“It’s a bit too soon to be hitting on her, Rem, don’t you think?” Carys taunted.

Remy snorted, tucking her chin over Bri’s shoulder. “In another life, I’d be like a moth to the flame.”

Bri’s lips begrudgingly twisted up.

“Ah, is that a smile?” Carys asked ruefully.

“No.” Bri’s smirk faded and she shut her eyes, burying her face back into the pillow.

The day passed in a sorrowful blur, time warping until the sun began setting again. Bri felt as if she were in the deepest ocean, as if she couldn’t come up for air. The lines between reality and dreams smudged until she didn’t know where she was anymore. Everything smelled of jasmine. Every sound was Lina’s voice. Wave after crashing wave smashed into her, breaking her down until she ceased to exist.

“Everybody out,” Talhan growled. The door unceremoniously slammed shut behind him. “You’ve got kingdoms to rule and guests to entertain. Let me talk to my sister.”

Bri scowled, scrubbing a hand down her face and blinking away her bleary vision. Her head rang with the sound of her twin’s booming voice. Her three friends begrudgingly got up. Rua looked back at Bri, raising her eyebrows in question, and Bri gave her a nod. Yes, it’s okay to go, she silently told her.

Talhan stood with his arms crossed at the foot of her bed. His normally charming, cheeky grin was absent, a hard look in its place. He’d turned into the intimidating fae warrior she fought beside on many a battlefield.

“What?” Bri snapped.

Talhan’s eyes sharpened, an eagle ready to strike. “What are you doing?”

“I was sleeping.”

“You know that’s not what I mean,” his deep voice rumbled. “What are you doing with Lina?”

“Nothing.” Bri gritted her teeth to keep her voice from shaking. Just hearing Lina’s name made her body rebel. “If that wasn’t already obvious from her leaving here without me.”

“I knew you’d get your head stuck this far up your own ass without me,” he snarled, making Bri sit up and toss him a lewd gesture. He flashed a menacing grin, seemingly happy to see that spark of life within her.

“She wants to get married, and she’s willing to marry Tem to do it,” Bri hissed. “She wants to cement her legacy. She wants a crown and a consort.”

“But she would have married you if you hadn’t been such a dick,” Talhan guessed. “Why wouldn’t you want that, Bri? To have someone love you, to love them back?”

“I will make my own destiny.”

“Fuck destiny,” Talhan spat, taking another step. “What do you want, Bri? A crown? You could have one.”

“Not one that I’ve earned,” she snarled.