Page 104 of A Crown of Hopes and Sorrows

“Emrin,” Father said in a voice I rarely heard him use, stern and imposing.

“No.” Emrin’s nose wrinkled into a sneer, and he turned, striding out of the room, his footsteps clipping against the floor.

Father sighed as the door slammed, and he scratched his forehead. I shifted back towards him and blinked, words not coming. “I’m sorry,” I finally said.

“I’ll speak with your brother. We’re all under a tremendous amount of stress at the moment, and it’s bringing out our worst, I fear.” He blew out another breath but then brushed his thumb over my cheek. “Do you agree?”

“With?”

“Your and Valerian’s relationship. It must remain quiet.”

I clenched my teeth but nodded. Being a princess wasn’t something I could run from. I’d learned that, if anything, on our trip. And us keeping things private might spare Val the worst of any gossip or issues. “Of course.”

“Valerian’s a decent young man.” Father bowed his head. “I always wished his father would claim him… now more than ever. But our family is who the entire country looks to during uncertain times. You understand that, don’t you?”

“I do, yes.”

I truly did, for perhaps the first time in my life. I had caused a huge issue on our trip by behaving impulsively. If Valerian would risk everything for my sake, then I wouldn’t deny our relationship, but I also didn’t want to harm our families or the kingdom either.

“And”—Father took a deep breath but brushed his fingers over my curls—“I believe it would be wise for you to keep up your connection with Lord Galeson for now.”

“But—”

“Epiphany.” His tone stalled my words. “Our country is diving into a war with very limited allies. We cannot risk cutting off those we have. You needn’t make him any promises or act on false pretense, but if you could continue the relationship, it would help our kingdom… possibly tremendously.”

I didn’t like that. It felt like a betrayal to not only Valerian, but Gale as well. Galeson was kind and didn’t deserve for me to string him along. But a war meant hundreds of thousands of lives, and I was committed to doing my part. I bit my lip. “Okay.”

He leaned in and kissed my forehead. Well, it could be worse. I had feared Father forbidding me or feeling angry with Valerian.

Him allowing us to be together was a good outcome.

But then I remembered that Hyacinth had rushed out in search of Valerian.

44

Hyacinth

I stormed into the stables, the sweet scent of hay whirling through the air, birds cooing in the rafters. Valerian stood facing a stall, running his fingers down a horse’s muzzle.

“Valerian,” I growled.

He whirled around, his eyebrows drawing together. “Cyn.”

I reached close enough to him I could punch him, and my fingers curled up. “What the hell were you thinking?”

He ducked his head. “So, Pip told you?”

“How could you?” My voice came out louder than I intended, and the horse startled, pawing at the ground and nickering. “Have you slept with her?”

Val’s lips parted, the color draining from his face. “I’m not answering that.”

I jumped a step in closer to him, my breath trembling against his cheek. “Like hell you aren’t. You’ll answer me now.”

His voice took on a hard edge. “Oh, is that my future king speaking to me?”

“It is.” I bared my teeth, clenching them down to keep from snarling.

The color came back to his cheeks. “Did you know your sister approached me at the beginning of our trip, and I turned her down? Made for a hell of an awkward time after that, too.”