Chapter One

"How much further to the border?" Ari pushed up in the saddle, trying to see over the slight rise ahead. Once they left his own kingdom of Mistra and crossed into Entolia, they would be less than a day's ride from Tola, Entolia's capital city and their current destination.

"We're almost there, Your Highness," said his nearest companion calmly, looking like he was trying not to smile at the prince's enthusiasm.

Showing no such restraint, Ari grinned broadly at the grizzled senior servant. "You probably think I'm foolish to be excited about this journey, don't you, Lex? You think it'll all come to nothing."

The older man shrugged, a smile tugging up one corner of his lips. He'd been serving Mistra's royal family since well before Ari was born, so he could have gotten away with speaking his mind, but he didn't take the liberty.

It was another man who spoke, drawing his horse up on Ari's other side.

"It may well come to nothing. I think Your Highness should prepare yourself for the possibility that the rumors regarding an expedition across the desert are simply that—rumors."

Ari held in a scowl at Lord Golding's dampening words. He hadn't asked for the nobleman's opinion. He hadn't asked for his presence, either. But he knew he shouldn't complain. The inclusion of a lone diplomatic representative from his father's court was more of a concession than he'd expected when he pleaded with his parents to let him travel without a formal delegation.

"You sound like my mother, Lord Golding," he said, speaking lightly. He turned to Lex again. "Oh, that reminds me, I meant to extend my particular thanks to you, Lex, after my mother spoke to me as we were leaving Myst the other day." He named the capital of his own kingdom, Mistra.

The servant looked surprised. "What did Her Majesty say, Your Highness?"

Ari shrugged. "Oh, the usual. That no good will come of me indulging my restlessness, and I'd do much better to settle down and get married like my brothers have all done, rather than gallivanting off across the continent looking for adventure." He sighed. "I'm not trying to be difficult, you know. I wish I could have adjusted back to normal life as smoothly as my brothers have, but to be honest, I still feel like a stranger in my own body sometimes."

This speech was met with silence from both of his companions. Although they looked equally uncomfortable, only Lex was visibly bewildered. Ari walked himself back through their conversation and realized his error.

He laughed. "Oh, sorry, you meant what did she say about you that made me want to thank you, didn't you? Well, she told me that you specifically volunteered to accompany me. And I wanted to let you know that I appreciate it." He grinned again. "Especially given that you no doubt think the whole journey is a wild goose chase, even if you're too polite to say so."

He leaned up in his saddle again, peering ahead before looking back at the servant.

Lex relaxed, although his expression was a little hard to read as he glanced over at Ari. "I don't think your excitement about a journey is unnatural, Your Highness," he said. "But I will acknowledge that I don't share your enthusiasm to reach the front lines."

"Former front lines," Ari corrected him, frowning at this way of describing the border between Mistra and the neighboring kingdom of Entolia. "The war with Entolia has been over for five years, Lex. It's just a border now."

"Yes, Your Highness," said the servant, something about his tone telling Ari that he wasn't convinced.

The prince eyed the older man thoughtfully. He hadn't put his finger on it, but now he was taking note, he realized that Lex had seemed to grow a little stiffer the closer they got to the border. "Did you visit the front lines during the years of the war?" he asked. "I'd thought you always lived in the capital."

The servant cleared his throat. "I was stationed there twice," he said. "Not as a soldier, but as part of my royal duties, during periods where frequent visits were necessary from the castle. Each appointment lasted a few months."

"I didn't know that," Ari said, chastened. "I'm sorry if this trip is bringing back bad memories." He looked ahead, finally catching sight of a neat cluster of buildings. "But it's nothing like it was then," he assured his companion. "And I know, because I saw it during the war as well." He chuckled. "Although it looked a little different from a bird's eye view."

Neither Lord Golding nor Lex showed any sign of humor at his joke. On the contrary, both men shifted in their saddles, and Ari sighed. He was used to the reaction—many people in Myst were still absurdly uncomfortable at any mention of the curse that had caused him and his five older brothers to spend six years trapped in the bodies of swans. Honestly, the awkwardness was a big part of why he'd found it hard to settle back into regular life. If he was allowed to talk about his experiences freely, he probably wouldn't feel so unsettled.

Their passage across the border was uneventful. It did indeed look different from the battleground it had once been, when Mistra and Entolia had been mired in a six-year long conflict over their border. Ari had actually crossed it once since then, when he'd attended his sister's wedding four years previously. Wren, Mistra's sole princess, had married King Basil of Entolia. It was still strange for Ari to think that Wren was his graceless little sister no longer—she was the queen of a foreign kingdom, and very poised these days.

They'd broken camp early that morning, at Ari's request, in the hope that they'd make Tola in time for dinner. He wasn't disappointed. The sun was only just on the point of setting when they crested a rise and the Entolian capital came into view.

The city of Tola was perched along a shoreline which went from sandy cove to rugged cliff over the length of the city. The castle sat at the city's eastern edge, atop the cliffs. It was hard to get a good look at it in the waning light, but Ari remembered it from his previous visit. It wasn't much like the grand castle in which he'd grown up. It was pleasant enough, but not what he'd call elaborate. He'd heard it described as overlooking the city from the cliffs, and before his first visit, he'd imagined an imposing facade rising above the lesser dwellings, like the jewel on the crown that was Entolia's capital.

The first time he'd seen it for himself, however, Tola's castle had reminded Ari more of a tolerant uncle watching over his family benignly. It was long and low, running parallel to the ocean, and even the stone dragons that flanked the entrance looked more comfortable than intimidating.

The group was expected, but no great fanfare met their arrival. Ari thought Lord Golding looked irked. But personally he was delighted to be received not by any stuffy display, but by his sister hurrying toward him with her daughter on her hip and a beaming smile on her face.

"Ari! You made it!"

"Wren." Ari embraced his sister, pausing to tweak the dark ringlets clustered around his little niece's face. "Azure has so much hair now!"

"I know," Wren said, smiling fondly at her daughter. "She's a year and a half, can you believe it? A whole year since we were last in Myst."

She turned to the other members of Ari's small party, greeting them with gentle courtesy. "I'm sorry Basil can't be here to receive you all," she said. "He's in a meeting he couldn't slip away from, but he'll join us for dinner shortly."

"Oh, no need for him to rush away on my account," said Ari cheerfully. "King duties trump visits from the least of his brothers-in-law."

"Nonsense, he'll be delighted you're here. And," she informed him sternly, "youngest does not mean least."

Ari nudged her shoulder. "You should know, pipsqueak."

He thought the ladies' maid attending Wren looked a little scandalized at this form of addressing the queen, but Wren just chuckled.

"Rooms have been prepared for all of you, of course. You have a little time to freshen up. I'll see you at dinner." She gave him another hug, providing the perfect opportunity for little Azure to grab his ear and tug vigorously.

"Zuzu!" Wren scolded her daughter, gently removing the offending hand. She grimaced at her brother. "Sorry."

"It's all right," Ari laughed, tweaking his niece's hair again. The toddler graced him with an enormous grin. "She's going to be trouble, this one," he commented.

Wren gave him a long-suffering look. "She already is," she assured him. "See you at dinner."

Still chuckling, Ari followed a servant to a lavish guest suite on the far side of the castle. He didn't spend long there, however. Reaching his destination at last had given him new energy. He only planned to stay in Tola for a week before continuing eastward, and he was eager not to waste a minute of it. He'd met the Entolian royals when he came for Wren and Basil's wedding, but that had been four years ago, and the visit had been mainly taken up with formalities. He'd made no real connection with any of them, and he felt the need to re-introduce himself. Wren described family life in the Entolian castle as chaos, but the endearing kind, and he was looking forward to experiencing it.

When he entered the dining hall where the royal family ate, however, he immediately realized that he hadn't sufficiently prepared himself for the chaos. King Basil's father had died years previously, but his mother was there, seated at one end of a long table, looking impressively serene given her surroundings. Everyone else at the spread was from Ari's generation or younger. And there were a lot of them.

Growing up with five older brothers and a little sister, Ari had always thought of his family as large. But the family Wren had married into put them to shame. Basil had no brothers, but he had twelve younger sisters, all of whom seemed to be present. As far as Ari knew, only one of those sisters was married—Princess Zinnia, who had created a bit of a stir when she married an untitled soldier. Although he was an enchanter, and the ability to use magic was rare enough that it gave him clout similar to a nobleman's title.

The pair in question were seated at the far end of the table, Princess Zinnia chatting animatedly with another sister, while Obsidian spoke softly to the small child on his knee, presumably their daughter.

That was another surprise. When he'd been shown to the family's smaller dining hall, Ari had realized it wasn't to be a formal state reception, and he'd been glad of it. But he hadn't expected the children to actually be present. In addition to the child on Obsidian's knee, he could see Azure sitting on Wren's lap, and Wren's three-year-old son Teddy bouncing on his own seat alongside his mother.

On reflection, Ari could imagine how foolish it would seem for anyone to forbid the attendance of the little children when the youngest of King Basil's sisters—theoretically in the same generation as the king and queen, and Ari himself—was only eight years old. The younger of the princesses were certainly giving their infant nieces and nephew fair competition in both volume and energy. And yet, no one seemed troubled by the general cacophony, even the dowager queen seeming unruffled.

Ari hovered uncertainly by the door for a moment, before Wren caught sight of him and waved him over.

"There's a seat here for you, Ari," she told him in her quiet way when he was close enough to hear. After directing him to a seat across from her, she cast a look around the group, as though she intended to properly introduce him, then seemed to give up on the idea of getting all their attention.

At that moment, the door swung open again, saving her the necessity. All conversation paused as King Basil strode into the room with swift steps.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting," he told his family cheerfully. He moved straight to the place beside his wife, stooping to kiss her cheek before swooping his son up into his arms. "Over you go, Teddy," he said, his voice perfectly pleasant as he supplanted the child to the next seat over, allowing the young king to sit beside his wife. The moment King Basil was seated, the three-year-old rebelled against his orders, clambering up onto his father's lap, where he was received with a loose arm around his shoulders.

The arrival of the king was obviously the servants' cue, because they started to lay dishes on the table at once. Basil's eyes met Ari's across the spread, and his face lit in a smile of welcome.

"Ari! I forgot you were arriving this evening, my apologies for not greeting you properly." He cleared his throat, and instantly had everyone's attention. "Everyone, you remember the youngest of Wren's older brothers, Ari. We're delighted to have him with us."

Every eye turned to Ari, a dozen friendly greetings tumbling over one another. He smiled, waving a hand in recognition, and marveling at how informal they were all allowed to be. It was a far cry from life in his own castle.

"Are you one of the ones who used to be a swan?" demanded one of the younger princesses. If she was as old as ten, Ari would be surprised.

"Ivy," said the dowager queen, exasperated, but Ari was grinning.

"Yes, but that doesn't make me special, you know. We all were swans, except for Wren. So it doesn't set me apart in the least."

"We all know that feeling," joked the princess seated next to Ari. He turned to her, expecting to see another child, and was surprised to find a young woman.

"It's still remarkable to us, though," chimed in another sister, this one a teenager. "What was it like? How could you retain your human mind while in a bird's body? Did you still have your normal thoughts, or was your mind consumed by…I don't know, hunting for worms?"

"I had my own thoughts," Ari assured her solemnly. "I can't speak to how intelligent they were, but that issue predated being turned into a swan." The young woman beside him chuckled, and he allowed himself a grin. "And it was a very bad day if I had to survive off worms."

"Ick!" said one of the younger girls, a few of them giggling over the thought of eating worms. The teenage one looked like she was gearing up for another question, but her mother cut her off.

"Enough, Briar. Let's not interrogate Prince Ari with questions about the affliction he suffered."

"I don't mind, Your Majesty," Ari said, smiling politely at the dowager queen.

"Good of you," Basil cut in, "but we'll let you enjoy the status of guest for at least one evening before we start grilling you with questions at every meal."

He deftly turned the conversation, and Ari directed his attention to the food in front of him. The king probably thought he was shielding his brother-in-law, but Ari hadn't found the questions in the least disconcerting. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time his heart had felt so light. It was such a relief not to have to dodge the topic of his bizarre swan years. The princesses might view him with the fascination one would feel for an exotic animal, but at least they didn't find the topic awkward like his own people did.

"So what brings you to Tola, Prince Ari?"

The question came from the young woman sitting next to Ari, and he raised a hand in protest.

"Just Ari, please. I'm sorry, I didn't catch—"

"I'm Princess Violet," she rescued him helpfully, not seeming at all irked that he hadn't remembered her name. "But you can just call me Violet, of course. We met at Basil and Wren's wedding, I think, but I can't say I would have been able to pick you out of your brothers by name."

Ari grinned at her. "Well, that lets me off the hook."

She laughed. "Definitely. You have a much better excuse than I do. Only six of you, and twelve of us. You must feel like you're lost in a stampede."

Ari cast a glance around the table. The meal was in full swing, but the amount of food being consumed hadn't caused any notable drop in the volume. The princess sitting on his other side leaned across the table to feed little Prince Teddy some chicken, and meanwhile the girl on Obsidian's lap was being doted upon by one of the younger girls. Little Princess Azure was still on Wren's lap, while her mother tried with limited success to stop her from putting everything she could get her chubby little hands on into her mouth. Mainly the silverware. Clearly the children were much adored by the family at large.

"It is a lot," he acknowledged. "But I don't mind it. I wish my family was a little more like this, to be honest. I'm the only one who isn't married, and most have children, but even the ones who live in the castle don't have their children join us for meals like this."

"Ah, well there you go," Violet informed him cheerfully. "You're not hard to pick out of the line up at all. Your nieces and nephews can easily remember you—they just need to call you The Uncle Who Can't Land a Wife."

"Thank you for that," said Ari dryly. "Somehow I don't think I'll be suggesting that nickname." He saw she was trying not to laugh, and gave in, grinning himself. "Only because The Unlucky Uncle is much less of a mouthful."

"Unlucky?" she asked solemnly. "Or lucky to have such a clear identifying feature? There are still ten of us sisters in the same situation, and even though Zinnia is married and living out of the castle now, I still frequently get mistaken for her. I'm often told we look particularly alike, and poor Jasmine gets the same." She nodded toward a young teenager halfway down the table.

Ari followed her gaze, thoughtfully assessing both of the sisters identified. "I don't know," he said, his eyes flicking between her and the others a couple of times. The three shared the same wavy brown hair, and there was some similarity of features, but it wasn't a remarkable likeness—neither of them had quite the presence Violet did. "I don't think you look that similar," he announced. "I'll admit I didn't remember your name, but having had a proper conversation with you, I don't think I'd mistake you for either Zinnia or Jasmine. Or for any of your sisters, really."

"Truly?" Violet demanded. She plastered on an expression of mock astonishment, but underneath, Ari thought she was genuinely delighted. "Say no more, handsome prince from a foreign land! Marry me at once!"

"I—?" Ari's inarticulate stutter was cut off by a scandalized voice from Violet's other side.

"Violet! Have you no shame?"

Violet sent a long-suffering look toward the older princess, whom Ari didn't even realize had been listening to their conversation.

"It was a joke, Lilac." Violet's eyes flicked back to Ari, laughter dancing in their depths as she took in his still-blank expression. "Just a joke," she assured him.

"Hardly an appropriate joke," said Lilac tartly. "Honestly, Violet, what will Prince Ari think of us if you carry on in that manner?"

The princess sounded ready to launch into a full lecture, and Ari could see from Violet's face that none of it would be either new or welcome.

"Of course it was a joke," he cut in smoothly, sending Lilac a smile he hoped would be disarming. "And I never answered your original question, Violet. I'm only passing through Tola. I'm headed for Bansford." He named a kingdom to the east of Entolia. "I've heard a rumor that they're planning an expedition across the desert, and I want to wheedle my way in if possible."

"Across the desert?" asked another of the girls from Ari's other side. "I thought it was impassable."

"It is as far as anyone knows," Ari agreed. "I should have said an expedition around the desert, because the rumor is they're going to sail. But I don't know if there's any truth to it. I was itching to go somewhere, so I thought I'd investigate in person."

"It must be wonderful to be that free," said the princess who'd asked Ari about eating worms. "The difference between being a prince and a princess, I suppose."

"Prince Ari is a fully-grown man, Briar," said Lilac. Her exasperated tone perfectly matched the way their mother had chastised the young sister who'd first questioned Ari. "You're sixteen. There's a subtle difference."

Briar responded sharply, and the conversation quickly devolved into a heated but muted argument. Taken aback, Ari glanced around. No one was taking much notice, the general clamor continuing.

"Want to escape?" Violet asked in an undertone.

"Escape?" Ari repeated, bewildered.

She nodded solemnly. "Before Lilac loses interest in lecturing Briar, and returns her attention to us."

"But…can we?" Ari protested. "I mean, won't we be missed?"

"I thought you were a swan, not a chicken," Violet said, completely straight-faced.

Ari narrowed his eyes at her, trying to keep his rising mirth at bay and match her tone. "You'd be wise not to criticize any type of fowl until you've flapped a mile in their feathers. Their lives aren't as idyllic as you might think."

Violet just grinned. "Yes," she said, her voice suddenly a little louder. "These tapestries were commissioned by my grandfather, actually. Let me show you."

Ari followed obediently as she crossed the room. She came to a stop in front of one of a pair of matching tapestries that hung on either side of glass double doors. Through the doors, Ari could see a small patio. Once he was alongside her, Violet threw a glance over her shoulder at the table, then tugged on his sleeve and slipped through the door into the cool night air.

Emerging onto the patio behind her, Ari couldn't help but laugh. "Where are we going, and why are we running away?"

"I'm not running away," Violet said lightly, moving across the patio. "But I'm really not in the mood for one of Lilac's scolds." She shook her head. "I do love her, but she can be insufferable at times. Maybe you're more fortunate in your older siblings, but—"

"I have five older brothers," Ari cut her off flatly. "If you think they're all genial and easygoing, and not one is ever insufferable, you've lost your mind."

Violet chuckled, but she didn't turn back to him. She'd reached the exterior wall of the building, and to Ari's astonishment, she grabbed hold of an ornamental stone dragon's head sticking out of the wall, attempting to pull herself up with it.

"No good." She turned to him. "Give me a boost?"

"A what?" Ari asked, dazed.

"A boost," Violet repeated. "With your hands."

Feeling like he must be dreaming, Ari found himself clasping his hands together and dropping to one knee. Next thing he knew, Violet had stepped onto his hands and pulled herself up to the dragon's head. She reached for another one, her sights apparently set on a sizable overhang that formed a roof for the patio.

"Where are you going?" Ari asked, bewildered.

"I told you, we're escaping," Violet informed him. "Only if you can keep up, of course."

Ari pulled himself up behind her, unable to resist that challenge. With his longer arms, he had no difficulty reaching the handhold. "I just didn't realize you meant it so literally," he retorted.

He had to admit, he was impressed by her nimbleness as he followed her up the wall and across to the overhang. Soon they were sitting side by side, looking out at the darkness of what appeared to be a small garden.

"Listen," Violet said softly. "Do you hear it?"

Ari stilled, listening. A dull, pulsing roar filled his ears. It was a pleasant sound. "The sea," he murmured. "I've rarely visited the coast. It must be nice to live so near the ocean."

"It is," Violet said simply. She didn't expand, and for a moment they just sat in a companionable silence, eventually broken by a voice drifting out from the room below. Ari recognized it as Princess Lilac's.

"I thought they went out…oh, there's no one here. Perhaps Prince Ari wished to retire early?"

Violet grinned conspiratorially at Ari. "She'll scold me tremendously when I get back to my suite, but that won't take this moment away from me."

"Is your sister really so overbearing you have to actually run away from her?" Ari asked mildly.

Violet sobered. "No, of course not," she said. She sighed, the sound so soft Ari almost missed it. "I'm just a firm believer in the unpredictability of tomorrow. You never know what changes are coming, so it's wise to take advantage of whatever freedom you have now, while you still can."

Ari frowned a little. There was something behind the seemingly light words, something he couldn't quite read. But he didn't press. He found himself quite content to talk of nothing and everything with Violet for another half an hour, before the chill of the night drove them back inside. From Violet's casual demeanor, he was sure the stragglers still in the dining hall assumed they'd been standing on the patio the whole time. Lilac, mercifully, appeared to have retired.

After wishing his sister a dutiful goodnight, Ari hastened to do the same, the weariness of his journey catching up with him at last.

And yet, as he drifted to sleep, he thought neither of the home he'd left nor of any unformed adventures on the other side of the desert. For once, his mind was very much occupied with where he was, and what was in front of him. Specifically, a pair of laughing hazel eyes.