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She wasn’t sure if it was because she wasn’t used to this whole royalty thing yet, but the thought of staying cooped up while other people ran errands for her made her skin itch. She knew Elian had said everyone was fine and that she had saved them, but she wanted to see for herself. To have solid proof to chase away Lavender’s haunting words.

You are destined to destroy them.

“But Captain Fadley said—”

“I won’t be long,” Thicket said. “I just… need to see for myself that everyone is okay. Please.”

Maybe it would finally be enough to convince her that she was actually capable of being their queen.

The guards exchanged a look. She sucked in a breath, worried they would say no and lock her inside. To her surprise, their features softened and when they looked at her again, it wasn’t with polite neutrality or uncertainty. They looked at her with respect—as though somehow during their brief exchange, they had come to recognize her as their future queen.

They bowed deeply. “As you wish, Your Highness,” they said in unison before stepping aside, allowing her to pass.

Chapter Seventeen

The guards fell into step behind them a respectable pace away. Thicket was used to Marcellus’ presence, but these guards were on a whole new level. She glanced over her shoulder. “You don’t need to follow me.”

The guards bowed again. “Respectably, Your Highness, we do.”

She knotted her hands together and cast quick, uncertain glances at the surrounding buildings, not quite knowing what to do with herself under the weight of their eyes.

“Just ignore them,” Elian whispered in her ear. His breath tickled the side of her face, making her stomach dip.

“That’s easier said than done.”

“Trust me. They aren’t even looking at you. If anything, they are more focused on our surroundings.” As he pulled away to cast his gaze out across the shops, Thicket noticed he was squinting more than usual.

“Are you having difficulty seeing?” she asked.

“It’s the sun,” he said, shielding a hand over his face. “The reflection of it on the water is a bit brighter than my eyes are used to.”

“You remember how I told you there are different kinds of glasses.” She cleared her throat. “I mean vision glass?”

Elian nodded.

“Well there is one that even helps shield your eyes from the sun.”

“There is?” Elian’s face lit up.

Warmth pooled across her chest. She loved how animated he got about the smallest things. It helped put her racing thoughts at ease, being able to read him so clearly. “Have there been any new developments?” she asked.

Elian hummed thoughtfully. “I have a few designs in mind that I like, however right now I am struggling to determine which enchantments would be needed. Not everyone will have the same kind of eyesight as me, so the strength of the enchantment will need to differ. However, it is tricky considering a lot of energy will need to be imbued in them in order to make it last more than a few years.”

“You have been putting a lot of thought into this,” Thicket said.

Elian rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, ducking his head. “My father would have told me not to worry about prolonging the enchantment. That doing so would mean the business would be more lucrative.” A shadow passed across his face. “But I want to contribute something to the world, not take away from it. That’s why my father always said I didn’t have what it took to rule. That I wasn’t able to make the hard decisions.” Elian’s jaw tightened, a steady determination she wasn’t used to seeing from him creeping into his eyes.“I think there is always a solution. It may not be the easy one or one that fixes all the problems, but it is the one that will do the most good. Those are the kinds of decisions I want to make.”

The words struck a cord inside Thicket. This entire time, she had been so focused on whether or not she was capable of being queen that she never stopped to consider what she wanted to do once she was queen.

Elian, however, had risked the anger of an entire corrupt nation because he wanted to better his kingdom.

In another life, if he had never met her. Had never been engaged to her. Had never lost the opportunity to be king because of her, would he have been better off? Would Dymree have been better off?

Elian pointed across a canal. “Look over there.”

A cluster of pastel buildings curved away from the narrow street running parallel to their own, wrapping around like a horseshoe. In the center was a courtyard. Faded signs rustled in the breeze and clumps of tiny pink flowers hung from planters, dropping petals onto the people milling about.

“Many of Bilya’s shop owners took up residence in this old marketplace,” Elian said, “setting up places to receive food rations and emergency supplies.”