Jem walked out of her father’s enormous home and stood on the step. Her eyes immediately flew to Matias, who was standing in front of one of the horses, speaking to it quietly. He didn’t look up. The general’s carriage was just barely being brought out, but Lukka’s ornate carriage was still waiting. The prince himself noticed Jem standing and waiting uncertainly, and a moment later he walked up to her and gave her a roguish grin. He reached out to take her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

“Forgive me,” he said. “I never formally introduced myself.”

“I recognized you, Your Highness,” Jem replied. She had a vague feeling that this wasn’t quite the proper response, but she was still too bewildered by the events of the day to think clearly.

Lukka grinned. “Well, I’ll introduce myself anyway. I am Prince Lukka St. Leon, son of King Mather St. Leon. And you are the Lady James Vespertine.”

“Jem.” Jem was shocked at herself for correcting a prince, but the prince’s grin simply widened and he leaned down to kiss her hand again.

“Jem,” he repeated. He stepped away and returned to leaning casually against the carriage. “Matias didn’t do your beauty justice,” he said. “Though he is not always one for words, is he?”

Jem blinked at him in surprise. After the way Matias had treated her today, she felt shocked that he would talk about her beauty, of all things, to someone else. He blamed her for putting him in danger, and he still praised her beauty? It didn’t make any sense to her.

The prince must have seen her surprise, because he folded his arms and looked Jem up and down. “He does value beauty, doesn’t he?”

“I…” Jem glanced over to where Matias stood. He was adjusting a saddle on one of the horses, making sure it was secure. With a jolt, Jem realized that it was a white horse, like the one she imagined during her panic attack earlier that day. But instead of riding to rescue her, he had come to claim her and throw her life into chaos. She supposed he had technically saved her from marrying Lord Penrose today, but nothing else about this situation was what she had envisioned.

Before Jem could respond to the prince’s statement, General Vespertine came storming out of the house. “We are ready to depart,” he barked. “Our trunks will be sent after us.” He snapped his fingers at Jem. “Come, James,” he commanded, stepping quickly toward their carriage.

“Actually,” Prince Lukka said, stepping forward. “I was hoping to escort the Lady Vespertine in my carriage. If that’s all right with you, General?” Jem’s father whirled around, and the prince lifted a challenging brow. Jem could see her father’s jaw tightening in anger. But General Vespertine couldn’t possibly disregard the wishes of the prince. He bowed.

“Of course, Your Highness.”

Prince Lukka smiled and opened the door of his carriage, then turned to offer his hand to Jem. She took it and stepped inside, settling her skirts around her. Lukka stepped in after and sat across from her. He pulled the door closed.

“Is…is Matias not riding with us, Your Highness?” Jem asked shyly.

Lukka laughed. “Oh, Matias prefers riding. He says he’d much rather sit atop a horse than in a stuffy carriage.”

Jem feels a stab of disappointment. Even though her husband was almost unrecognizable, she still felt a pull to be near him. Maybe if she spent some time with him on this carriage ride, she could understand what had happened to him. But Jem would have to settle for riding with just the prince.

She sat perched and straight-backed on the edge of her seat, her hands folded neatly in her lap like Tauriel had taught her. It wasn’t the most comfortable manner of riding in a carriage, but it would be a short trip—her father’s country estate was only a half day’s ride to the capital. They should arrive before sundown.

“Are you comfortable, My Lady?” the prince asked.

Jem snapped her head up in surprise. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“Then relax,” he said. “You’re sitting so stiffly.” Lukka lounged casually on his side of the carriage, one foot resting on the seat.

Jem looked at the prince’s comfort with longing. She leaned back experimentally. It was difficult to “relax” like the prince had suggested. Jem had spent too many hours being reprimanded by Tauriel and her switch to let go of her proper posture immediately.

She turned and gazed out of the window. Fields stretched out on either side of them. The road was marked by small copses of trees, rolling green hills far in the background. They passed the occasional farmhouse, its thatched roof a pleasant contrast to the stone walls below. She could see peasants working the fields and women hanging up laundry beside their cottages. She wondered if they knew it was the prince driving by.

Jem scooted over and looked out of the other window. A few feet away, Matias sat proudly on his horse, holding the reins casually. Jem watched him closely. He was even more handsome than she’d remembered. He had grown much more muscular as well—she’d felt it when he’d had her thrown over his shoulder. Even with his coat, Jem could see the muscles bunching and shifting. And his jaw was so much more defined—he had shed all of his adolescence away over the last two years.

Jem wondered if everything about him had been replaced with something harder and sharper. But his longer hair suited him. His boyish charm had been replaced by something stronger, more powerful. It wasn’t the Matias she knew, but she still felt herself drawn to him.

Matias suddenly turned, and his eyes captured Jem’s. They were angry, menacing. But despite the danger, there was a fire in Matias’s gaze that made Jem’s breath hitch. Her entire body flushed, and she turned away from the window, hiding her face from view.

Jem’s heart pounded as she stared down at her hands. She had known Matias since childhood. They’d practically grown up together, had tried to run away together. He was her husband.

His smiles used to fill her with a warm, comforting glow. But now his one sharp look had made her feel like her body was filled with fire.

Jem stole another glance out the window at his strong form, riding confidently alongside them. Matias wasn’t looking at her anymore, his eyes focused on the road ahead. She stared at his beautiful profile. She could still see hints of the Matias she knew and loved, but he was so changed. What had happened to him over the last two years?

“He doesn’t really say,” Prince Lukka said.

Jem realized that she had spoken her last question out loud, and her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. “Forgive me, Your Highness,” she said. “I should not have spoken so ineloquently to a prince.”

Lukka laughed and shrugged. “Eh, it’s fine.” Jem felt a wave of relief. Prince Lukka wasn’t at all what she had expected him to be. “And, for the record,” he added, “I would also like to know where Matias was for the last two years.”

“You do not know?” Jem asked cautiously.

“I don’t. His past remains almost entirely a mystery,” Lukka replied. “I’ve asked, but he offers few details to his story. I’m hoping you can help me get it out of him.” He winked and Jem felt herself blush again. She was not used to having this kind of attention from anyone, but especially not a roguish prince.

“How did you meet Matias, if I may ask, Your Highness?”

Lukka leaned even further back in his seat and said casually, “He saved my life.”

Jem couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped her. “Really? What happened?” she asked, forgetting her manners completely.

But Prince Lukka didn’t seem to mind. “I was on one of my ships,” he said. “We had sailed off course and before we could get back on track, we were set upon by pirates. The brigands were debating whether to kill me or hold me hostage for a ransom. One of them had decided that it would be better to just kill me and pulled out his sword.”

Jem realized that she was on the edge of her seat, but this time it was because of the suspense of the prince’s story, rather than her strict etiquette lessons.

“I was bound, kneeling on the wooden deck of my ship, prepared to feel the blade slice my throat,” he continued. Jem could tell that Lukka was a man who loved telling a good story. “But then there was a blast of cannon fire. A smaller ship appeared on our starboard side and began an attack. Matias and his crew used their mage powers to fight off the pirates. It was a short battle, but an effective one. We’ve been friends ever since.”

Jem was having a hard time imagining the soft stable boy she grew to love in her youth doing something like fighting off pirates. But then something in the prince’s story made her pause.

“Wait,” she said. “There are other mages?”

“Oh, yes,” Prince Lukka replied casually. “Four others, to be exact.”

Their carriage was suddenly surrounded by the thunder of horses. Lukka glanced out the window.

“In fact,” he said, “you’re about to meet them.”