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“Mother asks that your fleet sails to Dockerly Keep. They’re under attack by Penum and need assistance.”
Mariana gasps. “Oh, dear. I’ll get Wymond at once.” She hurries out of the room as Tomas puffs out a breath and goes outside.
I follow him toward the docks. “Tomas?”
“There’s a lot to do, Bell.”
“You can’t go with them.”
He shakes his head and continues on. “I have to.”
“No.” I fling a wall of air in front of him.
He knocks into it and whirls on me. “What is that for?”
“You cannot go to Ceraun. King Urian knows about us, and—”
“How could he possibly—”
“I don’t know, but he does. Needless to say, he isn’t pleased by it.”
Tomas’ brows lower. “Is he calling off your betrothal?”
“No. He wants a magical heir for his kingdom, even if his son must marry a whore to accomplish it.”
“He did not call you that.” A dark fury simmers under his voice. Even without seeing my own face when that dagger flew toward him in Lambridge, I know he must mirror that expression now. I should not have told him.
“That isn’t the point.”
“It is now!” he bellows.
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you cannot go to Ceraun.”
“I…” I don’t think I’ve ever seen him search for words like this. He pulls a hand down his face. “I need to go burn down whatever Penum misses.”
“Tomas, away from here, from us… What if Urian tries to remove you from Jamys’ way?”
His expression drops to an incredulous look. “Bell, I’ve trained with four magical royals who have little regard for personal safety. I can handle Urian.”
“You’ll be in his kingdom, surrounded by his men—”
“And my own. We’ll be there to help him, whether he deserves it or not, and he should really have more important things to worry about than the lordling ensuring your inevitable disappointment with his son.”
My hand covers my mouth; I don’t know if I can contain the laugh he’s coaxing from me. “Tomas, this is serious.”
“Don’t I trust you to take care of yourself?”
“Yes.”
“So give me the same courtesy. Afterwards, I will remember Urian’s exceptional mistake in disrespecting the Princess of Alchos.”
“Didn’t you just say you trust me to take care of myself?” I say.
“This is different.”
“No it isn’t.”
He shrugs and arches an eyebrow. “Are you dressed that way to spite Urian?”
