I blinked. He was smiling. Not the wolf grin that made my skin crawl. An actual, human smile. He saw me staring and quickly turned away, making a show of adjusting his grip on his reins.

He could smile at a bird, but me he had to drive wild?

“Princess! Princess!”

A trio of small boys came running toward us, their harried mother calling after them a step behind. The smallest of the three broke ahead, a broad grin across his face. One of my guards shifted, but I waved him away, and he allowed the boy to approach.

The boy raised his hand in offering. A single daffodil rested between his small fingers, the petals stark white as snow. Behind him, a trail of them led back to his mother and brothers, having slipped from his hand in his race to reach me.

I took the flower, the beginnings of a smile tugging at my lips. “Thank you.”

His mother called for him then, and the boy flashed me another grin before rejoining her. She bowed her head, and I nodded, watching them disappear down the road.

“When you’re done entertaining the riffraff,” Ericen intoned, “I’d like to get out of this miserable heat.”

We moved on to the Caravel Wing, once home to the city’s sun crows. After Ronoch, their absence had been felt the strongest. The crows’ healing abilities had been sorely needed. Nearly half the wing was educated in the healing arts, but they hadn’t been nearly enough to help all the injured.

I ran a finger along my scars, the daffodil still clutched against my palm. A sun crow could have healed the wounds before they scarred. They could have saved Estrel. For a selfish second, I wished the egg I’d found had been a sun crow. But that wasn’t what Rhodaire needed to survive.

Aris was crumbling bit by bit, more than I had realized. Seeing it had been painful. Seeing Ericen witness it had been worse. Though that pain lingered, this time, it didn’t overwhelm me. I couldn’t stop myself from snapping at Ericen, but as I watched his proud form, head held high, riding like a conqueror surveying his prize, I found I didn’t care.

I wanted him to know that I was angry, that as close as I’d come, I had not been defeated. Rhodaire had not been defeated.

I wanted him to know I would still fight.

Seven

Once home, I washed and changed for dinner, which Caliza had condemned me to eat with Ericen. We had to keep up appearances, but I would have rather stayed hungry, even though my appetite had started to return.