five minutes. Do not be late.” And she strode away, head tilted toward her daughter as they continued their conversation from before.
Finnegan did not move. “Well,” he said. “At last you’ve met the current and future rulers of Vanhelm.”
Aurora frowned. “I thought you were the future ruler of Vanhelm.”
“I’m the elder sibling,” he said. “But who could resist my sister’s effortless charm?” His usually flawless smile looked rather forced. “I trust you can entertain yourself for the evening? We’ll talk more tomorrow. Lay out our plans then.”
Aurora watched him stride away. She did not think she had ever seen Finnegan unsettled before. Part of her wanted to hurry after him, to challenge him on his abrupt departure, but she sensed it would be a mistake. Better to use the time to process what she had seen in the waste and plan her next move.
But too much had happened over the past day for her to sit quietly and rest. She missed Nettle’s now-familiar presence, the calming way she hummed through the quiet. Even if they did not discuss or do anything significant, she wanted to see her.
A guard directed her to Nettle’s rooms, but Nettle immediately ushered Aurora out of the palace again, insisting that Aurora needed to breathe fresh air without the threat of capture or dragons pressing down on her. They ended up sitting at a round table outside a street corner café, eating a spread of breads and jam. Aurora watched the passing crowds warily at first, but nobody even glanced at them. None of them seemed to care in the slightest who she was or what she might be doing.
They talked about many things, but nothing serious. No news from Alyssinia, no strategy for the future. A breather of a conversation, after the exhaustion of the past couple of days. But Finnegan’s one almost insignificant omission kept playing on Aurora’s mind, demanding to be investigated.
“Finnegan never mentioned he had a sister,” she said, as she spread jam on another slice of bread.
“He does not talk about her much.”
Aurora lay down the knife, keeping her expression neutral. “Why not? Do they not get along?’
“They do,” Nettle said. “But there is tension there. He is a little jealous of her, I think.”
Aurora could not imagine Finnegan being jealous of anyone. “Why?”
“They are quite similar,” Nettle said. “But they express themselves rather differently. They are both good at reading people, but Erin tends to be quieter about it. She keeps her findings to herself, while Finnegan . . .” She laughed. “You have seen Finnegan. And because of this, his mother sees those good traits in his sister, and not in him. She sees Erin as a ruler, like herself, and Finnegan as a bit of a joke. Finnegan does not like to be thought of as a joke.”
“He’s told you this?” Aurora said.
“It is what I have seen. I may be wrong.”
Her tone implied it was unlikely. And if Nettle believed it, Aurora was inclined to believe it as well.
“Finnegan called her the future leader of Alyssinia,” Aurora said carefully. “But he’s her older brother, isn’t he? So he will be king, however his mother feels.”
“It is not unheard of for heirs to be ignored. Finnegan’s grandmother was the younger sibling, I believe. Her elder brother was thought unsuitable to deal with the dragons. And the people of Vanhelm have had queens for two generations. Finnegan would be a change, and he worries that it is a change people will not accept. But for now, he is to be king.”
Finnegan as king. The image did not quite fit. Aurora could not imagine Finnegan stuck on a throne, listening to complaints, dispensing laws, dealing with the minutae of Vanhelm’s politics.
“So that’s why he wants my help? He thinks it will make people accept him as king?”
“Perhaps,” Nettle said.
Aurora sat deeper in her chair, picking at the food in front of her. It would explain his initial interest in her, his openness to the idea of her magic and her connection to the dragons. He needed her to bolster support. But so many things still did not add up.
“Finnegan was so eager for me to see the dragons today,” Aurora said. “And when I saw one, it was like . . . I didn’t feel like myself. But I also felt more like myself. I don’t know how to describe it. But when we got back to the palace, Finnegan walked off, without talking about it. If it’s so important