Or was that the cowardly thing to do? With a sigh, she sat up. Beside her, Eviana stirred and opened her eyes.
“Gwennie?” She blinked sleepily at her, then looked around. “Where are we?”
“On a boat, headed for Eberon and yer parents.”
“Weally?” Eviana sat up and reached for the pillowcase filled with her three new dolls. “I can’t wait to show Mama my new babies.”
Gwennore brushed back the little girl’s curls. “She’s going to be so happy to see you. Are ye hungry?”
“Yes!” Eviana jumped to her feet, the dolls forgotten.
Gwennore sat her down at the table and poured a cup of apple cider. “Here.”
While the little girl drank, Gwennore prepared a plate of buttered bread, cold ham, cheese, and sliced apples.
“So you’re not staying with us, after all?” Aleksi asked in Norveshki as he poured himself a drink.
Gwennore glanced over at General Dravenko, who was standing alone at the bow of the barge. “No,” she whispered. “I can’t work with a dishonest man.”
Aleksi grimaced. “I wouldn’t call him dishonest. He said he would return the girl and he’s kept his word.”
“He deceived me.” Gwennore set the plate of food in front of Eviana.
“I’ve known Silas since I was two years old. He’s an honorable man.”
With a snort, Gwennore looked away.
“I’m serious.” Aleksi lowered his voice. “Silas risked his neck, arguing with His Majesty for an hour before he finally got permission to return the girl.”
Gwennore turned back to the young officer. “He argued with the king?”
“Yes. The king relented, but he’s still angry at Silas for interfering in his business.”
“So the king wanted to keep her?” Gwennore motioned toward the little girl, who was busily eating. “Why?”
Aleksi sighed. “He’s afraid his wife will commit suicide if he doesn’t give her a reason to live.”
Gwennore swallowed hard. “Then the Norveshki king and queen are both behind the kidnapping of children.”
Aleksi winced. “Please don’t repeat that to anyone in Eberon or Tourin. Silas wants peace with those countries. And he’s trying to stop the kidnappings.”
A sudden thought caused a chill to run down Gwennore’s back. “What happened to the other abducted children? Did they disappear? Why aren’t they still in the nursery?”
“I wondered about that, too.” Aleksi frowned. “I asked a servant about it, and she said that once the kidnapped children grow past the age of the royal children who died, the queen realizes they’re not hers and rejects them. But there are so many couples in Norveshka who can’t have children that the kidnapped ones are quickly adopted. They end up in loving—”
“What do you mean? Couples who can’t have children?”
Aleksi’s eyes widened with alarm. “Dammit, I keep saying too much.” He cast a worried glance toward General Dravenko. “Forget what I said.”
Gwennore thought back to how she’d noticed the lack of children in the last village. Was this one of the state secrets that the general had referred to? “What is going on here?”
Aleksi winced. “Look, if you’re truly grateful that the general is returning you and the girl, then please don’t tell anyone about our problems. All right?”
Gwennore nodded. “I won’t say a word.”
Aleksi heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you.” He scurried off toward the back of the barge.
Gwennore glanced at General Dravenko and noted that he was scowling at Aleksi. The general’s gaze suddenly shifted to Gwennore, and the intensity of his glittering green eyes made her breath hitch.
No. She turned away to tend to Eviana. If returning to her sisters was the cowardly thing to do, then so be it. Being a coward was the best way to keep from getting hurt.
If he’d deceived her once, he could do it again. And the more she became attracted to the scoundrel, the more his deceptions would rip at her heart.
But he had stood up to the king in order to save Eviana. He had kept his word that he would send her back.
Was he an honorable man or a scoundrel?
He needed her. And knowing that made Gwennore’s heart soften. At last, someone who thought she was special, who thought she was intelligent, who saw her true worth.
With a groan, she lowered her head, resting her brow in the palm of her hand. She didn’t know what to do.
* * *
Gwennore noted that the sun was high in the sky when they arrived in the town of Vorushka, situated close to the Eberoni border where the Vorus River fed into the Norva. As soon as the barge docked at the pier, the mayor of Vorushka and a group of men descended on them, demanding to know why the Eberoni army had made camp across the border.
“They come in peace,” General Dravenko assured the mayor. “We have the Eberoni princess with us.” He motioned to Eviana, who was clinging to Gwennore’s skirt. “As soon as we return her to her family, the army will leave.”
Eager to be rid of an encroaching army, the mayor quickly provided the general and his company with horses and a fancy open carriage for the princess and Gwennore. As they rode through town, she looked curiously about. Once again, the townspeople came out of their homes and businesses to gawk at the general, the elfin woman, and the Eberoni princess. And once again, Gwennore noted that there were very few children.
Were the children dying, or was the problem one of infertility? How could she help with something like that? The general thought too highly of her.
How strange was that? After a few years of being unappreciated, she was astounded that someone would think that much of her. It was appealing, she had to admit. But should she be willing to endanger herself just because she was curious and flattered?
When they came to a stop close to the one bridge that spanned the Vorus River, she spotted the Eberoni and Tourinian flags marking the encampment on the southern bank.
“Ready to go home?” General Dravenko asked in Eberoni
