Ren tugged at the collar of his Navinorian attire, his face contorted with discomfort. Kathryn had come to see him briefly before the start of the welcoming party and was braiding his hair. But he shifted restlessly and said, “I can braid my own hair, you know.” 

“Sure you can,” she said soothingly. “That’s why it always looks like a bird’s nest.” 

“Hey! That’s not true.” Ren glanced over at her. “Anyway, you don’t exactly look perfect yourself. That girl isn’t quite up to Carina’s level just yet.” 

“What do you mean? I look fine,” she said defensively. 

He brushed a stray hair back from her ear and smoothed her slightly wrinkled sleeve. “There; now you look perfect,” he said cheerfully.

“As if you’re a judge.” 

He watched her go and then pulled out the pink ribbon that had quickly become his favorite hair accessory. He tied it around the end of his braid, took a deep breath, and made his way to the ballroom. 

Or at least, he tried to. But the unfamiliar surroundings got the better of him, and after a wrong turn, he paused uncertainly. He guessed the ballroom wasn’t at the end of this dark hallway. For some reason, several of the Vipers were grouped together just a few feet from him. And one of them was in the middle of a sentence that he barely caught as he rounded the corner: “As long as we execute the General’s orders correctly, there should be no resistance at all.” 

“But what if there is? If Iridalys does respond with violence, we could be looking at a serious-” the speaker broke off as they saw Ren. 

Acting as clueless as he knew how, Ren asked one of the hooded figures, “Hey, where’s the ballroom?” 

The Viper gave him a disdainful look. “I’m not meant to escort you, General,” he said coldly. 

Ren rolled his eyes. “Okay, I admit that. But all the same, I’m supposed to be in the ballroom. Can’t you help a guy out?” 

The other man didn’t even bother to reply. 

Ren grumbled as he continued on his quest. At long last, he heard music and followed the sound until he got to the door. 

He told the announcer at the door, “General Ren Eldric, of Iridalys.”

The man raised an eyebrow with a disapproving look, but threw open the door and announced, “General Ren Eldric of Iridalys!” 

Very few even acknowledged his entry, as the dancing was already underway. Ren noticed that Kathryn was dancing with Lorrin. The sight of her took the young bodyguard’s breath away. She was literally dripping with jewels, and a circlet of sapphires rested on her braided hair. The blue dress she wore was also the color of sapphires, trimmed with silver lace. The dress left her shoulders and graceful neck exposed, which was quite different from the usual Iridalys formal wear. Her hair seemed to be glowing more brilliantly than ever, and her eyes seemed unusually bright. 

Ren watched Kathryn dance with an impassive face. At least, he hoped it was impassive, because his heart was thumping uncomfortably and he felt unnaturally hot. 

Prince Gregory approached him. “General Ren,” he welcomed him. “When you were late, I wasn’t sure you were planning to come.” 

“My place is with her,” Ren said briefly, gesturing at the princess. 

“Ah, yes…for a little while longer, anyway,” Prince Gregory remarked. 

Ren frowned. “What do you mean ‘for a little while’?”

“Oh, well, of course once the princess is married, she’ll have Navinor Protectors at her disposal, and your services will no longer be necessary,” Gregory said smoothly. 

“That’ll be the Princess’s decision,” Ren said. 

Gregory only smiled. “Is that so? Well, that’s a topic for another day. I’d like to introduce you to General Xian, my champion.” He turned and gestured to the scarred general Ren had seen at the training grounds. 

Ren bowed awkwardly. “Nice to meet you, General.” 

“Honored,” Xian said briefly, returning the bow. 

Ren studied him. Xian was as big as he was, well over six feet tall. He had long black hair pulled back in a ponytail, and he wore a robe instead of armor. There was still something familiar about him. 

“You’re the guy who didn’t want to fight me at the training grounds,” Ren said. 

“You’re so very observant,” Gregory said dryly. 

Xian said, “The princess’s brother didn’t come. I was hoping to see him again.” 

“Why?” Ren asked curiously. 

“I met him. He was a brilliant fighter.” Xian kept his sentences short. 

Ren shrugged. “Eh. He’s not bad. Not that great either, mind you.” 

“You’ve fought him, then?” Gregory asked. 

“Sure, lots of times.” 

“A fight to the death is different,” Xian interjected. 

“Obviously, it wasn’t a fight to the death when you fought him either,” Ren pointed out. “Or you’d be dead.” 

Xian reddened. Gregory laughed. “You’re right, of course. But what Xian means to say is that someone like you, who has never even been in a real battle, probably can’t be the best judge.” 

“Oh, I’ve been in real fights.” Ren smirked. “For example, I’ve killed about a dozen of your Vipers in the past.” 

“Protectors,” Xian corrected him sharply. 

Ren shrugged without replying. 

Gregory frowned. “That’s news to me. I never had reports of that.” 

“‘Cause I killed them before they could report to you.” Ren’s tone seemed to indicate he thought Gregory was lacking brains. 

Ren heard Lorrin laugh loudly. He glanced over at the couple. Kathryn was looking at Lorrin with a calm, unbothered expression, and Ren relaxed a little. She seemed to have recovered from her earlier distress over the opal. 

The night wore on, and Ren simply hung around to keep an eye on Kathryn. He didn’t eat or drink anything. At one point, Xian asked, “Are you going to share the meal?” 

“No, I’ll eat by myself later,” Ren said cheerfully. “Looks good though. You should enjoy lots of it.” 

Xian shrugged. Then he glanced over at the princess, who was chatting and laughing with a circle of Navinorian nobles. “Your princess is impressive,” he observed. 

Ren’s face lit up. “‘Course she is!” At least the enemy General had an eye for exceptional people, he reflected. 

Kathryn was already working to win over the nobles with her natural grace. Her conversation was perfectly witty and appropriate for every situation. She never spoke out of turn. Her expression never betrayed a hint of dislike or unhappiness. 

At some point, Gregory walked over to her and held out his hand. “Your highness. The King wishes to meet you,” he said quietly. 

The music stopped as Kathryn took his hand and walked towards the throne. 

The throne was made of solid silver and crusted with sapphires. The king was tall and thin, like Gregory, but his face was softer, despite the lines age had placed up on it. He rose as the princess approached. 

Kathryn knelt and bowed her head. “Your majesty,” she said. 

The ballroom was completely silent. Ren watched, chewing on his lip. 

The king said, “This is a historic moment, Princess Kathryn. We thank you and your kingdom for agreeing to a treaty that will finally allow peace and stop the deaths that have haunted us for years. It is our hope that we may move beyond the scars these wars have left on both of our kingdoms. The wedding is to take place a week from this day, and you will be a part of the royal family of Navinor. Prince Lorrin, join your bride.” 

Lorrin stepped up next to Kathryn. Gregory stepped back. 

The king said, “Prince Lorrin, my son, you will be the one to bring about a peace that the rest of us could not. That is your duty, and I will be proud to watch you fulfill it.” 

“Yes, my lord,” Lorrin said in a loud, clear voice. 

Ren folded his arms and glared. Xian glanced over at him, but said nothing. 

The king lifted both hands in what Ren felt was an unnecessarily dramatic gesture. “Go back to dancing, my children.” 

As they returned to their places, Kathryn looked over at Ren for the first time that evening. When their eyes met, he saw a glimmer of triumph in hers, and somehow, it hurt him. 

In reality, Kathryn’s emotions were so tumultuous she could barely make sense of them herself. Despite the fact she was about to become a queen, every time she saw Lorrin’s face, she wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug grin off of it. As they began to dance yet again, Lorrin leaned in, his voice dripping with condescension. “Isn’t that sweet? He wants us to be friends.” 

Kathryn didn’t respond. 

Lorrin studied her for a moment. Then he said, “You know, I really find it admirable how unflappable you are. Does nothing affect you? I’m starting to wonder if you have a heart at all.” 

“I don’t,” she said with a chilling smile. 

“You don’t have to pretend to be so tough. I like your bodyguard better, I think. It’s easy to tell what he’s thinking about. I guess that’s because he’s so simple, though.” 

“If you like him so much, maybe you should marry him instead,” Kathryn said, her face completely immovable. 

“You’re so witty,” Lorrin retorted sarcastically. 

“If you say so.” 

The evening seemed to last forever, but it finally ended. Ren escorted Kathryn out of the ballroom and started to walk her back to her chambers. 

Lorrin caught Kathryn’s arm. “I’ll take you back to your room,” he said. “After all, you’re going to be my wife.”