With great difficulty, Ruben kept from rolling his eyes. He glanced at the two EastWard princes, expecting to see, at the very least, sympathy. Instead Eric pouted, apparently mutinous. Judging from Chad’s heightened color, he’d already had words with the other two and was completely disgruntled.
Upon seeing her sister, Willow turned away so no one could see her laughing. Only the silent shaking of her shoulders gave her away.
“Well?” Tatiana trilled. “I’m here. What are we waiting for?”
“You can’t ride with us wearing that,” Ruben finally said. “You need to dress more like your sister.”
At his words, Tatiana’s face froze into a regal impression of horror. “How dare you insult me so. I will not dress like Willow. Ever.”
Willow’s face burned as everyone turned to look at her. Ruben thought she’d dressed exactly right for this expedition and opened his mouth to say so. But before he could, to his surprise, Eric jumped in to her rescue.
“Willow looks very practical,” he said. “You’d do well to emulate her, Tatiana.”
Chad grinned as Tatiana huffed. Studying the two brothers, one so handsome he seemed fake and the other much more normal-looking, Ruben wondered again what was off with the other man’s appearance—his features seemed misshapen somehow. Maybe he’d recently broken his nose? Whatever, Chad’s face lacked the perfect symmetry of all the other Brights. Even his hair appeared dull.
“Shall we wait while Tatiana goes to change?” Willow asked, the sparkle in her voice letting him know that the instant her sister disappeared from sight, they’d be riding off.
“I’m not changing,” Tatiana put in.
“I thought you wanted to rough it.”
She shrugged. “I did, at first. But then Eric insisted that we ride with every luxury, as befits the heirs of the Brights. Therefore, I need my best team hooked up to my day coach. Willow can ride with me if she likes.”
Willow seemed properly horrified. Ruben and Chad exchanged glances while Eric studied his perfectly manicured fingernails.
Meanwhile, Ruben’s patience ran out. “Listen up,” he said, his voice ringing with authority. “We’re not taking a coach. Tatiana, either go change or be ready to be left behind.”
Eric raised his head as if to argue. Glaring at the other man, Ruben let part of his wolf self show as he dared the other man to say anything.
Immediately, Eric looked away. “Do whatever he says, Tatiana. Hurry.”
Golden brow furrowed, Tatiana glanced from one to the other before flouncing away.
“Now,” Willow said, swinging her leg up over her horse’s back. “Let’s ride.”
Grinning at the mischief in her voice, Ruben mounted. So did Chad. Only Eric continued standing, jaw rigid as he glanced from Ruben to Chad. “We can’t just leave her.”
“Yes, we can,” Willow put in.
“I don’t want to wait.” Ruben spurred his horse toward the gate. “If she wants to catch up with us later, more power to her. Otherwise, let’s go.”
“Raise the gate,” Willow shouted, effectively cutting off whatever protest the other man had been about to make.
Slowly, the massive gate began to rise. Watching as it creaked slowly to the top, Ruben wondered if they used rope and pulleys to raise it, rather than electronics. Another question he made a mental note to ask Willow about later.
Finally, with the gate all the way up, they rode out. After taking his time tying up Tatiana’s horse, Eric brought up the rear, riding slowly, apparently lingering in the hope that Tatiana would reappear. Ruben had to admire Eric’s devotion to his new wife-to-be.
“Do you think she’ll make it?” Chad asked no one in particular.
“I doubt it. She takes hours to change clothes,” Willow answered, sounding relieved.
But just as they’d cleared the castle and the gate had begun to lower again, they heard a feminine screech.
Ruben winced, scratching the back of his neck. He exchanged a look with Chad, who shrugged.
Willow grimaced. “That sounds like my sister.”
A moment later, Tatiana came into view, leading her horse.
“Wait!”
With a sigh, Ruben signaled and they all reined to a halt. Tatiana vaulted gracefully onto her horse’s back and spurred the animal into a gallop. She caught up with them quickly, her color high and fury sparking from her bright violet eyes.
Ruben braced himself for a tantrum. But, instead of spewing invectives, Tatiana smiled a completely insincere, falsely sweet smile. “Shall we go, gentlemen?” she asked, completely ignoring Willow.
Without answering, Ruben nudged his horse forward.
Though the idea had been to visit several villages outside of the castle proper, the landscape kept shifting. The first time it happened, Ruben halted,