Rua placed her hand on his forearm. “There will be.” She gave him a confident nod, not a single shred of doubt in her visage.

“I thought I was impressive, building the palace of Yexshire in a handful of weeks,” Remy said to Renwick. “But this place is even furnished.”

Renwick huffed a laugh. “I called in some favors.”

“How goes the East?” Bri asked Talhan.

He gave an exaggerated eye roll. “Exceedingly dull.”

Carys propped her elbow on the table with a smirk. “Which is why you should leave the dull business of ruling a kingdom to someone like me.”

Talhan winked at her. “Not a chance.”

“It’s not fair that both of you have had a chance to go east and make yourselves known to the new council,” Bri groused. “You already have a head start in the autumn elections.”

“Please.” Talhan snorted, dropping his napkin on the table. “You have a prophecy on your side. The people will flock to you.”

“See?” Carys gave Bri a pointed look as she sipped from her goblet.

“What do the other rulers of Okrith think?” Aneryn asked, eyeing between the crowns of the Northern, Western, and High Mountain Courts. “Who would you most like to see on the throne?” Her flashing blue eyes landed on Remy.

“You can’t make me pick!” Remy laughed, holding up her hands in defense. “Let the people of Wynreach decide. I’d be happy with any of these three.”

“Any other contenders?” Aneryn cocked her head.

Carys shrugged. “No real competition so far. A few courtiers from around the realm, but they’re low-level players, with not much fighting skill or connections.” She watched as the servants carried in plates of dark chocolate cake and placed one in front of her. “I think they’re mostly entering because they figured they might as well. It might secure them better standing with whoever ends up being elected.”

Bri ate a forkful of cake, the table humming collectively at the delicious chocolate dessert, layered with caramel buttercream.

She grinned as Lina savored the decadent, rich cake. The way Lina slowly pulled the fork from her lips made Bri’s hand clench tighter around her own cutlery. A tiny bit of frosting clung to the corner of Lina’s mouth, and Bri had the overwhelming urge to lean across the table and wipe it off. She bet Lina’s tongue would taste of sugar and caramel.

The desserts vanished far faster than the dinner, until the room was filled with the sound of cutlery scraping across porcelain. The cake was so delicious, Bri had half a mind to lick the plate clean. She looked at Talhan’s pinched brows and knew he was debating doing the same thing.

“If Cole doesn’t hurry up, I’m going to eat his slice too,” Carys said, tipping her chin to Cole’s untouched plate.