Page 4 of Hollow Court

Though every word of it had been a manipulation, his question echoed with each footstep I took out of the carriage, steered by Alexei’s firm grip.

Had I ever thought about wanting more for myself?

Not then. Not really.

But lately…lately, it was all I thought about.

TWO

Davin

The Socairans looked happierthan I had ever seen them.

My first holiday into their esteemed kingdom had been under markedly worse circumstances, but even this trip had seen mostly stern faces and disapproving looks. Until now.

“If I had known all it would take to make them so ecstatic was to finally leave, I’d have done it weeks ago,” I commented to my cousins in an undertone.

The four of us stood slightly apart from the crowd of elegantly attired courtiers in the ballroom, enjoying a rare moment of reprieve from the constant politicking that had plagued our lives since we arrived.

Rowan scoffed and rolled her eyes, a move that—as their queen—was probably less than appropriate. I loved her for it, though some of her people were clearly still coming around.

It was hard to believe that less than two years ago, we were captives of this kingdom, and now my best friend and cousin was their queen. I wondered who the turn of events had been more shocking for, her or the stodgy citizens she ruled over.

“You wouldn’t have left me so soon after you got here,” she argued.

“True enough,” I admitted, grinning down at her.

She was short enough that from my vantage point, I could mostly see the top of her black, spiky crown and the crimson curls entwined with it.

Besides, as much as I generally despised dear old Socair, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be returning to Lochlann. Or rather, I wasn’t thrilled about what I was going home to.

Especially not after the letter I had received just this morning, the one informing me that a formal challenge had been issued against my birthright.

There was nothing I could do about it now, though, so I tried to focus on my last night with Rowan instead.

My cousin Gwyn echoed those thoughts.

“Remind me why we’re spending our last night together with a bunch of stuffy Socairans?” she complained, tucking a wayward auburn curl behind her ear.

“Because otherwise we can’t pretend to our parents that this trip was to build stronger relations,” Gallagher told her.

To the untrained eye, the twins were nearly mirror images of the other, though Gallagher was a bit taller and broader. Even their faint smattering of freckles fell into nearly identical patterns on their tan cheeks.

“Speak for yourselves,” I said, arching an eyebrow mockingly. “Row and I have been working.”

Though a large reason for the rather arduous journey through the mountains had been to see my favorite cousin, it had also been to gently scale back on the trade agreement we had established. Winter was just around the corner, and Lochlann’s food stores were vast, but they weren’t limitless.

I had been tasked to represent our kingdom in those negotiations, and the twins had come along for moral support, or more likely, the party.

“We’re here to…help build relations with the Socairans.” Gwyn made a face as she said it, looking around at the people in question with thinly veiled distaste.

Gallagher snorted softly. “I’m sure Davin has had enough Socairan relations for all of us.”

I put a hand on my chest in mock offense.

“I’ll have you know I was quite chaste this trip.” Truthfully, I hadn’t even been tempted, but I wasn’t about to tell them that.

Then they might ask why, and I didn’t want to think about how that explanation would go.