She sighed, plucked up a handful of damp grass, and flung it high into the air. The wind lifted and carried the grass for a moment and then, like a bored child, let it fall.

"You sent for me, Highness?" she asked.

Eneas frowned. "Please, Briony. Princess. Do not speak to me as though we have not been friends."

She realized he was right. There was a stiffness in her manner. "I… I'm sorry, Eneas. I meant nothing by it. I did not sleep well."

He showed a rueful smile. "You are not the only one. But now I have decided what I must do-what common sense demands as much as honor." He nodded. "I will stay with you, Briony Eddon. We will continue to Southmarch."

Briony had already begun to tell him she had expected it, and to thank him for all he had done for her; she was even pondering what she could decently ask of him besides the horse and armor he had already given her when she realized what he had said. "What? Stay… with me?"

"I gave my word. And I realized that, with Jino and other friends at Broadhall, I am not so cut off as I might think. Even should something… the Brothers prevent it, the gods all forswear it… should something happen to my father, the kingdom is sound… and the throne is safe." He smiled, although it did not come easily. "If Ananka had given my sire an heir, things might be different."

As Anissa did with my father, Briony thought but did not say. The thought echoed in her head unpleasantly, but she pushed it away for later consideration. "Your Highness… Eneas… I don't know what to say!"

"Then say nothing. And don't assume it is only because of obligation, either. Your company means much to me, Briony-your happiness, too. And I have my own curiosity about what is happening in the north. Now go and make yourself ready, I beg you. We ride out within the hour and I must prepare a letter to be sent back to good Erasmias Jino."