For a moment, the fireplace was all that sounded in the room. A heaviness hung in the air. Bodil shifted from one foot to the other, her brows slightly furrowed.

She knew the princess might be mad. She didn’t blame her. But the pirate didn’t see this land as her home anymore; instead, she, and many Fìor like her, found it at sea. And she was beginning to get homesick.

“I’m sorry, Princess. But I can’t stay here,” she said solemnly, softly. A little breath tugged at her throat. “Trust me. You do not want me to.”