Page 140 of Esperance

They were on the training field. Argent’s bodyguards were on the edge of the grounds, chatting as they watched over the prince.

They were otherwise alone.

Argent made a sound in his throat. “Well, that hasn’t happened in years. I never manage to disarm you.”

“Sorry. I’m a bit distracted.”

A twinkle sparked in his friend’s eye. “This distraction wouldn’t have anything to do with your wife, would it?”

Carver leveled him with a look. “You’re a worse gossip than Elowen.”

“Your sister isn’t a gossip,” Argent said, stooping to pick up Carver’s fallen practice sword. “She’s just informed.”

“Her words, I assume?”

“Yes, I just like them.”

That sounded like Elowen. Carver grunted.

Argent offered the wooden sword to him hilt-first, and as Carver took it, the shine in his friend’s eyes dimmed. “Is something wrong between you and Amryn?”

“No.”

Argent cocked an eyebrow.

“Not wrong,” Carver amended. “Just . . .”

“Different?”

He shrugged.

The corner of Argent’s mouth lifted. “Of course things are different, Carve. She risked everything to tell you the truth. Not only that, but you finally started kissing your wife. That’s bound to change things between you.”

“We haven’t kissed since that first time.” He wouldn’t have admitted that to anyone else, but talking to Argent had always been easy. And, clearly, his friend was much better at being married than Carver was—he could use his insight. “I feel like she’s pulled back, or put up a wall.”

“How so?”

He exhaled slowly. “We’re barely alone—the high cleric’s incessant schedule sees to that—but when we are, she doesn’t sit as close as she used to. And she hurries off to her room as soon as we return to our suite every night. It’s like she’s afraid of me.” Now that he’d said the words out loud, he realized just how much the thought had bothered him. He eyed Argent. “What am I supposed to do if she’s afraid of me?”

His friend’s face softened. “She was nervous around you in the beginning. How did you break down those walls before?”

He considered briefly. “We talked.”

The prince tipped his head. “Then you do that.”

“But she’s avoiding me.”

“If you found a way when she was a rebel and you were nothing more to her thanGeneral Vincetti, I’m fairly certain you can find a way now.”

That was a good point.

Still, he sighed, slowly rolling his wrist so the sword in his hand spun gently. “I probably shouldn’t even worry about this right now. We have other things commanding our attention.”

They’d finalized their plan to take down the Rising in Esperance, but they couldn’t afford to lose focus. They knew Samuel was watching them, and there were other rebels. They couldn’t risk tipping their hand.

“We do have a few things going on,” Argent allowed. “But I still think you can start breaking down some of those walls. You don’t want them to get too thick.”

It was good advice.

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