Men had such strange rituals when it came to conquest. Getting drunk and telling bawdy stories about other battles or their preferred entertainments outside of the battlefield seemed to be the primary one. And who was I to begrudge them their celebrations? So, once the remaining opposition was dealt with, some imprisoned and some sent off to warn their fellow countrymen of the threat coming for them, I allowed the men to crack open the enemy casks and let the ale flow in our conquered dining hall.

I'd sent word to my brother the moment the fort was in our possession, one of the many messengers I'd brought along for that very task riding at speed over the mountains and back toward the Etzeran palace. Then I joined the men celebrating in the great hall that was not our own if only to avoid thinking about the ones we had lost. I joined the other commanders at the high table on the dais, thanking Commander Norris as he reached over to fill my goblet with wine. I gave him a smile and a demure nod of thanks. Captain Ridley stood at my back, stoic and silent as always. He had come straight to me to inform me that Tyne and his men had fought admirably. I had assumed as much seeing as the battle had tipped so completely in our favor.

I couldn't help but glance down at the end of the table where the warrior sat, dark eyes surveying his men where they stood, drinking and clapping one another on the back. It was clear that Tyne of Vyndoli would much rather be down in the proper great hall, celebrating with his men, than sitting on this dais with the other commanders. But I found myself feeling glad he was here. For entertainment, if nothing else. But truly because, with him here, I wasn't the only one on the dais that looked as I though I didn't belong. Still, I couldn't help my grin at the little tick of his jaw whenever the other commanders at the table began discussing strategy to employ at the next fortress we faced without asking for his opinion despite the fact that it was his plan which had won us this day. Because I knew, even though he pretended that he didn't care for the official titles of nobility and respect that the other Commanders had, I knew that he did.

The drinking and celebrating lasted long into the night. So long that I felt my eyes growing heavy with the wine and the exhaustion of the day. So I rose from my seat around midnight, chairs scraping all around me as the commanders rose with me. Even Tyne looked at me from his position near a table in the back where he had long given into the temptation to join his men. I gripped Commander Norris by the arm and lowered my voice to inform him that I would be retiring for the evening but that it was my orders for the men to enjoy their celebrations for as long as they wished. He smiled and nodded his understanding and then I was sweeping from the hall, Captain Ridley following at my heels.

I'd had the time to bathe earlier, washing the blood and grime from my skin after the battle. They'd settled me into the lord of the fortress' rooms. They were comfortable if not a bit too dark for my taste. And Ridley had found a few of the cowering servants and coaxed them into our service, promising we weren't here to hurt them, only to take back the fortress which had belonged to Etzera before the invaders came. So those women had drawn me a bath and fetched one of my gowns and that's what I had worn to the celebration in the great hall. But now I was tired and wanting nothing more than to loosen this corset, fall into bed, and not rise until the sun did. And I was well on my way to doing just that, having sent Ridley off to get some rest himself, when there was a knock on my door.

Assuming it was Ridley returned to warn me of some danger he would rather remain to guard me from, I crossed the room and threw open the door, ready to order him to bed if I had to. But it wasn't Ridley standing on the other side.

My lips parted slightly in surprise as Tyne of Vyndoli smiled at me over my threshold. I was stunned to find him here, having followed me all the way from the great hall. I prepared myself for another attempt at flirtation but when he spoke, it wasn't what I thought he would say.

"They have my brother," he confessed. "That's why you saw me crossing enemy lines."

I just blinked at him, caught off guard but by this information and his confession of it. I understood what it meant, what he was risking by telling me. So I leaned past him and peered down the hall both ways before grabbing him by his collar and pulling him into my room. Once we were alone, the door shut behind him, I whirled to face him.

"Explain," I ordered.

So he did. He told me his whole story, start to finish, the legend that I had only heard bits and pieces of from gossiping courtiers and whispering soldiers. He told me about the farm that he grew up on, about his brothers and his father and the day that two of them died. He told me about being taken to Mardenhall, separated from Uesli, and sold into slavery. He told me about his mentor and the fate he met at the hands of Benko Matis. He told me about the years he spent afterwards, finding his men, cutting down Rirdans and working toward his revenge. And then he told me about that moment on the battlefield, when he and his brother had recognized one another and made a plan to meet late that night. He told me about that meeting and what his brother had offered.

"That's how you knew about the moat," I said then, putting together the final pieces of the puzzle that had been missing of the battle this afternoon. "That's how you knew where to go, how to position your men."

"He's Vyndoli through and through. Just like me," he told me over an hour after he had first entered my room, after having told his whole story in detail so that I might understand. "He looks Rirdan now but he's one of us."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked because it was a risk that he was taking, telling me everything. And, though I thought I understood why, I wanted to hear it from his own lips.

"Because I could fall at any time. These battles your brother has us waging against the Rirdans, one will come in which we don't have so much of an upper hand. We could lose. And if that time comes, if I don't survive one of these fights, I want someone else, someone important, to know what he's done for us."

To protect him, he left unsaid. I just nodded. It was the only promise I could give him in response to what he asked. But I meant it all the same. I would do what I could to protect Uesli, to ensure that he wasn't caught up in my brother's determination to eradicate every last Rirdan on the continent.

"Your husband prefers men," he said.

I froze, barely even breathing. It wasn't a question. He hadn't been asking for validation. He had simply been informing me that he knew. I chose my words very carefully as I watched him.

"Who told you that?" I asked, cautiously.

"Wells. When Brigham tried to seduce him."

I exhaled through my nose, closing my eyes and trying to rein in my irritation. Stupid. Stupid and foolish. Had the man no self control?

"Wells," I repeated with a sigh. "Interesting. I had thought Calder would be more his type."

His jaw hardened even as his gaze narrowed.

"You knew," he said.

"That my husband has no use for me?" I inquired casually. "Yes, I knew."

"At least now, it makes sense. How little time the two of you spent alone together in camp."

"We have an arrangement," I told him and he raised a brow, waiting. "He is free to... fraternize with whomever he wishes so long as he extends the same courtesy of understanding to me."

I couldn't bear to look at him as I spoke so I kept my focus on a little strand of thread on my dress, picking at it, unraveling it. But I could feel his eyes on me just the same and the tension growing thick in the air around us.

"So you are free to be with whomever you wish," he said a moment later, his voice low and strained as if it was an effort to keep it controlled.

"Yes," I answered him.

"And your husband has approved."

"He has."

He hesitated then and I heard the shuddering intake of breath.

"Why are you telling me this, princess?" he asked, tone still soft, low, and strained.

"I thought you might have... some interest in the task," I confessed and watched as his lips spread into a wicked grin.

"Task, is it?" he asked, raising a brow.

My cheeks heated furiously but I kept my chin held high, my tone utterly civil as if this were some sort of negotiation.

"If I've misread some signal–" I started, prepared to issue a proper apology and feeling more foolish than I ever had for it.

"Just tell me where to sign, princess," he replied, eyes gleaming with mischief.

I couldn't have kept myself from grinning back if I wanted to.

"So..." he started after a moment, his eyes dipping lower in appreciation. "How do we..."

"I think I should tell you more about the arrangement before you agree to it."

"I'm fairly certain I'll agree to it, princess."

"The whole point of this arrangement, the reason it originated in the first place, is because I have a duty to my position, to my country, to provide heirs for the royal lineage."

His smile faltered at that. I took a breath, steeling myself, and forged on.

"Brigham is my husband by law. Any child I bear will be his by right. I'm not saying that I have... any desire to have a child now. But if the circumstance should arise, you should know well enough in advance that you would have no claim to your own offspring."

He hesitated at that. I could see it. And, though it nearly broke my heart to see it, I wouldn't have him without his complete and total understanding of the sacrifices he might be forced to make. I would have him honestly or I would not have him at all.

"I understand if that is something you cannot abide by," I said then, my voice quieter than I intended it to be. You are an honorable man. I know you would wish to do right by any child you sire. You could be a part of their life. I would always welcome you to our home with open arms. But publicly, officially..."

"I understand."

"I'm only being honest with you. I know what I'm asking. I understand if you want nothing to do with it, with me. But I needed to be honest with you."

Silence descended upon us at that and I waited, trying to keep my breathing even, trying not to make it obvious just how hard my heart was pounding in my chest. But he only sat in silence, staring at the fire burning in the grate. And he did so for so long that I had to break the silence or I would go insane.

"I completely understand if you aren't interested–" I started but then he stood, so suddenly that the words died in my throat.

He took a step toward me, then another, his gaze darkening as he approached. He knelt on the carpet in front of me, reaching out and taking my face between his hands. He pulled me close and pressed his lips against mine. He tasted of salt an iron, his scent a mixture of pine and the sea. His strong arms came around me, lifting me from my seat so that I stood before him and he could wrap them around me properly. I leaned into him, dangling my arms around his neck, clasping them together in his hair. He parted my lips with his own while his body pressed into mine. A curiosity and a promise.

Then he broke away, hooded gaze boring intently into me.

"I'm interested, princess," he spoke, a near growl that had me practically shivering.

But leaning into him only had him stepping gently away.

"You've given me much to think about," he told me, that same strained tone returned as though it was proving harder than ever to leash himself in my presence. "I'll need some time to–"

"Of course."

I flushed and stepped away from him, giving him the space he seemed to need. It was fair and more than acceptable for him to request time to think. It wouldn't be right of me to demand an answer right this minute given all that I had dropped upon him this evening. No matter how fast my heart was racing, no matter the need pulsing through me in an intoxicating way that I had never felt before, I would do this the right way or I would not do it at all.

So I forced myself to step away from him and watched in silence as he gave an awkward bow and hastened from my rooms.