Elias shifted nervously before the window, watching the banners billowing from the sides of the coliseum. Clouds had begun to roll in from the coast, pearl grey and benign.

Behind him, the quiet scratching of a quill over parchment was setting his teeth on edge. The king had summoned him almost thirty-five minutes ago. A few brief words about needing his assistance had been the only explanation Elias received. Runners had been coming and going for the duration of that time, but nothing had shed any light on why Elias was standing in the king's private office, staring out the window.

A knock sounded on the door once again. The king called, "Enter."

Elias turned slightly, peering at the newcomer from the corner of his eye without being too obvious in his curiosity. It was the same servant who had summoned him, but he wasn't alone.

A stately older woman sank into a painfully deep curtsy. Her dark hair was elegantly coiffed, her light blue dress well tailored. Elias recognized her as one of Cassia's ladies-in-waiting. Not the shy one with the gold-tinted hair, or the pretty one with green eyes.

She was the one who'd watched him like a hawk when he'd taken Cassia to the theater last month. Claudia, he thought her name was. Or perhaps Cordelia?

"You summoned me, Your Majesty?" she said, her voice demure, her eyes cast toward the carpet.

The quill kept scratching, once again leaving them all in suspense. Elias continued to stare out the window, hands clasped loosely behind his back. The stiff black coat of his uniform was heavy on his shoulders, a little too warm to be worn anywhere but on the deck of a ship. The collar rubbed at the side of his neck where the linen of his shirt couldn't quite reach. 

He hadn't been exactly thrilled when the summons had come with an order to arrive in uniform. At least it wasn't full dress, he thought moodily, but still he had been looking forward to a fair few months that didn't require him to wear his navy clothes.

Finally, there was a soft clatter as the king laid down his quill. With a sigh, he said, "I believe that one of the descriptions of being a lady-in-waiting is to always know where your charge is. Or am I incorrect?"

"No, Your Majesty," the woman murmured.

Elias' fingers tightened into fists. 

"I've just been made aware of the fact that no one seems to know where my daughter is," the king said, his voice growing steadily more dangerous. "Can you enlighten me as to how that could happen?"

Silence descended over the room, and Elias forced himself to stand absolutely still. He wanted to be anywhere else, but had to settle for being invisible. 

"It would be wise for you to answer me, woman," the king growled.

"Her Highness had wanted to visit the temple this morning," she began softly, though there was nothing resembling fear in her voice. "Which is not unusual. As I'm sure you're aware, Your Majesty, the princess is quite devout."

At least some things never changed. Elias couldn't count the number of times she'd bribed him into early morning temple visits. She'd loved all the festivals and the services held throughout the year. Her patron goddess was Corlana, which had always seemed odd to Elias considering how dismal her fate had always been.

"So she is in the temple, then?" King Durus demanded.

Elias frowned lightly, watching as a sea eagle drifted on high thermals, wheeling back toward the bay. Toward the harbor he had limped his ship into after that last dreadful storm. Elias brooded over the fact that he would need to return to the ship soon, to check on the progress of repairs.

Why hadn't the king looked for her there to begin with? Why was he looking for her at all?

"No, Your Majesty," Claudia—or maybe Cordelia—answered promptly.

A long, weary sigh came from the king. Elias shifted slowly to his right leg, wincing when his coat hissed as he moved. He almost didn't dare to breathe. 

"I will ask once more," the king finally said. "And only once. Where is my daughter?"

Elias flinched at the harsh inflection and turned, unable to stop himself. The woman still had her head bowed, but her hands were clasped at her waist, the knuckles white.

She shook her head a little helplessly. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. But it is not entirely uncommon for Her Highness to find moments of solitude."

"And you simply allow her to wander off?" The king scoffed, the sound dripping with disgust.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," the woman said, "but as I'm sure you're aware, the Heir has the privilege of a certain level of independence. I am merely her humble servant. She is not obliged to ask my permission of anything."

Elias' eyes widened at the woman's audacity. It wasn't that she was wrong, Cassia did have more independence than other noblewomen. It was that she had said it in such a way that it could border on rude.

Slowly, the king stood and the woman's face went a little paler. King Durus opened his mouth and Elias quickly stepped forward before he could think through what he was doing. 

"Have you sent anyone to search the gardens, Your Majesty?"

"What?" Durus snapped, his furious gaze still glued to the lady.

"Ca—Her Highness," Elias flushed slightly, but recovered, "was always disposed to walking the gardens after she visited the temple. A moment of quiet, she called it, to listen to the gods whisper in the wind. At least... that is what I remember."

She had always been too serious, even as a child. 

Elias added, "Her Highness' servant can hardly be blamed for the princess' willfulness."

King Durus pursed his lips, his eyes leaving Cassia's lady-in-waiting. Elias stood a little straighter under the king's scrutiny, but wouldn't back down. He knew well enough what the king's temper could do, especially if he believed one of his servants was not discharging their duties as they should.

He knew Cassia wouldn't want her servant punished for her own indiscretions. 

"Find her," King Durus finally said. "Let her know I require her presence immediately."

The woman curtsied again, backing away from the king until she could make her escape. The door was quickly shut behind her, leaving silence to settle thick over the room once more. Elias turned his head slightly, keeping one eye on the king. Durus drummed his fingers once against the surface of the desk, frowning at him.

Elias prayed he hadn't overstepped his bounds. He couldn't afford to anger the king without Malitech there to speak on his behalf.

"I trust you have considered what I've asked?" The question slithered through the air, like a snake through dead grass. 

"Of course, Majesty," Elias answered. How could he have not?

He'd been certain the king was going to cast him out of the castle for a second time when Durus had called him back after dinner three nights ago. Instead, he'd asked Elias if he had any desire to marry Cassia.

Elias had briefly wondered if his wine had been spiked.

"And your answer?"

His stomach twisted as he wondered if that was what the king had summoned Cassia to discuss. Elias hoped fervently that was not the case. It was no secret around the castle that the princess had turned away every suitor the king had ever approved, despite the fact that she was nearly twenty-five years of age. 

"My daughter is fond of you, is she not?" Durus pressed impatiently.

Once, Elias would have been able to answer that question without a moment's hesitation. Now, he was no longer so sure. Cassia was not the girl he remembered—a lesson repeatedly exemplified by the woman she had become. 

"I would like to believe so, Your Majesty," Elias replied. A shiver down his spine warned him to tread with care.

Durus returned to his chair, eyes boring into Elias. Softly, he said, "Gaius was a dear friend of mine. No one was more surprised than I, that day."

Ice wrapped around his heart. Just as softly, Elias said, "I'm sorry to say I would have to disagree, Your Majesty."

This time, he didn't have to force himself to meet the king's gaze. His father's disgrace was a battle he had been fighting for too long. It no longer had the ability to cow him—merely to fan the flames of his desire to make sure no one ever said his father's name again.

"Of course, forgive me," the king said with ease, catching Elias completely off guard. His dark hazel eyes had a keen light to them that reminded Elias uncomfortably of Prince Marcus. "The laws regarding cowardice are harsh. Perhaps too harsh upon the families of those pitiable souls."

"Perhaps." Elias barely managed a polite tone. It had been hard for his sisters, harder for his mother. For the sake of civility he couldn't allow himself to think too much about that in the presence of the king

Durus tilted his head, gaze scanning over Elias' neat uniform. "You seem to have done rather well despite the...challenges placed before you." He nodded approvingly before Elias could so much as open his mouth. "That shows a certain fortitude I must admit is admirable."

Elias' brow furrowed—he was well past the point of keeping a polite, blank expression. "Sire?" 

"Cassia is a challenge most men don't expect. She is stubborn and difficult, and the fact that there was a mistake involving the circumstance of her birth has gone completely to her head."

Silence seemed to be the only correct response to that statement. Elias bit his tongue, the ingrained urge to defend the princess warring with the truth in the king's statement. She was stubborn. And she was difficult. She always had been.

But she was also extraordinarily intelligent and fair-minded. And she had every right, by blood and by birth, to claim the throne.

Elias had always struggled with that knowledge. That not only was the woman he loved a princess and therefore already far above his station, but she was the Heir to the entire empire of Metus.

"The law states that only an Auralius may sit upon the throne. The gods demand our name and our bloodline." The king leaned forward in his seat, raising an eyebrow in expectation.

Slowly, Elias said, "If she were to marry, she would no longer be an Auralius."

"The best thing for her," the king said, adamantly enough that Elias almost believed that he truly cared. Durus gave him an inclusive sort of smile. "You and I both know that, strong-willed as she is, she is still just a woman. The pressures of running the empire would kill her. Or if not the pressures, any number of lords and generals who—understandably—would find it distasteful taking orders from a woman."

"You believe one of your nobles would risk the wrath of the gods simply because they would dislike taking orders from a woman?" Elias asked, disbelief tinging his words. 

Everyone knew the consequences of harming the gods' chosen bloodline.

"Some might believe it worth it, if they thought it would preserve the empire," Durus replied, sounding almost like he hoped someone would believe it worth the risk one day.

"You would have your daughter marry a lowly sailor to protect her from that?" Elias asked, concern threading through him. It had never occurred to him the danger she could be in by virtue of her birth.

Guilt nudged at his heart, forcing him to acknowledge that either way he was still discussing Cassia's future as if he had any right to do so. And he was doing it in the distant hope that his title and his family's honor might be returned to him if he managed to please the king.

Durus smiled knowingly. "Noble blood flows thick, my boy. It is a difficult thing to forget, and a harder thing to cast aside."

Not anywhere near the promise Elias needed. But he didn't dare push for anything more. 

Elias glanced back out the window. The clouds were closer now, making the day dismal. Could she hate him, he wondered. Suddenly he knew he never wanted the answer to that question.

"If I might say something, Your Majesty?"

"Of course."

"If you intend to tell the princess any of this, perhaps you should accept the inevitable outcome?"

The king sat back in his seat, head tilted thoughtfully. "And what outcome would that be, Lieutenant?"

"Every suitor you have presented to your daughter, she has turned away." Elias paused, turning back to face the king.

Durus' mouth tightened in displeasure at the reminder, but he motioned for Elias to continue speaking. Fingers tightening around his wrist, Elias straightened his back even more severely. If the king was going to grant him this chance, he needed an actual chance.

"She's done so exactly because of what you said. She thinks she wants the responsibility of the throne." Unease trickled through him at the thought. 

Cassia had always been adamant that she could do a better job as queen than her father ever had as king. Elias couldn't help but believe she would be a kinder ruler if she was nothing else.

"Is there a point you are attempting to make, Lieutenant?" The impatience in the king's voice rankled slightly.

Wasn't it completely obvious?

"Don't present me as a suitor," Elias said, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder. The princess seemed to have a skill for showing up in places she shouldn't be, at exactly the wrong time. He didn't even want to imagine what the look on her face would be if she could hear him now.

Durus raised his brows, looking intrigued. 

Elias pressed his advantage. "Attacking in the same way will only ever result in the same outcome, Your Majesty. Allow me to...court the princess without your express consent. Without you treating me like a suitor."

His heart pounded hard in his chest. He had seen how she looked at the courtiers who approached her, flirting and vain. The princess seemingly had no desire to find a husband. Or if she did, she had yet to display any such interest.

A brief memory flashed in his mind—of the princess' eyes glued to the Seventh's new general.

Curiosity? Or something more?

Elias dismissed the thought. Cassia had made it more than clear that she had no time for men like Julianus when she'd swept into that war council. He'd nearly laughed at the bladed words she'd thrown that day, even as he'd been stunned by her nerve.

"Then what would you suggest I tell her?" the king said, crossing his arms as he pinned Elias with a testing gaze. 

This wasn't a question of what the king should say. It was a question of how Elias would answer. So he took a moment to really consider his options. 

"Tell her I requested your permission to visit the city again," Elias said evenly.

Disappointment flashed in the king's eyes. He picked up his quill again and tugged a new sheet of parchment toward him. "Many of those men I've told you about requested the exact same thing. Why should I believe that the results will be any different?"

"Because I will not be taking the princess to the city," Elias answered promptly.

King Durus raised an eyebrow again, and Elias breathed an internal sigh of relief when all he did was put his quill back down. Guilt was beginning to gnaw steadily at him, the fact that he was agreeing to mislead Cassia—even if it was in an attempt to protect her—was still an uncomfortable undertaking. 

Grimacing, he said, "I need to return to my ship anyway to check on repairs. Allow me to take the princess along."

A heavy silence followed that request, but Elias didn't back down. He remembered how Cassia's voice had soured when she'd spoken of Malitech being allowed to travel with the navy while she had been denied the same opportunity. Taking her to the harbor might allow him to soothe some of those ruffled feathers.

Besides, what harm could it do? Elias knew it was an outing the princess would enjoy far more than another trip to the theater. The result would be, hopefully, the rekindling of the friendship they'd once shared and through that, something more.

There was a knock on the door before the king could respond. Durus cast one more thoughtful glance over Elias before he called for them to enter. Elias quickly returned to his post at the window, trying not to let his trepidation show.

A servant pushed the door open, quickly getting out of the way as the princess swept into the room. She strode down the length of the room, sinking into a curtsy before her father. 

Before the king could so much as bid her to rise, she said, "Forgive me, Your Majesty. Claudia is not at fault. I had not made her aware of the fact that I could be found in the gardens. No punishment should be leveled on her because I needed a moment to myself."

"Something you apparently need much of, according to your servant," the king said.

Cassia froze for a moment, her knuckles whitening where she was still holding her skirt. Then she shook her head, eyes burning a hole in the carpet. "No more than is absolutely necessary, Your Majesty."

"Very well," Durus said finally, and Cassia stood.

Her spine was drawn up stiffly, her shoulders square and her chin lifted, exposing the elegant lines of her neck. She was not small or delicate in stature, but there was something willowy and graceful about her that made up for that fact.

Pride was etched in every line of her body.

But it could not hide the paleness of her face, the normally warm tone of her skin drained of color and wan. Nor could it draw away from the shadows under her eyes.

She looked positively ill, and Elias wondered if exposing her to the stiff breeze off the harbor, or the chill off the Torenian Sea was a wise decision. That decision was not his to make though, and he couldn't walk back his proposal to the king.

Her eyes flicked curiously to him, their color not as bright as he remembered. But it was just for a moment and then her attention was back on her father. "What was it you summoned me for, Your Majesty?" she asked, her tone reserved.

Durus gestured toward Elias. "The lieutenant wanted to know if you would like to venture into the city today. I told him you would be delighted."

From where Elias was standing, he could see how her hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. But that was the only evidence of her displeasure. She looked at him, mouth a thin line before she managed to say, "Delighted."

Elias gave her an apologetic grimace, trying to convey that he hadn't asked her father if she would like to, but rather if they could. Thankfully, she seemed to understand that. Her expression softened by a fraction, and she nodded slightly.

"Yes," she finally said, turning back to her father. "A trip to the city would be a nice distraction."

"Distraction?" Elias asked, startled by her choice of words.

The princess' spine stiffened even more, if that was possible, but she merely gave him a serene smile that gave absolutely nothing away. "I've simply been worried about Malitech's return." She gave her father a reproachful glance. "I am still concerned about your decision to send General Julianus. After all, he was just promoted."

"Julianus' service record is beyond reproach," the king snapped. "Or question. I don't expect you to understand why I would send someone such as the general."

Cassia merely shrugged, though Elias could have sworn he saw the corner of her mouth twitch. All she said was, "Perhaps not. I tend to believe diplomats are more useful in a negotiation than common soldiers."

Elias couldn't believe he'd ever entertained the thought that she would be interested in the general.

The king cast a meaningful look at Elias, who met his gaze but didn't allow his face to move. He had no opinion one way or the other about the empire's dealings with Antelium. The Mortanians, landlocked as they were, were not a seafaring people and so were outside his area of expertise.

Julianus, whatever disgrace he might have in his past, had shown himself an able commander if even half the stories were true. 

"There is no point discussing something that has already been decided," Durus said, his tone brooking no more debate.

Cassia thankfully didn't press any further. Instead, she turned to Elias and smiled. "I suppose we had best be on our way if we don't want to get caught in the rain."

Elias would have bet good money that they wouldn't even see a drop from the gathering clouds. But he wouldn't dismiss the perfectly acceptable escape the princess had offered them both.

"Of course," Elias said, gesturing for the princess to lead the way from the room. 

Cassia's gaze cut curiously between Elias and the king, but all she did was curtsy one last time, the grey silk of her dress shimmering in the low light from the windows. The king winked at Elias, who then swept into a bow as well, and then he dismissed the both of them before calling for a runner.

They had managed all of seven steps down the long hall before the runner darted past them, most likely on his way to the stables.

Once they were alone again, Cassia glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her mouth a grim, tight line. "What are you doing, Elias?"

Elias let his eyes widen in shock, hoping that would cover the guilt in his heart. He didn't like lying to Cassia. He never had been much good at it. But too much was at stake for him to assuage his guilt just yet.

For both of them.

"I've been wanting to see you," he said, trying to make his tone reproachful. Then he cast his eyes to the ground. "I'm just...afraid of getting you in trouble with your father. Gods know what he would do if he found you fraternizing with...someone like me, without his permission."

He glanced up again, surprised when he found her staring blankly down the hall. When she looked at him, there was something wary in the shadows of her eyes.

"I don't think it would be something very pleasant," she murmured, her voice very far away. Then she shook her head, forcing a smile onto her lips that made him feel sick to his stomach.

She had never used to force smiles for him. Those smiles had always been charming and real, full of the secrets between them, small as those secrets might have been.

"I didn't say what your father said I did," he said suddenly. While some things would need to be hidden from her for now, he could at least work to clear the air a little.

Cassia only raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I didn't ask him if you would want to go to the city with me," Elias hurried to explain. "I just wanted to know if I could ask you. I wasn't trying to..." He trailed off, trying not to grimace.

He'd been about to say: I wasn't trying to make a decision for you. But wouldn't that be the worst sort of lie? 

No, he assured himself. He wasn't making any decisions for her anyway. All he wanted was the proper chance to win her love, like he always should have been able to do. It was still her decision whether he received it or not.

Still, the churning in his stomach was becoming difficult to ignore.

She blinked, her lips parting in what might have been either surprise or argument. But then she shut her mouth, a small divot appearing between her brows as she frowned at him. Her expression softened, a tentative light beginning to glow in her eyes.

Elias swallowed hard, trying not to get his hopes up.

That became impossible when she took his arm lightly, finger squeezing his elbow with tentative affection. Her smile was still reserved, but not quite so forced when she sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Elias. I've just been...out of sorts today."

"Which is why you went to the temple, right?" he teased, already knowing the answer.

Cassia hummed in light amusement, glancing up at him again. "I suppose there are some things that never change, aren't there?"

"Some things," he said softly, before he could consider what he really meant. Cassia looked down, her fingers sliding on his jacket, but he caught her hand before she could pull completely away.

Now it was his turn to force a smile as he looked down at her. "Not the important things."

"But what are the important things is the question, I suppose," she murmured, but didn't try to pull away from him. 

Much to his relief, she began walking again, pulling him with her. 

With a wearier sigh, she said, "Please don't tell me we are going to see another dreadful play. On such a dreary day I don't think I could stand it."

His relief at her lighter tone nearly obliterated the guilt he was still wrestling with. The conversation with the king had been more harrowing than he'd prepared for. Elias had never had the chance to properly learn how to play the games of court, how to turn words to feathers and just as easily to blades. 

Though he didn't care for the sour taste it had left in his mouth, Elias was rather pleased with what he'd managed to pull off. Both for himself and for Cassia.

He gave her a devious sort of smile and whispered, "We're not going into the city."