was well known to be a refuge, open to all.
“That can’t be…” Wren stared toward the hallway open-mouthed. “Surely that can’t be…”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Cora marched toward the kitchen door.
Juniper, usually boisterously friendly, seemed to have taken exception to the loud knock and had squeezed herself under her tiny table. Wren sighed and hurried over to extract her while I followed behind Cora.
“Greetings,” a young, male voice called from the entryway. “Is anyone here?”
I faltered slightly, and a crease appeared between Cora’s brows. What was a young man—a stranger, apparently—doing at the haven? This was a safe place, a refuge for women, children, and the elderly—people who had nowhere else to go. The only young or middle-aged men who came here were townsfolk bringing supplies for the inhabitants. Ash, the baker, was a regular, bringing any unsold wares at the end of the day.
Cora stepped into the entryway, a commanding presence.
“I am the proprietress of this establishment. May I help you?”
“I hope so,” he said. “I’m looking for someone, and I hear that many people find their way here.” The voice sounded friendly…and vaguely familiar.
I stepped to the side to get a clearer view around Cora. A tall young man stood just inside the door, his stance confident but relaxed. He wore the simple but sturdy clothes of a woodsman, and he had a quiver and bow strapped to his back.
I stared at his olive-toned skin, tracing the contours of his face with my eyes. His brown hair looked windswept, ruffled into small curls around his ears and the nape of his neck, and his brown eyes contained flecks of gold. Everything about him was brown and green—he looked like he belonged in the forest. If this was the newcomer, I could see how the townsfolk had immediately recognized him as out of place in the town.
I didn’t know why it had caused such mass concern, however.
He turned to look at me, his brow creasing slightly even as he gave me an easy smile. His eyes flicked up, just above my face, and I realized that I was once again wearing the hood of my cloak, pulled forward to shield my face. I must have pulled it up without conscious thought as I followed Cora.
“Sometimes the people who find their way here don’t want to be found,” Cora said, her voice cold. “We don’t take too kindly to strangers asking questions.”
He didn’t seem in the least flustered by her response.
“But surely some who are lost want to be found?” he asked.
Cora narrowed her eyes. “I suppose that depends on who’s doing the finding…” She let her voice trail off, the question implied.
If he made a reply, I didn’t hear it. Instead I stumbled back half a step, my eyes widening. His voice had triggered my memory.
He had been a gangly youth when I last saw him, although still charming. There had been a whole crowd of us, gathered for some function, and he had been intent on involving the other princes in some sort of mischief. Now that I had caught the familiar note of his voice, I could see the traces of the boy showing through in the man he had become. And suddenly I understood what had thrown the townsfolk into such confusion.
This man belonged no more to the forest than he did to this remote town. He belonged in a palace, on a throne. We were talking to Crown Prince Gabriel of Talinos.
Chapter 2
Something in my movements must have given me away because both Cora and Prince Gabriel turned to look at me, interrupting whatever verbal sparring I’d missed.
“Are you all right, Lady?” Cora asked, remarkably calm given she was confronting her future king.
“Lady?” Gabriel looked between us. “I must admit I didn’t expect to find any of the local nobility here.” He swept a ragged bow—far less polished than the ones I knew him to be capable of performing.
So he was still attempting to pass himself off as a forester of some sort then. If he wanted to portray himself as the kind of commoner who was overawed at the presence of minor nobility, then he should have worked on the air of confidence which he wore more comfortably than clothes.
“What?” Cora stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment.
“Lady isn’t someone important,” said a piping voice. “Why did you bow to her?”
Juniper, who seemed to have recovered from her momentary timidity, gave Gabriel a direct stare. Wren hurried forward and swept