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“What have you brought me then, William?”
“Carleah Rossingol and Fort—” He turns to me. “I don’t actually know your last name.”
“Just Fort,” I reply as I study shelves lined with various bottles and books. A fire crackles in the hearth, a cast iron pot hanging above it. An aroma that smells faintly like the stew Genevieve would make back at the castle fills my lungs and has me longing for a time that now feels like lifetimes ago.
“Rossingol,” the woman whispers. “You are the princess.”
“I am.”
She drops her head in a bow then slams her fist against William’s chest when he does not do the same. “What was that for?” he demands.
“That is the Queen of the Third Realm you so casually brought into our house.”
He looks to her then back to Carleah, eyes narrowing as though we kept some big secret from him. “No, she’s the daughter of Navalis.”
“Which makes her Queen of our realm!” his mother screeches.
William turns to Carleah. “Tell my mother she’s finally lost her mind, will you?”
Carleah smiles softly. “I’m afraid I can’t.” She reaches for the blade sheathed at her hip and draws it out slowly then rests it on the table.
William jumps back as though the thing scalded him, but his mother’s eyes widen with complete and utter fascination.
“It is you,” his mother whispers. “I knew it.” She drops her head in a bow and says, “However we may serve you, Your Highness.”
Chapter 8
Carleah
“This is delicious,” I tell William’s mother, Kira, as I take yet another bite of hearty stew. Carrots, celery, potatoes, and fresh chicken are luxuries I have been without for quite some time. With Shadow settled in their single-stall barn and my stomach full, I am feeling more like myself than I have in quite a while.
“I am so glad you like it.” She takes a bite herself then looks to Fort who has already inhaled two bowls of it. “Fort?”
“It’s amazing,” he replies as he sets his bowl down. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
“A man of your size should be eating far more than I imagine you have been.”
I grin at him because the woman clearly has an appreciation for Fort. “We’ve been on the road for quite some time.”
“I’m sure you have been. Poor dears. Losing your family and kingdom in one horrific night. I couldn’t even imagine. When we lost William’s wife, I thought we would both die out of sadness. It’s a testament to your strength that you still stand.”
I look to William, who has shifted his gaze to his bowl as his eyes mist over. “It’s a testament to yours, too,” I tell them both. “I am so sorry about your wife. May I ask how long ago?”
“Three months,” he replies as he pushes up from his chair. “And I do not wish to talk about it.” After setting his bowl on a counter in the kitchen, he turns and storms out of the house.
“I’m sorry if I offended—” I start.
“You did not offend,” Kira interrupts. “My son and his Harlie were married twenty-seven years this spring. They were never able to have children, so they were everything to each other. Losing her nearly killed him, too.”
“I am so sorry,” I tell her, my heart aching for the man even though we only just met. Unable to help myself, I look to Fort. He’s watching me, and I cannot help but wonder if he’s wondering what it would feel like to lose me, just as I imagine myself in those shoes.
“How long have you two been seeing each other?” she questions. “Last I heard, you were betrothed to the king of Soreno.”
“How did you hear about that?” I ask.
Fort lets out a low growl and pushes to his feet. He sets his bowl down then heads outside the way William left.
Kira chuckles. “We may not live amongst people, but that does not mean we do not talk to them. It was quite well-known that Patrick was to marry the Navalis girl,” she says. “Though I do not imagine that’s happening now.”
