She meandered in the courtyard, desperately wanting to see Rilen again, to tell him that Meluoe knew of his plans and that now Graeme would too. And that hopefully she could stop this crazy war before it was too late. Still, when no one came to drag her back to the thick stone walls of the keep, she eventually returned to her rooms, waiting to see if Graeme would meet her there. He did not. Worried, Seri let Idalla fuss over her, taking a long, cool bath and washing her hair. “What happened to your lip, my lady?” Idalla’s face was worried. “Did someone… did someone bother you?” Her face whitened. “Shall I fetch the prince’s guards?” Seri shook her head, feeling like the worst kind of liar. “It’s nothing, Idalla. One of the… horses accidentally reared back and hit me. That is all.” The lie came to her easily, and the servant seemed to believe it, fussing over Seri as she dressed her in the long, restrictive formal gowns of the Athonites. So lost in thought was she, torn between conflicting emotions, that she almost missed what Idalla said.
