outside our borders as she has within our halls.”

The words were noble. But all they meant was that Anya was a resource, not a person.

I wondered if the Council thought of me any differently. Or if it was any better to be sent away simply because my stepmother loathed me. At least Anya’s marriage might serve Asgard, help keep her family safe.

But she deserved to choose for herself. I deserved to choose for myself.

I frowned. “Is she engaged?”

Torden shook his head. “But she will be, and likely soon.”

“To whom?”

“That has not been decided.”

I raised my eyebrows. “So this engagement is still just an event—it isn’t even a person yet. Torden, they care about each other.”

“I didn’t say I thought it was fair,” he said quietly. “Pappa knows nothing, and no one will be concerned about Skop and Anya talking at dinner and dancing at balls if they stay close to the rest of us. But . . .” He trailed off. “You have to understand, we are not supposed to be too private. Pappa says we belong to each other. To Asgard and to Norge.”

“So it’s better if their flirting means nothing?” I asked. “He’d rather she just use people so he can use her when he needs to?”