“Good thing I’m not trying then.” Vhalla pursed her lips, barely refraining from remarking how, despite her general hatred for the Emperor, she had never tried or suggested his assassination—unlike Aldrik’s current betrothed.

Daniel appeared shortly thereafter, putting a blissful stop to the conversation. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“And what’s this?” Baldair glanced between his companions with a tiny smirk.

“Two friends catching up,” Daniel responded easily.

“Sure, sure.” The prince held the word for emphasis. But the tease was empty. It lacked the weight of any real suspicion for things going on between them.

Daniel led her away from the prince, and Vhalla found herself breathing easier the farther they got from the Tower and the training grounds—the farther she got from the princes and the axe. They walked out of a side entrance into the common area of town. Daniel immediately turned to the right, and they strolled up a small street to the section where nobles and dignitaries lived. In the distance, Vhalla could see the high walls surrounding the water gardens around the golden ballroom. Vhalla smiled faintly.

That was a different time. The dance she had shared with Aldrik was the last night he had just been a prince and she had just been a girl. She’d yet to learn of the depth of their Bond, and she’d yet to be known as the Windwalker.

“Have you ever been to the mirror ballroom?” Daniel asked, seeing where her attentions were.

“I have, once,” she sighed wistfully.

“It’s quite the spectacle.” Vhalla hummed in agreement as Daniel continued. “I hear that’s where they’re holding a gala following the wedding.”

“The wedding?” Vhalla repeated, her voice revealing no emotion.

“Yes.” Daniel’s voice was soft as he spoke. He knew what he was saying to her, what she was hearing. His words were the nails in the coffin of a love she’d once coveted above all else. Her hand went to the watch around her neck. “It should be sometime just after the new year; all the Court will be invited. They want to make it a wintertime ball.”

“It’ll be lovely, I’m sure.” Vhalla forced a smile.

“But you don’t think you’ll see it with your own eyes.” Daniel gave sound to the words between her words.

“I doubt I’ll attend,” she agreed.

“I’m not surprised.” He brought his eyes away from the towering walls of the water gardens. “I wouldn’t want to go, if I were you.”

Vhalla regarded him cautiously. She didn’t know how to respond to the sentiment, so she kept her mouth shut and waited for him to give it more color. Daniel obliged.

“You know, I was engaged.” Vhalla nodded, prompting him to continue. “She still lives in Paca. And, I still haven’t had the courage to go back there yet. Not even when I went East looking for you. I had thought, if I’d found someone new. . . If I could show that I had not been nearly as devastated from losing her as I was that it would be easier.”

Vhalla realized he was talking about her. He had been her crutch, and she had been his validation.

“Then again, I built a bit of home here instead.” Daniel quickly put an end to his prior train of thought.

“Built a bit of home?” Vhalla was unfamiliar with the expression.

“You’ll see. It’s what I wanted to show you.”

Daniel finally stopped before an iron gate leading into a narrow alleyway. It was tucked between two large buildings, and Vhalla glanced around curiously. He produced a key, unlocking the gate and motioning for her to go ahead.

The alley was so narrow that they could no longer walk side by side, and Vhalla was forced to take the lead. She ran her hand along the stone walls on either side of her, utterly overcome with curiosity about where they’d end up. The walkway opened into a courtyard that stole Vhalla’s breath.

It smelled like Cyven.

A large tree stretched upward to the watercolor sky, and tall Eastern grasses grew untamed at its base and across the ground to where she stood at the end of the stone alleyway. River rocks created a pathway to a building nestled against the others, which made up the courtyard his home was hidden within. It was construction she was familiar with; the roof was thatched instead of shingled with tile or wood like the West or South. She was frozen in time, unsure of how she’d stumbled across the alternate world in which she now stood.

“What do you think?” Daniel leaned against the corner of the building behind them, a bittersweet expression overcoming his face.

“It’s amazing, it’s like, like . . .”

“Home,” Daniel finished for her. He started for the house. “No one wanted this plot because it had no real street access. Nobles couldn’t get their carriages or horses to it easily. They also couldn’t put their wealth on display. So they built up on the perimeter, and somehow the middle was left untouched while they fought over who would get to enlarge their house. No family could agree on who had the best claim, so my wanting it offered the city a solution.”

Vhalla followed behind him as he spoke, the grasses tickling the fingertips of an outstretched hand.

“I had intended my future bride to make her home here, with me. I thought it would ease her transition from the East.”

“Do you ever intend on going back to Paca?”