Page 99 of The Twisted Throne

Choosing to be around her was a mistake, and as he muttered answers to his sister’s questions, James vowed to find an excuse to abandon this excursion when they reached the bottom of the spiral. To fabricate some duty that he needed to attend to. Georgie would back him up, of that James had no doubt.

His friend had said little about what had transpired after they’dparted ways on the streets of Verwyrd, only that Ahnna had remained with William for the balance of the revels, returning with him without incident, though apparently his brother had indulged to the extreme. Georgie’s spies had watched Aren Kertell board a riverboat, on which he’d traveled with apparently no incident back to the coast, where he’d booked passage on a merchant vessel to Northwatch. The spies indicated that Ithicana’s king blended into the masses with ease, adopting a Harendellian accent and the pretense of being a minor merchantman. A skill that spoke to many such ventures, which simultaneously irritated and intrigued James.

They reached the bottom of the spiral and exited the carriage. James opened his mouth to say that his presence was needed in the garrison and that he’d follow along later, but instead of an excuse coming out, he said to Ahnna, “Do you need help mounting, my lady?”

“I’ll manage, thank you.” She took Dippy’s reins from a groom, mounting the tall gelding with ease. James held his breath to see how the horse would react to her in the saddle, but Dippy stood steady, ears flicked back as he listened to Ahnna speaking softly tohim.

“I can handle this,” Georgie said under his breath. “Make an excuse, Jamie. You shouldn’t be around her.”

There was an edge of anger in his friend’s voice, and though James knew he should listen, knew that Georgie spoke wisdom, he said, “Better not to risk it. If anything goes wrong, I need to be here.”

“It’s already going wrong,” Georgie snapped, but he gave up arguing to help Virginia onto Daisy.

James took Maven’s reins and mounted, then called out orders to the soldiers who would accompany them, the gates in the wallsurrounding the spiral opening and their party trotting out into the city.

It was hard not to hold his breath as he waited to see how Ahnna’s horse acquitted himself, because a couple of weeks of training did not a quiet saddle horse make. But Dippy trotted calmly down the road, his ears flicking occasionally to distractions but his attention primarily on his rider.

And his rider acquitted herself just as well.

Some people took naturally to the saddle, and while her first lessons had spoken more to tenacity than talent, James was rapidly revising his opinions. Ahnna was a natural, moving in response to the horse with the same instinctive grace she’d used while captaining the ship through the storm. James was struck with the memory of how she’d talked to the ship as though it were alive, listening to it, feeling it, and though he was too far to hear her words, he could see her lips moving as she spoke to her horse.

Admiration grew in his chest as he watched her ride, hips shifting to urge the racehorse into a canter as they crossed the bridge on the road west to Abertford. Though it was the gelding’s nature to want to be at the front, Dippy seemed to sense his rider’s calm as she looked around at the trees, his pace sedate as he followed the soldiers leading the group. Ahnna’s hair trailed out behind her, beams of light illuminating all the colors in it as she rode beneath the canopy of trees above the road, and she nodded politely at the travelers who had moved to the side to allow the group to pass.

Not a princess, but a queen in the making, and James’s chest tightened with the knowledge that Harendell would be blessed to be led by a woman like Ahnna Kertell. A woman who could both stand in defense of her people and empathize with them. Who was both fierce and kind in equal measure.

Then something struck him hard in the ankle.

Startled, James looked sideways to see Georgie riding next to him, his friend clearly having kicked him.

“Would you mind Daisy?” Georgie said pointedly. “I need to speak with the soldiers up front about vigilance.”

The jab struck true. Irritation flooded James and turned his cheeks hot with the desire to snap a retort, but he bit down on it because Georgie was in the right.

This had been a mistake.

He shouldn’t have come.

But he also couldn’t very well turn around without raising questions, so instead James dropped back alongside his sister. Her horse was trained to follow the other horses, but otherwise, Ginny needed no assistance, for she was comfortable in the saddle.

“Georgie is in a mood,” his sister said. “Do you know why?”

“I hadn’t noticed,” James lied. “Do you wish me to inquire?”

Ginny snorted softly. “Hardly. I already asked him myself, and he said nothing is amiss. That he’s merely concerned to have me out because of the violence that has occurred around Verwyrd of late. Two statements in direct objection to each other, which surely means he’s lying about both.”

“The violence is a fact, Ginny.”

“Obviously, but his concern about it is a lie. There is something else that has him in a twist, and he doesn’t want to admit it.” She frowned. “I changed my mind. Go ask him and report back to me immediately.”

James bloody well already knew what Georgie was in a twist about, but he said, “I’ll ask while you’re with the jewelers.”

They rode in silence for a time, then Ginny said, “I was surprised she requested to meet with the jewelers.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I believe she is something of a pauper princess. Which is madness, given that Ithicana possesses mountains of gold. Do you think her brother doesn’t like her? I heard she is on sour terms with Lara, which I was at first hesitant to believe. Now I think that must certainly be the case. Do you think he sent her to us without a copper to rub between her fingers because his wife told him to?”

James’s mouth opened, but before he could answer, Ginny added, “Promise me that you’ll always put me before whatever woman Father decides you should wed. I couldn’t bear being set aside by you, Jamie. Or William. But especially you.”

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