Page 80 of Legacy of Thorns
“Are you sure you’re not going to miss the Sovaran court?” Daphne asked Fin, a teasing light in her eye. “I know how much you love the Oakdenian one.”
Unlike his younger brother, Fin had not taken to court life—much to Daphne’s private relief. While his charm made him an instant favorite, he had little patience for the frivolities or the falseness of many of the courtiers. Every evening, when they finally escaped to their own suite, he told her again that he much preferred the company of the one person who had always seen behind his pretense.
For Daphne herself, if she was going to live in a palace, she would have preferred to live in Sovar with her cousin Olivia. But far more than either court, her heart longed for the home of her youth—Glandore was the kingdom that called to her the most, and she desperately missed the sister of the heart she had left behind there.
“Daphne!” Rosalie’s scream reached her ears before the carriage had even stopped.
Laughing, Daphne pulled open the door and tumbled out, straight into her friend’s arms. For several minutes there was too much laughter, too many tears, and too many shouted exclamations for anyone to make sense of anything.
But when Rosalie stopped talking, Daphne was finally able to get a word in. She took Fin’s hand and pulled him forward.
“This is Finley,” she said, “my husband.” It was still new enough that she blushed at the word.
“But he’s gorgeous!” Rosalie exclaimed. “Not that I’m surprised since you’re so gorgeous yourself. But when you wrote describing his jawline, I thought maybe it was your love coloring the description.”
“You wrote to your friend about my jawline?” Fin asked, clearly trying not to laugh.
“It’s a very nice jawline,” Daphne said, unrepentant. “Any true friend would want to know about something like that.”
“About my jawline?” He was definitely laughing now.
“Of course,” Rosalie said loyally. “I wanted to know everything. Daphne has been gone SO long. Are you exhausted from your trip?” She shook her head. “What am I saying? You’re Daphne. Of course you are!”
“I’m sorry I can’t stay,” Daphne said, the smile falling off her face for the first time since she’d heard Rosalie’s voice.
“That’s all right.” Rosalie gave her another hug. “You know I understand. And we can hold out hope that Avery will find a solution. If anyone can, I’m sure it’s her. I wrote to her after I got your letter and invited them to stay here any time they’d like. If they ever get sick of traveling—of if they want a home base of sorts to travel from—they would both be a welcome part of our little community. I’ll certainly never forget what she did for me and Dimitri. Ooh!” Her eyes lit up. “Now that you’re here in person, you can tell me all about this Elliot. Somehow I never pictured Avery getting married. She seemed so independent and content.”
“I think she was until she met him.” Daphne happily let Rosalie lead her down the sweeping, tree-lined drive that led to Dimitri’s manor, telling her friend all about her interactions with Avery and Elliot.
They walked past a beautiful riot of garden, although the only flowers filling it were roses. The sight of them brought memories flooding back to Daphne, and she fell silent as they reached the building. In appearance, it was as much a castle as Gabrielle’s home, although the stone that formed it was gray rather than white.
But it wasn’t truly a manor anymore. Dimitri and Rosalie had turned it into a community, and it was Daphne’s first chance to see how the building had been transformed since her friend’s wedding.
In the entryway, she paused, looking around, once again assailed by memories.
“Do you need a nap before we do a tour?” Rosalie asked, clearly trying to be considerate despite her own brimming impatience.
Daphne smiled. “I knew you would want to drag me everywhere as soon as we arrived, so I napped most of the drive from Sovar. Marriage can’t have changed you that much.”
“But has my enthusiasm ever stopped you from napping?” Rosalie asked with a laugh. “I am eager to do the tour, though. I want to show you everything.”
“Marriage hasn’t changed her at all.” Dimitri strode into the entryway, his face laughing but his eyes soft as they rested on his wife.
“Dimitri!” Rosalie hurried over and threw her arms around him.
But she only embraced him for a moment before stepping back and frowning. “You said you’d be back before Daphne arrived. I want to introduce you to Finley. He—” She looked around and noticed for the first time that he wasn’t with them. “Where is he?”
Daphne looked back through the open door and stifled a laugh. “I’m afraid your brothers found him.”
Rosalie groaned. “If those terrors have scared him off before we have a chance to win him over, I’ll?—”
“Don’t worry,” Daphne said. “He’ll like you. Of course he will. I’ve already told him he has to.”
Dimitri gave a startled laugh, but Rosalie took the reassurance at face value. Leaning out the door, she watched thetriplets with narrowed eyes as they escorted Fin up the steps and into the manor.
Vernon had his arm slung over Fin’s shoulders and was speaking earnestly, one of his brothers flanking them on either side.
“We’re just saying,” Vernon said, “that we’re fifteen now.”
