Rosslyn and William stood awkwardly outside the palace library, avoiding eye contact with each other in the moments after the servants left them.

  After a moment, only Oran remained. Propriety demanded that there be a chaperone of some sort.

  But he stood ten feet away, back turned to the two of them.

  In the dim candlelight of the hallway, the butler could almost melt into the darkness. It would be easy to forget that he was there.

  “You wanted to speak with me, Princess?” William asked. His tone was somewhere between hopeful and guarded, and Rosslyn felt a pit forming in her stomach.

  If he had been resigned or angry, this conversation would have been easier in some ways.

  “I did,” Rosslyn acknowledged. She turned, led the way into the library, smoothed the sides of her dress down, and took a seat in the plush loveseat that she had always favored. Beside her feet, an unsteady flame crackled in the fireplace. Clearly, the servants had not expected anyone to use the library today, though they had done Rosslyn the service of warming the room as much as they could on such short notice.

  William sat down parallel to her in her father’s armchair. The wooden arms were visibly worn down from generations of use by restless kings and queens. It had been the favorite seat of Warrior Queen Maud, apparently.

  William looked Rosslyn in the eyes, then looked away. She frowned.

  She had thought about this conversation, but it was still uncomfortable for her. She felt a mixture of disgust with herself and obligation toward her country.

  You have already gone over this decision over and over, Rosslyn thought angrily. You will sacrifice whatever you must, to attain the objective. She shook her head gently. Where do I begin?

  “How is your father?” William asked hesitantly. “Feeling better? Taking the waters in Tema?”

  “Um, not better, unfortunately,” Rosslyn admitted.

  At death’s door, she thought.

  “I hope you have not been too bored,” she added a little stiffly.

  Inside, she kicked herself. Still not getting to the point…

  “It has felt rather like we were guests in a haunted mansion, lately, rather than an inhabited palace,” William continued. “Frankly, my brother and I had considered leaving. We hate to be a burden, especially where it seems the hosts have grown weary of us—not that I say you are wrong to feel that way. But I certainly would have considered saying our farewells if Frederick were not interested in seeing more of your fine city.”

  Rosslyn raised an eyebrow and then tried to quickly smooth her expression back to neutrality again. She was uncertain what she found harder to believe: that William was ready to give up just like that on something he had clearly decided was a goal, or that Frederick wanted to see more of the city.

  “We toured your fortifications,” William said, answering her unspoken question. “Good, strong walls. The sort a city needs in such times.”

  Is he toying with me? Someone already informed him of our changed situation somehow, and he is amusing himself by taunting me?

  Rosslyn kept a careful rein on her breathing and again tried to keep her facial muscles stiff and unreadable.

  Then she realized that he was staring at her curiously, a smile tugging at the edges of his lips. And that she had this strange, mechanical, artificially neutral expression on her face.

  I cannot take this banter. I have to say something.

  Instead, almost involuntarily, she responded directly to the surface level of what he had said.

  “I am glad that our walls met with your approval.” The words came out noticeably colder than she had intended them. Guided by some instinct she did not fully understand, she added, “I hope they will defend us well when you and your brother have gone home.”

  William sucked in a short breath through his nostrils and looked slightly taken aback. Then he shook his head and rose from his seat.

  Rosslyn wondered for a moment if he was going to walk out. She felt her hands tremble. She had not even arrived at the subject they were there to discuss.

  Somehow, I got it into my head that I could catch more flies with vinegar than with honey.

  She followed William with her eyes as he stepped away from the armchair and turned his back on her. She was ready to cry out, ready to say something to keep him from leaving, though she did not know what she would say to make him stay.

  But William did not seem in any hurry to walk out. He moved toward a bookshelf and studied the covers in silence for a minute. Rosslyn could hear his breathing. She thought he was trying to calm down. She had upset him.

  I have to be more careful. This conversation matters.

  William turned around and looked her right in the eyes.

  “Rosslyn, how long have we known each other?” he asked.

  His more familiar form of address did not escape her notice.

  “Thirteen or fourteen years,” Rosslyn said, thinking, You know that for most of that time, we have been apart… I know the years have changed both of us.

  “Well, you are not that different from the girl I met thirteen or fourteen years ago,” William replied, smiling. “You are terrible at hiding your feelings. You should not undertake any difficult negotiations until you develop a better face. I can read you like a book.”

  Rosslyn doubted that his insight into her character was as profound as William thought it was—he had already demonstrated that he could not accurately read her body language and tone before—but she did not contradict him.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “What is your point, William?” she asked instead.

  “When you are married, your husband will take care of these sorts of matters for you,” he replied. “Someone who can keep a cooler head, hopefully.” His tone was gently reproachful and, Rosslyn perceived, slightly mocking.

  “I know that some people believe that to be the natural order of things,” Rosslyn said. She could not help wrinkling her nose slightly as she spoke.

  William took a couple of steps forward, closing the distance between himself and Rosslyn until he stood over her. Then he leaned down until his face was only a few inches away from hers. He looked as if he wanted to kiss her, but they both simply held in place, eyes locked on each other’s pupils, in a sort of staring contest.

  Rosslyn forced herself to remain still. She even suppressed the urge to swallow a lump in her throat. Any little movement might give something away. William clearly understood that she needed something from him. Otherwise he would not be speaking and acting the way he was. If what he wanted in return was the kiss that she had denied him the other day, she would let him have it—even as she felt contempt for herself for doing so.

  Then William smiled and pulled away from her. As he drew back, Rosslyn thought she noticed a tinge of sadness to his expression. But the look passed quickly—assuming that her eyes had not deceived her. The brief impression might have only been a trick of the light, a product of the flickering in the fireplace.

  “What is it you truly wished to discuss, Rosslyn?” he asked. “I know this is not merely a friendly conversation.”

  Rosslyn began to explain the full situation to William. She would do him that courtesy. She was aware that she was already attempting to manipulate him in a way that she would normally find absolutely loathsome, but she could at least ensure that he did not walk into her problems blindly. Rosslyn began by recounting her trip to the Demon Empire’s capital—both the purpose of her visit and the attempt to assassinate her on her return journey. She told him about the impending invasion, the Demon Empire’s recent military advances that the Kingdom’s spy had informed them of, and lastly the dungeon and its recent activities.

  The only details she left out were the fact that Claustria had a spy in the Empire and her father’s condition, which she simply described as “unavailable.” The former was too important of a secret to share even with a mostly trusted ally, while the latter was not something Rosslyn was willing to tell anyone outside the family.

  Well, she had told Adon. But he was different. And that had been her father’s decision anyway.

  “So, you plan on taking a squad of elite knights and cleansing the dungeon before the demons arrive,” William summarized.

  Rosslyn nodded. This next part of the conversation was delicate, so she intended to be careful about what she said and to speak as little as necessary to accomplish the end goal.

  “Where do my brother and I fit into this?” he asked.

  “I would think that was obvious,” Rosslyn said, trying to sound like she had not planned exactly what she would say at this juncture. “The most natural decision for you and your brother to make is to go home.”

  “What?” William said flatly, pursing his lips.

  “Just as I said. You and Frederick are our guests, not our prisoners. It would be best if you returned to Dessia and told your father everything that is transpiring here. We already have our own messengers rushing to our various allies and those who might wish to fight the Empire alongside us. But we face a difficult battle. There is every chance the Empire will take the capital here. If they do, any nobility who stayed within the walls might be slaughtered or castrated and enslaved. Those rumors we used to hear about human assassins with magic turned out to be true, after all.”

  “Noble-blooded assassins, yes,” William said, scowling. “I grasp the risks of war. They are risks I have been raised to face. What I fail to understand is why you are pretending not to see my value and that of my brother in your war. I know that you want to ask for our aid. What, are you too proud for that?”

  “Perhaps I am,” Rosslyn admitted. “And it would be wrong of me to ask you. What happens to me and my country is not of the same concern to the Duke of Dessia as what happens to his sons and heirs.” She peered deep into Williams’s eyes. “I know that it is your duty to return rather than to fight our war for us or delve into a dungeon with me.”

  William’s eyes narrowed, and then he shook his head and smiled.

  “Rosslyn, as I said, you are no good in these situations. You never learned how to bend before you break. If I were another man—but very well, I will not make you ask.” He leaned down and took her hand in both of his. To her surprise, she felt her heart beat a little faster at the unexpected touch. “I cannot see how any man could allow a lady he cares for to raid a dungeon almost by herself, let alone stand by and watch while you fight a war against terrible odds. I will write to my father and request that we be allowed to join in your war. But for now, my brother and I will accompany you into the dungeon, along with our bodyguards. Some additional fighters ought to relieve something of your manpower shortage, eh?”

  Rosslyn allowed the relief to show on her face. Then she lowered her eyes. Receiving help in this way was genuinely embarrassing.

  She could not have asked for it directly, or the Dessians might reasonably have thought they could ask something of the Claustrians in return—or her specifically. Rosslyn would do what she needed to do to secure her country’s safety, but she did not want to voluntarily throw away her freedom.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly. She felt her cheeks color a bit.

  “I am not acting entirely unselfishly, Rosslyn,” William said in a low voice. “I have a request of my own. If you do not wish to honor it, then very well. But I will have made the request.”

  Rosslyn wanted to say, Anything, but she was afraid of what that might be.

  “What is it?” she said after a moment. “I would not decline anything honorable.”

  “When Frederick and I journeyed here, I heard a strange rumor—that you were requiring would-be suitors to fight duels with you to establish their eligibility to seek your hand. At first, I discounted the idea. It seemed strange—but then again, you have a certain eccentricity in your character.” He smiled good-naturedly. “When I arrived, I wondered if you would challenge me to a duel. Then, after our last outing together—” He frowned. “I thought perhaps I ruined my chances. So, I wanted to request a duel. If only a man who can defeat you is worthy to win your hand, I wish to establish that I am at least in the pool of contenders.”

  Rosslyn nodded. A duel, I can give you.

  “There is nothing dishonorable in that,” she said. She managed to give him a thin smile.

  He finally released her hand, and she realized that it was moist from his sweaty palms.

  William was nervous about that, she thought, slightly stunned. She had known that he was seriously courting her, of course, but somehow, she had assumed that nothing in the process phased him. She was far from the only young lady to have received William’s attention in the last few years, she knew.

  But the involuntary secretions of his skin suggested another story. Perhaps he wanted this match far more than she had realized.

  Rosslyn herself was still deeply ambivalent.

  “This evening, then?” William asked. “And we can leave for the dungeon tomorrow, regardless of who wins or loses.”

  Rosslyn nodded once more, and she managed a slightly less anemic smile.

  “I will look forward to it.”

  William smiled.

  “Then I will take my leave of you for now, Princess,” he said. “See you in an hour or so.”

  Rosslyn dipped her head silently. The conversation had gotten better than she had expected. She could only ruin it by speaking further.

  William moved toward the library door, and he stepped into the frame, but at the same moment, a servant rushed in from the other side.

  The two men collided, and the servant tumbled backward onto the hall floor.

  William bent to help the man up, but the fallen figure jumped to his feet before the young lord could put out his hand, as if the servant had springs in his thighs or something.

  The servant bowed to William, then rushed through the doorway behind him.

  Breathlessly, he exclaimed, “Your Highness, the arthropods have returned!”

  Despite the strange back and forth, mainly negative, direction of her mood through the last half hour, Rosslyn felt her heart soar at this news.