Which I supposed, whether I liked it or not, made me a queen.

“You didn’t plan for this,” I said. “Angoulême did. And we need to make him pay for what he’s done.” I leaned back so that we were eye to eye. “With Roland controlling Trollus, the Duke will believe we’re on the run. That he’s hunting us. But he’s wrong.”

I felt Tristan’s anger chase away his grief, and he lifted me up and set me back on the cot. “I’ll get the others.”

I retrieved the steaming cup my gran had left for me, and, moments later, Tristan returned with the twins, along with my father and Jérôme.

“You going to live?” my father asked, and when I nodded, he added, “Good. I wouldn’t want you to die before I had the chance to wallop you like the idiot child you are.”

“You should let me do it, Louis,” Victoria said, crossing her arms. “It will hurt more.”

“I–”

“Shut-up, Cécile,” Victoria said. “I’m not interested in hearing your excuses. You took advantage of our trust and ran off without so much as leaving a note to say where you’d gone. We thought Winter had caught you. Or the Duke. Then we tracked your horse to the labyrinth just in time to watch it collapse. Do you know what it was like for us watching the sky for Marc’s signal that Tristan was dead or near to it because you’d gotten yourself killed?”

I licked my lips and glanced at Tristan, but the look in his eyes told me I was on my own in this. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Both Victoria’s eyebrows rose. “You think sorry is going to make up for leaving us to watch your grandmother weep for fear of what had become of you? Not even close, Cécile. You’re going to have to earn our forgiveness.”

“I understand,” I said, knowing better than to ask how I might accomplish that. Just as I knew better than to try to justify my actions. What I’d learned had been worth the risk, but that didn’t mean I was exempt from the consequences of my actions.

Chris came running in then, bending over as he struggled to catch his breath. “Came back as soon as I heard Cécile was here.” His eyes landed on Tristan, and his face broke into a grin. “Well, if it isn’t the prettiest prince to ever walk the Isle. So glad you could finally join us.”

“Necessity,” Tristan replied. “As you can see, my attire has been woefully neglected since my half-trained manservant abandoned me to a greater cause.”

Chris’s face turned bright red, then he laughed and slung an arm around Tristan’s shoulder. “How fortunate that you make even rags look good, Your Highness.”