My father puts on a lavish banquet and ball in our honor. The main banquet hall and ballroom is decorated with lush bouquets and wrapped in red and golden silk. A small ensemble plays a lilting tune as our guests eat, mingle, and dance. The crowd is mostly courtiers and nobles from nearby cities surrounding Highcaster, as well as officials within the city. I spot Maks by the hors d’oeuvres, flirting with a girl I don’t recognize.

The common townspeople are present too, having their own party in the public hall where we’d met Al-Amir and the Tajan princesses. If I listen during the short silences between movements of the ensemble’s music, I can hear raucous laughter tumbling from the commoners’ ball. Practically the entire city is gathered in the palace, celebrating both the ambassador’s arrival and my and Alix’s twentieth birthday.

I spin Zinat under my arm, her gown glittering in the candlelight of the chandeliers above. Her waist is supple as my hand lands on it. Her free hand, the one not cupped in mine, keeps her skirts aloft as we dance.

“Where did you learn the Odrendi waltz?” I ask. “I’m impressed.” Zinat looks up at me with dark eyes that shine like glass. Her brown skin is luminous in the soft light. I smile warmly at her.

“My sisters and I are all well educated in the cultures of our neighbors,” she says, her Tajan accent smooth.

“My compliments,” I say. We slowly spin over the swirls of gold, gray, and white in the marble. “How are you enjoying your visit to our country?”

“It is lovely, my prince,” she says. I glance at Alix, dancing nearby with Saffiyah. She knows the Odrendi waltz too, swaying along with my brother. He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I chuckle under my breath. He’s always been better at dancing than me—and he never lets me forget it.

I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I falter, tripping over my feet as Zinat and I slow to a stop. If the Tajan princess notices my blunder, she doesn’t comment on it.

My father stands by us, smiling with Al-Amir. “If I may, Princess,” my father says. “I’d like to have a word with my son.”

Zinat curtsies low. “Of course,” she says. I dip into a small bow, ending our dance, and turn to cross the hall with my father as Al-Amir takes my place with the princess.

Off to one side of the hall is a set of doors that lead out into a fenced garden. Ivy climbs up pillars holding up a portico, dipping into bubbling fountains. The garden is fragrant with flowers, and the light from the hall leaks golden over pink and purple blossoms. Bugs float around the foliage, their bioluminescent bodies blinking in the night.

My father steps around a small fountain, fishing a fallen flower petal from the water. I breathe in the scent of earth, tucking my hands into my pockets.

“What do you think of the princesses?” Father asks.

“They’re lovely guests,” I answer. My father quirks an eyebrow at me.

“Do you know why I invited them along with Al-Amir?” he says.

I clear my throat. “I have an idea. Maks mentioned a stronger alliance with Taja,” I say. “Through a royal marriage.”

“And?”

“And… I’m sure I trust your judgment. If a stronger alliance is needed in our fight against Astria, then…” I say. My father shakes his head.

“I’m not asking how you feel as your king,” he says. “I’m asking as your father.”

I shift my weight from one foot to the other. “They’re… not exactly what I had in mind,” I say.

My father frowns at me. “You are next in line for the throne, Jasper,” he says. “Were you expecting to marry for love?”

I shrug, averting my eyes from his gaze. I flick a finger at the water in the fountain, sending it flying into a bush. “To an extent, perhaps,” I say. My voice is quiet.

Logically, I know a political marriage is necessary. I am a prince; it is unlikely that I would ever have much say over my future spouse. I know the kind of sacrifices I would have to make as king, and I am prepared to make them.

But my heart betrays my head. Admittedly, I am a romantic. When I think of my future, I imagine ruling Odrend with a woman I love at my side. Giving my queen my whole heart.

My father sighs softly. He steps closer and sets a hand on my shoulder. “I know this isn’t quite what you wanted from your betrothal,” he says. “But you may very well come to love your bride. My marriage to your mother was arranged to bolster our trade with Cronas, after all, and we loved each other very much. I still do.” My father’s expression goes stony. “It is a shame she did not live to see the fine young men her sons have grown to be.”

I give Father a small smile. Mother died giving birth to Alix and me, and my father often speaks fondly of her. In fact, he never remarried after her death, though his advisors constantly push him to.

“But,” my father continues. “You must be willing to make sacrifices and decisions that will better our nation. After Hawkin’s betrayal, we must all be willing.”

“I know, Father,” I say.

He smiles warmly at me. “Get to know them. Whichever one you choose, Jasper, I know you will make a fine king.”