Hollis
I watch Candace disappear through the still mostly leafless trees, and that thing in my chest crunches. Fuck that. I crunch it back. That was... fuck, I don't know, a mistake. A lapse in judgment. But sleeping with her makes sense. It's all animal. Wishing she would stay? That's unacceptable.
Slowly, I dress. Most of my clothes are in one pile, but I tuck the cravat soaked with her saliva in my pocket. Nobody's going to notice I'm not wearing it anymore. I'll just drop it in the laundry, and no one will be any wiser.
Our tent is on the north side of camp, so I turn and march toward it. And Eva. Who's supposed to be my mate. I tracked down Candace to protect Eva, not hurt her even worse. It was a stupid fucking plan, all emotion and no logic.
The lights on the old oak fade back into view, along with the memory of Candace's face when I said I believed her. Was it such a stupid plan? Candace has the kind of heart I honestly didn't believe people had outside of storybooks, and I can tell she cares about Eva. She doesn't want to hurt her either.
Shit. Instincts were supposed to be these animal things, all physical. But there's no instinct to explain the crunch in my chest when she leaves, the softness when I look at her. Maybe, between the two of us, we could come up with some kind of plan? A way to tell Eva that hurts her the least? If anyone can do it, it's Candace.
Which leaves the problem of the war to me.
***
After the next day's revitalization-just as much pomp and circumstance, a lot more spreading green-I sit with Zain in the shade of my tent. The exponential growth has the whole gathering excited. Group after group wanders by, chattering about it.
Candace stood at the front with her family, like last time, but she wore a gray dress this time. We haven't spoken since last night. It's harder to find time than I would've guessed with how disorganized the whole campground seems to be.
"A war?" Disbelief threads through Zain's voice as he lounges in the low chair across the matching table from mine. "Why the fuck are you asking about war?"
The leafy branches of the old oak loom over a line of tents. I can't explain without telling him why Candace and I were alone together, and I'm not telling anyone about the mark until I talk to her again. We need to come up with a plan-and as much as I trust Zain in a fight, he's a shit secret-keeper.
"Call it a feeling." I shrug. "There's something in the air."
"I think that's excitement, but fine. I'm still finding my in with the other delegates." He shakes his head. "None of them seem like they're about to start a war."
"I haven't exactly started making friends either." I frown. Candace and Eva have been consuming my thoughts. Worse, half the kingdoms seem like they're run by a pack of toddlers, and the other half are so uptight I'd be surprised if they didn't have an ancestral stick for jamming up their asses. Father's right, Snowcrest really is the only place with the right balance.
"Really?" Zain smirks. "I heard a rumor you're writing a book on Escuro, which is funny because I'm only half sure you remember how to write."
I force myself to laugh and mentally curse yet another bullshit plan. Of course, that rumor would spread.
"Trying to figure out if they're starting the war?" he asks.
Thank fuck. An excuse I didn't have to come up with. I nod. "As you could probably tell, I didn't make a lot of progress."
Zain snorts and pushes his auburn hair out of his face. "You, trying to talk to people? I'm shocked it didn't work."
"Dickhead." I elbow him in the ribs, hard. Diplomacy isn't my strong suit, but it's not like I walked up to people and started cursing them out. I deserve a little more credit, and my second-oldest friend knows it.
Because he's my second-oldest friend, Zain ducks my second swing with a laugh. "All right, I'm focused. The Solbergs have had six or eight chances to start a war on unsuspecting kingdoms since Gavin died, and they haven't, so I don't think it's them."
"Or they're spectacular manipulators hoping you'll think exactly that." The idea seems a lot less palatable than it did when I woke up the morning after the Haze. "Maybe they need Escuro strong first."
"Why?" Zain shakes his head. "No, I think your best bet's one of the other kingdoms. Things are in flux right now-it's the perfect chance for a lesser kingdom to strike, especially if they've been building strength quietly."
Father strides into sight, pauses slightly, then joins us in the shade.
"Boys," he says.
"King Andri." Zain bows.
"Father." I don't. Zain's being ridiculous.
"This ritual works." Father stares at the mottled green and gray ground.
"Did you hear anything else about it?" I ask. "Like, are the wolves of Escuro being affected?"
Father shakes his head. "Unless delirium is an effect."
I laugh. "Zain and I were talking about who might take advantage of a gathering like this."
Father raises an eyebrow. "The Solbergs. The Sollabellas-Sundrop Gem barely speaks politics yet. Escuro cannot be discounted. I have never trusted Oakspring Dunes."
"Is there anyone you do trust?" Zain asks with half a smile.
"Our people." Father nods. "A few others, here and there. The wolves of Starfall Mountain were once honorable."
I haven't heard the name Starfall since King Gavin destroyed them, a few weeks before he showed up on our doorstep, and Father allied with him.
"Thornwinter Swamp," he adds.
Mother's pack, before she moved to Snowcrest. An idea strikes me.
'Go start making friends,' I tell Zain. 'I'll catch up.'
'You sure?' he asks.
I nod.
He stands with a groan. "Well, I've got plans with a few other delegates. Lilywind set up something like a bar on the east side of camp, and-"
Father waves his hand dismissively. Zain's talking more than he has to-Father's already waiting for him to leave. He does without another word.
"There was no Skadi daughter your age, right?" I ask. "That's why you and Mother...."
Father frowns. "If there were, we would be mated."
"Of course," I say quickly. "I've just been thinking about it since I turned twenty-one."
He grunts.
"Uncle Misael, his wife isn't a Skadi either, right?" I scowl at my hands in my lap. This is why half the camp thinks I'm writing a book. This whole subtle manipulation thing comes as easily to me as sewing does to swords.
"No." Father folds his hands behind his back and starts to turn. "I ought-"
"Hang on," I blurt.
He looks at me. Shit. Now, I need something good.
"Other delegates have been asking," I say. "They don't understand our traditions, and honestly, I haven't done as good a job learning them as I should've."
Father sighs, and that fucking look, the "I've been waiting for this" look flashes through his eyes like a knife through my gut. But he takes Zain's empty chair.
"Whenever a daughter of Skadi and a son of Kar are born within a week of each other, they are mates," he says. "May skip whole generations. Soren believes magic equally targets far-flung branches of family trees. I believe him a romantic fool." He shakes his head almost indulgently at his absent Beta.
I smile tightly. "Has there ever been a son and daughter born at the right time that don't mate?"
"No." He stares at me. "Once, our families ruled Snowcrest Canyon back and forth every generation. Even then, it happened. My mother believed it an old spell."
I've never heard of an ancient spell being broken. One old enough to span centuries of history, back when the magic beneath Snowcrest made sense to the people who lived there? It's impossible.
Until now.
"Why do you ask these things?" Father says. "Eva said you were too far from the Haze. You were not taken."
"We weren't!" I hop up. "Just close enough for the transformation. And I am sorry about the carriage, I will fix that as soon as we get home."
Father stares at me, his eyes fathomless. I wish like hell I could read him, but the older he gets, the more lines collect on his face, and the more impossible it gets. Disappointed is a safe bet. Distrustful is another one.
"Eva just called." I tap the side of my head, indicating a mind-link I didn't receive. "She needs help with one of her bird things."
Father nods. That's as close to a dismissal as I'm going to get, so I turn tail and rush off in any direction before he can say another word.
I need to talk to Candace. Not the least because it seems like talking to anybody else backfires on me.