Baryn was trying not to laugh. “And let me present Valri, my wife and my queen.”
Ellynor’s curtsey to Valri was a little more shallow and she did not drop her eyes as she had when she met the other two. Valri’s own eyes coolly assessed this new arrival. It struck Cammon now-as it should have struck him before, except he always wasted so little attention on people’s outward appearances-that there was a definite similarity between the two women. Not so much their coloring, though they both had black hair, but their essences. They were both watchful and still, secretive and serene. They both looked as if they had been blessed, or burdened, with complex knowledge that was difficult to handle but too sacred to share.
They knew each other. Despite being unable to read either one of them, Cammon could tell that as soon as their eyes met. He picked up a sense of disquiet from Justin, though the Rider kept his face completely impassive. So Justin, too, realized that these women were not strangers to each other. Ellynor had perhaps confided in him something of Valri’s history. Which Cammon would dearly love to know-he had no information beyond the fact that Valri was Lirren and bahta-lo.
“Ellynor. It is good to see you again,” Valri said calmly.
“Yes, and very good to see you, too,” Ellynor replied. “You have traveled far from home, but you seem to have prospered.”
“Though I miss that home, and all my kin,” Valri said. “You shall have to spend an hour with me someday and tell me tales of the land across the mountains.”
“So is the secret to be revealed, then?” Baryn asked his queen in a gentle voice. “No more pretense? I know how much you have missed your family and your friends, and to have another Lirren girl nearby-well. I would imagine you would greatly enjoy a chance to make her your friend.”
Valri gazed over at him with her bright green eyes. The rest of them stayed absolutely motionless, too surprised to speak. “It is up to you,” she said quietly. “Whatever you think is best.”
“We have so little reason to continue any fiction about what your background might be,” Baryn said. “It seems we will have enemies no matter how carefully you are presented. So let us tell the world you are Lirren-born, and let us see what they make of that.”
The permission did not seem to make Valri relax any, Cammon thought. “They will find a way to use the information against you,” she said.
“They’ll call her a mystic, too,” Cammon said, entering the conversation between royals without permission. Justin gave him a minatory look, but Baryn did not seem offended.
Nor did Valri. “They say it already,” the queen replied.
“People in Gillengaria don’t understand the Lirrenfolk or their powers,” Ellynor said. “If some of us have magic, it is not a kind of magic they can grasp. They might call you a mystic but unless you are commanding fire or changing shapes, they will have no idea what exactly you can do. And that may keep you safe.”
“That is very good reasoning,” Baryn said in an approving voice. “Justin, I like this girl already. Plus, of course, I have to commend your good taste in choosing someone from the Lirrens.”
Justin gave the king another deep bow, his right fist pressed to his opposite shoulder. “Sire, I loved her before I knew her heritage.”
Some of the habitual darkness left Valri’s face as she smiled at the newlywed couple. “So tell us the story of your wooing,” she said. “And the happy ending! Such a rare thing for a Lirren girl who looks to take a groom from across the Lireth Mountains.”
This was a signal to bring in more chairs and call for refreshments, and soon Justin and Ellynor were vying with each other to repeat the details of their romance. Amalie loved the tale, Cammon could tell, though she was horrified by Justin’s very near brush with death. Cammon was more interested in the account of their trip across the mountains for Justin to meet Ellynor’s family-particularly her quarrelsome brothers.
Justin was laughing. “Luckily, I had healed up well enough by then, because a couple of times a day someone was challenging me to a duel, or a footrace, or a wrestling match. Ellynor had told me I had to beat everyone at every contest-”
“I didn’t say you had to win every time.”
“So I did, but, let me tell you, I’ve had workouts with other Riders that weren’t as punishing over the course of a week.”
Valri, who had seemed to thoroughly enjoy the tale so far, now grew suddenly tense again, or so it seemed to Cammon. “And your family?” she asked Ellynor in a tight voice. “They are all well?”
Cammon noticed that Ellynor met her eyes straightly, seeming to acknowledge some unspoken question. “All of them-my brothers, my cousins, my parents-all the ones you know, all of them healthy and unchanged.”
Valri took a quick breath and then folded her lips together as if to keep from speaking. Cammon saw Justin’s eyes narrow and thought, He knows something. Baryn and Amalie did not seem to notice. The king said, “So you arrived a week or so ago, I believe. Did the Riders welcome you and treat you kindly?”
Justin laughed at that. “Most kindly,” he said with a grin. “Quite a welcome.”
Baryn smiled. “I suspect a story there,” he said.
“None worth telling,” Justin replied, still grinning.
The king asked Ellynor, “And what do you make of Ghosenhall?”
“I haven’t seen much of the city yet, but I think it’s beautiful.”
There was a knock on the door and Milo entered, bowed, and gave the king a significant glance. Baryn nodded and rose to his feet. “I have another appointment and I must go. Ellynor, my dear, I am so glad you have joined our family. Justin, of course you realize that officially I am devastated that you have chosen to take a wife, but in private may I say you seem to have made a magnificent choice. Stop by and see Milo before you leave. He will have something to give you-a small gift from me to start you in your wedded life.” He kissed Amalie on top of her head, Valri on the cheek. “My dears. I will see you later.” And he left the room behind Milo.
Justin was instantly on his feet. “And I must get back to the training yard. I’m still recovering some of the skills I lost on the road. Ellynor-”
“Perhaps she will stay and visit with me awhile,” Valri said.
“Gladly.”
Even Amalie could tell that the two countrywomen wanted to speak in private. “Cammon,” said the princess, “I have something to show you in my study. Why don’t you come with me for a moment?”
He did.
And so, for the first time since he had known Amalie, Cammon was alone with the princess.
“WHAT’S in your study?” Cammon asked as they stepped into the room.
“My cloak,” Amalie said. “It’s cold out and I want to take a walk.”
“Without Valri? She won’t like that.”
Amalie gave him a look that was pure mischief. One of the rare occasions when she looked as young as she really was.
“She will be too delighted to talk to Ellynor to even notice that I’m not in the room. By the time she remembers, I’ll be back here, sitting demurely before the fire and confessing to a day of boredom.”
Cammon was hardly one to urge anyone to more proper behavior. “Well, let me grab my own coat and we can sneak out the kitchen.”
“Meet me back here as quickly as you can.”
He did, and found Amalie transformed. She had covered her bright hair with a dull woolen scarf, and her cloak was so plain it could have been borrowed from a maid who possessed neither money nor fashion sense. She had also donned what looked like a pair of her father’s spectacles, but she allowed them to perch on the end of her nose so she could peer over the tops of the lenses.
“What do you think?” she asked. “A good disguise?”
He felt his first twinge of unease. “Are you planning to go onto the streets of Ghosenhall? Because I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”