When I opened my eyes again, whatever remained of the sun had disappeared beneath a shimmering blanket of stars and milky moonlight. I took the crown from my head, rubbing at the lingering tingle on the back of my neck. I opened the satchel to replace the crown, but something caught my eye, something hidden along the bottom of the bag.
My fingers latched around the delicate silver chain and I pulled the necklace free from the bag. A silver pendant in the shape of a teardrop hung from the end, set with a diamond and a sapphire.
I rubbed my thumb over the gemstones and felt a rush of warmth move through my blood.
Another forgotten memory floated through my mind.
The autumn trees rustled, their rich red leaves floating to the ground with each gust of wind. The air smelled like winter fires and the last remnants of warm weather. The burnished sun hung low in the sky. It would be time to go inside soon. Our mothers were looking for us.
“I have something for you,” he said to me.
He was older than me and he never let me forget it. Not that I would have. I looked up to him with eyes filled with wonder. I could never understand why he wanted to spend time with me. He liked my brothers. They were always trying to coax him into games and mischief. But he stayed with me. Even when I wanted to do silly girl things, as he called them, like collect dried autumn leaves to decorate my festival headpiece.
I stared at him, marveling at how strong he looked, especially for a boy of only eleven. His blue eyes were bright even in the fading light. “What is it?”
“You must wear it,” he answered instead. “It will show the realm that you are to be mine.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not yours.”
He took a step closer, holding out a necklace for me to take. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. When he acted like this, abrupt and demanding, he reminded me that one day he would be king. He might not be king of the realm or hold as much power as my father, but he would have plenty. He would have his own kingdom to rule.
“You will be,” he insisted. “Our fathers signed the papers this morning. That’s why we’re here. That’s why there’s a festival. When you’re of age, we are to be married.”
Something hot burned through me. “I think I will choose who I want to marry. That is not something my father gets to decide for me.”
“It is something your father gets to decide for you, Princess. We are betrothed. There is nothing you can do about it.”
I lifted my chin. “I can run away.”
“You think you can run away from me?”
I took a step back, suddenly wary of this boy I had known all of my life. He didn’t seem like a boy anymore though. He seemed like some other creature entirely. “Yes. I do.”
He followed my retreating steps. “I’ll chase you.”
“Then I’ll hide.”
He leaned forward, capturing my wrist with his bigger, stronger hand. “Then I’ll find you.”
My heart pounded. I decided to switch tactics. “Boys hate getting married. Alesk won’t stop complaining about his betrothal. He says he’s going to put toads in her shoes and paste on her hairbrush.”
He let out a rumble of laughter. “Alesk won’t feel that way when it’s time for him to get married. I’m sure he’ll leave the Princess of Kasha’s hairbrush very much alone.”
“How would you know? He’s an entire year older than you.”
“Yes, but he has annoying little sisters that make him afraid of all females. I have none. So I have nothing to fear.” I opened my mouth to argue with him but he cut me off with a flippant, “Besides, I’ve seen the Princess of Kasha. He will not complain once he’s seen her.”
Now I felt hot with anger for an entirely different reason. “You don’t know anything.”
He took another step toward me. “I know you’re even prettier than the Princess of Kasha. I know I’m to marry you. I know I have a present for you if you would stop arguing with me.”
“You may give me your present,” I told him with all the air of a woman already queen. “I’ll decide if I want to marry you later.”
He smiled warmly at me and held up the necklace. The two gems danced together on the gentle breeze, clinking against the silver teardrop background. “Do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
He slipped it over my head. It was too big. It hung down to the belt on my velvet gown. “I want you to always wear it. Even when we’re older.”
I touched the pretty stones, one that represented my kingdom and one that represented his. “What if I decide not to marry you?”
His finger brushed the underside of my jaw and I looked up at him once more. “Then you can keep the necklace as a symbol of my broken heart.”
I smiled, despite the instinct to run away. “You could always marry the Princess of Kasha.”
His laughter filled the cool air with warmth and the darkness with unexpected light. “Tessa, I cannot wait for you to be queen.”
I slipped the necklace over my head and let the pendant and gems dangle against my breastplate. But I would not be queen of his kingdom.
I would be queen of mine.
4
“It’s too early to start a quest!” Oliver whined next to me.
As reluctant as I was to admit that he was right, the morning chill leached beneath my cloak, through my muslin traveling dress, and straight to my bones. I stumbled over rocks and wayward branches.
The Brotherhood did not have a horse to spare for our journey, so Oliver and I had been forced to set off across the nine kingdoms on foot. We carried with us only a few loaves of bread, six apples, some salted meat, and just
