it to Fergus, he frowned and held it up to his nose.
“It’s scented,” I explained. “Lavender like the color.”
Fergus nodded. “Aye. Do ye mind if I read Fee’s letter in private?”
He actually looked concerned that I would be offended by the request, which caused me to smile. “Not at all. Go.”
With a thankful smile, he shuffled out of the teepee. And as soon as he left, Vee darted in. Since we shared a brain, I knew she’d been waiting outside for the right time to enter. Unlike Fergus, she didn’t have to duck at all to fit inside.
She dropped to the pallet next to me with a frown. “Duncan says you aren’t going to the mountains with us.”
Since our arrival in Doon, the ache in my heart had subsided. Now it returned so fast and hard I actually clutched my chest. “He said that?”
“What’s going on with you two? Spill.” Vee arched a brow and hiked up her chin, clearly accustomed to using the Evil Highney to her advantage.
I opened my mouth only to discover that the lump in my throat prevented me from forming words. Tears stung my eyes as I shook my head back and forth. Finally, I managed to squeak, “We broke up—I think.” With a gasp, I began to sob.
Vee pulled me to her shoulder and let me ugly cry all over her. As I sniffled and snorted, I choked out the details of my training and Duncan pulling away. “The worst part is—with Jamie alive, it doesn’t even matter. Except that it does because he can’t take back what he said.”
Vee rubbed my arm, comforting me like she had ever since we were little girls. “It sounds to me like it’s just a misunderstanding.”
All cried out, I rested my cheek against her shoulder as she rocked us back and forth. “I don’t think so. He’s mad at me for forcing a conversation he didn’t want to have. Sometimes when you say things, you can’t unsay them. And once they’re said, you understand why they weren’t said before. You wish you’d never forced them to be said in the first place.”
Vee snorted in agreement, prompting me to demand that she spill as well. “Try having the opposite problem.”
She went on to tell me about Jamie’s escape from beheading and recapture. “I found him when I stormed the castle—thanks for the warning, by the way. But ever since Jamie came back, he’s different too . . . Not all the time—but he can change without warning. And of course he won’t tell me what happened during that time with Addie.”
She lapsed into silence for a moment before continuing her rant. “I’m not just his girlfriend or his queen, we’re supposed to be getting married—”
“When?” I demanded.
“Someday . . .” She paused and twirled her hand to indicate the tent and everything that implied. “Before all this, we were going to tie the knot right after the coronation. But I have no idea how we can build a life together when he won’t open up to me.”
“You want to know his darkest secrets.” Vee nodded, which I felt rather than saw, and I continued. “I’d settle for knowing what Duncan’s thinking at all. It’s like he’s made some decision that affects us both, but he won’t tell me what it is.”
Vee’s hand moved from my arm to smooth my hair. “He’s just protecting you. And I guess, in his own way, Jamie’s protecting me.” She sighed. “Why don’t they understand that we need to protect one another?”
“Because boys are stupid,” I blurted out. Suddenly we were laughing like a couple of deranged lunatics—until our faces hurt and our eyes gummed shut. Wiping my nose on her shirt, I said, “I’ve missed you.”
Her fingers continued to thread their way through my hair. “Me too, Ken.”
After another long pause, I sat up to face her. “So how do we convince our princes to stop protecting us for our own good?”
Vee reflected for a moment. “I think we start by going to the mountains as a team.”
“But Duncan thinks it’s not safe for me to go. I’m sure Jamie feels the same way about you going.”
“Actually, he won’t go without me. Which is another issue all in itself.”
Jamie MacCrae wouldn’t do something on his own? That was weird—especially where Vee’s safety was concerned. But I didn’t voice my shock.
“You know,” Vee drawled. Her lips twisted into a mischievous grin. “There are perks to being the queen.”