The retinue slowed their pace, granting Basil a few precious heartbeats to swallow the lump in his throat and prepare for the reunion.
Truthfully, he was more than a bit jumpy. He had smuggled himself into this war like a common thief, and he had seen enough of his father's brooding to know the Prince was profoundly displeased with the whole affair.
No doubt that displeasure would translate in bitterness from the flurry of letters alone the Princess would intone him, a thought that made Basil shudder as if a cold mountain wind had whistled down his spine. When he finally returned home, his mother would likely raise a hell so fierce the priests would have to invent a sixth circle for it alone.
