Page 5 of Stolen Princess's Secret

He stared at her and then Silas and finally young Sophia, with those eyes so wide and round. He didn’t know. He couldn’t be sure. But here he was staking his reputation and likely his livelihood on the return of a woman from the dead.

‘Yes.’

‘Then we have to tell Cas.’

The winter fortress stood exactly as she remembered it, starkly grey against a brilliant blue sky. Built into the side of a cliff face, there would be no attacking it from the south, just endless views over a secluded valley several thousand feet below. To the far north, and behind her now, rose a vast mountain range, inaccessible to all but the hardiest of mountain clans. Between mountain and fortress lay flat unwooded plains—a battleground of old with no place to hide. They would be seen. They had been seen—the hawk currently perched on her arm confirmed it.

A hawk carrying a strip of purple cloth.

Welcome, that strip of cloth said, if she remembered correctly. We see you and you may approach. We offer our protection.

She’d given no notice regarding her arrival. Who would believe her identity without seeing her in the flesh? And even then, she had her doubts as to whether anyone would know her on sight. So many years had passed. Her features had changed so much.

All she could hope for was an audience with someone who’d once known her.

Her brother, ideally, if he was in residence.

Silas and Lor, the older couple who had once managed the fortress, if they still served.

Tomas.

The bird on her arm spoke of his presence.

Or maybe she was just being hopeful.

‘First smile I’ve seen from you in a week,’ murmured her companion. Having Ildris by her side on this journey was a comfort, because he was a big brother to her in all ways that mattered, and twelve years older than she was. It gave him an aura of strength and maturity, those two words describing him perfectly.

‘Coming home’s a scary business,’ she replied, pulling two ribbons from her saddlebag. White for peace. Purple for royalty. What a beautiful hawk to sit so patiently on her gauntlet and let her attach coloured ribbons to the left anklet. The ribbons hinted at who she was and what her intentions were. The King’s Falconer would surely know what they meant. It was his job.

‘It could have been less fraught for all concerned had you allowed me to inform them of your return,’ Ildris offered dryly.

‘Who would believe you?’

‘I think you just like creating drama.’

He wasn’t exactly wrong.

‘Then let’s just say I’ve waited so long for this day, and it serves many purposes to claim the element of surprise. In that first moment of recognition, we’ll be able to tell allies from enemies. And there will be enemies. Hopefully, my brother won’t be one of them.’ Her blood brother, Casimir, had grown to manhood beneath their father’s cruel yoke. Who knew what kind of man he’d become?

Ildris sat comfortably in the saddle as she finished tying the ribbons and launched the hawk into the sky. ‘What do you remember of him?’

‘I have so many memories based on fear of my father and my mother’s neglect, but Cas...he tried so hard to protect me. He took the lash for me, over and over again.’ She shook her head to clear her mind of those bitter memories. ‘One of my greatest regrets is not being able to tell him I was alive and happy. I don’t know how that’s going to go.’

‘Tell him that no matter our initial intent, once your father refused to negotiate your return, you were safe with us. Tell him we nurtured you and love you. We are not forcing your return—you could have stayed with us for ever. This time, we could and would have negotiated without involving you.’

‘I know.’ And she loved him and the council of the northern clans all the more for making that clear. ‘But I want to help him and his new wife and their little girl who looks just like me when I was her age. I want Byzenmaach to move forward. I truly want to serve my country and I’m uniquely positioned to do so. You always thought I’d return one day. You took me in and built me for exactly this moment.’

‘Do you really think that?’ he grumbled. ‘My parents took you in because they were never on board with taking a child hostage. We gave you political survival skills so that no one would take advantage of you. Does it also not stand to reason that I’m wary of returning you to those who once considered you expendable?’

‘I don’t think my brother ever thought me expendable.’

‘I hope you’re right. Otherwise, we’re in a bit of trouble. Yet another reason for telling people about you from a safe distance. The trust involved in expecting them to greet you with joy rather than suspicion. I shudder.’

‘You’re loving this.’ She remounted and they continued on their way. ‘You live for excitement.’

‘Live being the operative word.’

‘It’s going to be fine. Cas has already reached out to the northern clans in peace. What better measure of good faith negotiation than the return of one of Byzenmaach’s beloved jewels? And by that I mean me.’

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