Im glad youre safe, Devin said. I… I heard about Rodry.

Lenore bit her lip, tears springing to her eyes.

Im sorry, Devin said. I didnt mean to upset you. It was just… he was good to me.

He was like that, Lenore said, leaning back against the battlements. He was always so generous. If you were his friend, you were his friend for life. And he was brave, too. I wish hed been a little less brave. Maybe hed still be alive.

I think, to get you back, hed do it all over again, Devin said. And if he didnt…

He stopped himself before he said that he would. There were things he probably wasnt supposed to say to a princess. Devin wasnt sure what all of them were, though, and that just made the whole thing more complicated.

I know, Lenore said. Would you… would you sit with me a while? It seems like people have been avoiding me since I got back.

Devin nodded. If Id thought they would let me through, I would have come to your rooms. Im glad I spotted you out here.

Im glad too, Lenore said.

They sat together on the edge of the battlements. From here, it was possible to see the whole of the city, and some of the lands beyond, the fields stretching out in gold and green, out toward the forests in the distance.

They sat there, and for the first minute or two, they just sat. Devin wasnt sure what to say. He wasnt sure what someone like him could have to say to a princess, or what to say to Lenore after everything shed lost. It felt as if all he could do was be there.

Im sorry, he said after a minute. Im not very good at this.

You seem to be doing fine so far, Lenore said. Most of the people so far have either told me how sorry they are, or gone on with making plans for my wedding. My mother is grieving over my father, Vars is… Vars, Greave is missing. Its not a time when my family is exactly going to gather around me.

If theres anything you need, Devin said, just say it, and Ill do it.

Lenore looked surprised by that, and it occurred to Devin that there probably were many things that he could do for her.

Thank you, she said. I think most of the people around here are mostly thinking about what I can still do for them. She paused for a second or two. My husband-to-be definitely is.

Is everything… Devin stopped himself. Sorry, I was about to ask if everything was all right.

Lenore smiled wanly. Almost nothing is. You wanted to do something for me? Tell me about how things are going for you. Tell me about something normal.