Simon inclined his head. “I must point out that there is a danger no one here has yet addressed, not once in the nine days since we arrived.”

“And what is that?” asked King Eri.

“The Kaavalan Passage.”

Light laughter scattered across the table.

“Our scout ships have reported back that the passage is frozen solid,” Lady Ama pointed out. “The ice is thick, and it will only get thicker during the coming months. Ships can’t break through thousands of miles of icebergs the size of palaces, Captain. Not even Empire ships.”

“They won’t need ships,” Simon argued.

“Ground forces?” King Tavik did nothing to hide his incredulity. “Simon, not even adatrox can survive temperatures that frigid.”

“Can’t they?”

Commander Haakorat slammed his hands on the table, making several people jump.

“Forgive me, my kings, my lady,” he snapped, “but does anyone else here care that we have a child in our midst?”

Eliana sat back, smiling. Suddenly all her nervous energy had a target. Her mind flushed hot and clear. “I was wondering when you would say something, Commander. I’ve been watching you stew and wagering with myself how long it would take for that vein in your forehead to burst.”

“I’m overjoyed that I can provide entertainment for you, Lady Eliana,” said the commander, “but this is not a joke. My kings, not two weeks ago, these people were completely unknown to us. Is it wise to speak of such sensitive matters in front of them? Especially when one is a child, likely to spill secrets whenever it suits him?”

Remy surged to his feet, face screwed up with indignation. “Just because I’m a child doesn’t mean I can’t keep secrets!”

Hob touched Remy’s shoulder and gently directed him back to his seat. “You needn’t worry about Remy, Commander. I’d wager he has as stout a heart as anyone seated here, if not more so.”

“Ah. The word of yet another Venteran stranger.” Commander Haakorat flung his hand at Hob. “Truly, I am reassured.”

Simon’s voice held a dangerous edge. “I’ve vouched for them. And my word is as good as the Prophet’s. Is that not enough?”

“Not to mention,” Eliana bit out, “that, were it not for me, Commander, your miserable ass would be half-eaten by crawlers and frozen at the bottom of the sea by now. If that isn’t enough to prove my worth and loyalty to you, please do let me know, and the next time your country is invaded, I’ll be sure to sit back and put my feet up rather than fly to your rescue.” She rose to her feet. “If you’ll excuse me.”

In the hallway, she brushed past the guards flanking the council chamber doors and stormed east in the direction of her rooms.

Behind her, quick footsteps followed.

“We need to leave,” murmured Simon, catching up with her. “As soon as possible.”

His words were hardly a surprise, but Eliana nevertheless felt a swell of dread to hear them. Leave. Leave and go where, and do what?

“I’m not going anywhere until Navi is healed,” she said.

“Navi won’t be healed,” came his blunt reply. “We thought the Fidelia physicians hadn’t begun the transformation procedures. We were obviously wrong. Her body has been mutated, forever changed. There is no cure.” His voice softened. “It would be better for you, and for Remy, if we were gone by the time she gets worse.”

Eliana’s eyes filled with tears. Unable to speak, she stared straight ahead, imagining she could use her eyes to drill holes in the floor.

They walked in silence for another few moments before Simon spoke again. “Have you read the books I retrieved for you?”

“Some,” she replied, lifting her chin.

“But not all?”

“No.”

Simon blew out a sharp breath. “Have you at least read the passages I marked?”

“Some.”

“But not all?”

Eliana smiled to herself. “You sound irritated.”

Simon cut in front of her, forcing her to stop walking. “And what of your power?” he asked, searching her face. “Has it surfaced again, even for the slightest instant? How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know, and no, and I was feeling much better before this interrogation began.”

She would not allow herself to quail, no matter how intensely he looked at her, no matter how heated his gaze. They hadn’t yet spoken of the night she’d awoken after the battle—his hands reverently touching her face, his soft pledge of loyalty.

How close she had come to joining him in his bed.

They hadn’t spoken of it, and she preferred it that way, and would maintain the silence for as long as she could.

She had been full of grief that night, exhausted and lonely. She had craved the comfort of a lover’s hands—even if those hands were scarred, cruel, and murderous.

Never again.

At last, Simon looked away, his mouth twisting. “We have so much work to do. I thought that after the battle, after your storm, that your power would have fully awakened, and we could proceed to refine it.”

Eliana stepped past him. “I’m terribly sorry to have disappointed you.”

Simon hurried after her. “The disdain you hold for me, while entirely charming, is neither shocking nor productive.”

“You can’t imagine how little I care about your assessment of my disdain.”

Simon laughed as they rounded the corner into the narrow hallway that led to their rooms. “My imagination is boundless, in fact.”

His words plucked a taut wire in her belly, sending a shiver of heat down her arms. She ignored it. “I need to practice using my power, isn’t that correct?”

“Yes, of course, that’s what I’ve been trying to urge you toward.”

“Surely, then, it is safer for me to do that here in Vintervok—under the protection of the kings’ army, with the entire catalog of the royal libraries at my disposal, in a kingdom untouched by the Empire—rather than on the road with only you for company.”

Simon exhaled sharply. “Eliana…” he said as if to begin some fresh new diatribe, but then he paused, and the sound of his voice saying her name lingered in the air like the last chords of a song.

Desperate to shake it from her ears, Eliana whirled to face him. “You claim I am your queen.”

Simon stopped. “Yes.”