In the evenings, there were invariably guests at the palace, so Cammon always stood watch over the meals. No one showed any inclination to attack the king, and Amalie never summoned Cammon to her side to send him on manufactured errands. Nor did he engage in one-sided debates with her, or make any special effort to communicate. All in all, the meals were long and dull, as the days were long and dull, and life in general was pointless and miserable.
By contrast, the late evenings spent with Ellynor and Justin were a balm to his soul. Justin, who could be so wary and abrasive, was utterly relaxed around Ellynor, even expansive. Ellynor herself was a restful woman, Cammon thought-usually engaged in some small task, but in a serene, methodical way. She often seemed lost in her own thoughts, but always had a smile ready for him and would gladly answer his hundreds of questions about life across the Lireth Mountains.
“You miss it,” he said to her once, and she nodded and then she shook her head.
“I miss my family, but I’m happy to be away from them, too,” she said. “They’re very protective! And I’m too curious about the rest of the world. I spent the past two days in Ghosenhall, just wandering around with my mouth hanging open. What a beautiful city! I love being here-and that makes it easier not to miss my family.”
“I’ve told her she needs to go visit one of the Twelve Houses,” Justin said. “If she wants to see wealth and opulence.”
“How much time have you spent with the queen?” Cammon asked her.
“A few hours here and there. I think she’s more homesick than I am.”
“How well did you know her?”
Ellynor glanced at Justin and clearly decided not to say something. “Well enough. She wasn’t born to my sebahta-ris, but her family had always been on good terms with mine. If there had been a clan war, our sebahtas would have been allies.”
Obviously there was more to this story and obviously she wasn’t going to tell it. “Well, I’m sure she’s happy you’re here,” he said.
In fact, a few days later, Valri got a chance to be extremely grateful for Ellynor’s presence. Cammon arrived at the cottage to find Justin alone and Ellynor up at the palace, tending the queen through a nasty stomach ailment.
“So, we’re on our own,” Justin said. “Want to go into town and get a drink?”
They had more than one drink, as it turned out, at more than one tavern, and enjoyed themselves hugely. Justin wasn’t wearing Rider regalia, but all the barkeepers made it a point to recognize the king’s most elite fighters, and they weren’t allowed to pay for a beer all night. No fewer than five women approached Justin before the evening was over, hinting in ways that ranged from subtle to blatant that they thought the Rider was enormously attractive. Justin, of course, was oblivious.
“What do you mean you didn’t notice what she was wearing?” Cammon asked in disbelief. “I watched her unlace the front of her gown before she came over to talk to you!”
“She was wearing a moonstone bracelet. I noticed that,” Justin said. “And her hands were too soft, no calluses, so I’m pretty sure she hasn’t been handling any weapons lately. She was short, heavyset, probably easy to put down in a fight. What else am I supposed to notice?”
Cammon laughed into his beer. “It’s a mystery to me how you ever managed to realize Ellynor was in the world.”
Justin grinned. “Well, I got into a brawl on her behalf. You know me. If it involves fighting, I’m more likely to pay attention.” He sipped from his glass. “But feel free to make friends with any of these women who are coming up to the table. Maybe they’re really coming over to talk to you.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Senneth says you’re lovesick over the princess,” Justin said with his customary lack of tact.
“Oh, so now she wants you to lecture me while she’s gone?”
Justin shook his head. “I’m just wondering if it’s true.”
Cammon used his fingernail to pick at a drop of gravy crusted on the table. “We’re a lot alike.”
“You and the princess?”
“We are. We grew up lonely. We’re happiest when there are people around us-some activity going on. You know I hate to be by myself. So does she, except there’s no one she can make friends with, so she is by herself a lot of the time. It makes me want to-It just makes me want to spend time with her. Chase away the loneliness.”
Justin nodded. “You could probably do that, you know, despite what Senneth says. You could be her friend. Maybe she’d turn you into her steward someday. You could be like Milo, always around the palace, someone she could rely on completely. It wouldn’t be a bad life.”
Cammon felt a sharp well of dissatisfaction at the picture, but couldn’t exactly say why. “I hate Milo!”
Justin grinned. “He does his job. And Baryn trusts him absolutely. And if the princess trusts you-well, it might be a good fit.”
Cammon shrugged, then nodded. It was hard to imagine wanting to hold any position at the palace once Amalie was married. Why would she need him? Why would he want to stay?
“So where are they now?” Justin asked, changing the subject without a transition. But Cammon was used to the question, since Justin had asked it daily. “Are they still in Carrebos?”
“I think so. They seem to be staying put at the moment.” He sipped his beer. “And they seem to be pleased with whatever they’re doing.”
Justin stretched out his long legs and shook back his sandy hair. He looked utterly at ease, almost sleepy. Cammon felt someone in the bar gaze over at them with sharpened attention.
“You haven’t had too much to drink, have you?” he asked softly.
Justin gave him a slow grin. “Why? Some hot-blooded young kid with a sword thinking he wants to start a fight with a drunken Rider?”
“Something like that.”
Justin seemed to relax even more. “That won’t go so well. But thanks for the warning.”
“Thoughts of violence are like shouts in my head. I can block out almost everything else, but those always come through.”
“What I find interesting is that you always know where we are.” Justin never specified “we.” It was always clear whom he meant. “Without even thinking about it. We’re just there, in your head, all the time.”
Cammon nodded. “Pretty much.”
“What about Ellynor? Does she register with you the same way?”
Cammon leaned forward and used his finger to make a circle on the table from a few spilled drops of beer. “I can only sense Ellynor when you’re with her-and then only because I can feel her effect on you. It’s like she pulls part of your attention in her direction.” He drew his thumb through the circle to create a short streak of wetness. “So, I can tell if she’s with you, but that’s the best I can do.”
“Still. That’s not bad,” Justin said. “Who else? Your tutor friend, what’s his name?”
“Jerril? I can find him right away if I look for him but he’s not always there in my mind like the rest of you are.”
“The king?”
“Same.”
“The princess?”
Cammon opened his mouth to answer and then jerked his head back and stared at Justin-who stared right back at him, his expression just slightly edged with malice. A trap, and Cammon had fallen into it. Cammon hadn’t even realized it, hadn’t thought about it, hadn’t examined it. But there she was, Amalie, a faint and flickering light on the border of his consciousness. Cammon could leave this bar, head back to the palace, climb any set of stairs, traverse any corridor, and go directly to whatever room held Amalie. He knew where she was, he could feel her, she had become one of his constant internal beacons, part of the ordinary and familiar texture of his life.