Prince Rael stepped out from a side passage, clearly not expecting to find them there. Surprise flickered across his features, quickly smoothed into something more neutral.
"Your Highness," Elissa said, a little startled. "I hope we're not in your way."
Rael shook his head. "Not at all. I was just returning from checking in with some of my guards." His gaze moved from Elissa to Martha, taking in the cloaks, the slight color in Elissa's cheeks from the cold. "You've been outside."
"Briefly," Martha said before Elissa could answer, tone firm but polite. "On the balcony. The princess needed air."
Rael's brows rose a fraction. "On this side of the castle? That's not a path most guests find... I hope." He added at last.
Martha's chin tilted. "I've been here before. I know where the quiet corners are."
Rael's eyes returned to Elissa. "Was it too much tonight?" he asked, not unkindly. "The staring. The whispers. Courts are…fond of their stories. Ours in the West is no better."
Elissa met his gaze. "It was a lot," she admitted. "But I've had practice being watched. And whispered about."
There was no self-pity in her tone—just tired honesty.
Rael studied her for a beat longer. "You handled it better than many born to courts would," he said. "Some nobles crumble if someone looks at them for more than a heartbeat."
Martha watched quietly.
Elissa's mouth twitched. "Then I suppose I'm ahead of them in one thing, at least."
A faint smile tugged at Rael's lips. "In more than one, I suspect." He hesitated, then added, "If anyone troubles you directly, you may tell me. I can't silence every tongue, but I can…discourage certain kinds of talk. Even as a guest, I'm not entirely powerless."
Martha's eyes narrowed a fraction, assessing. Elissa blinked, a little taken aback by the offer.
"Thank you," she said. "I'll keep that in mind."
Rael inclined his head. "You're a guest of the North," he said. "And for the moment, we're both under their roof. That should still mean something."
As he spoke, footsteps sounded at the far end of the corridor.
Alistair, had just turned the corner, intent on returning to his own chambers. He hadn't expected to see anyone else—most of the guests had already vanished into their rooms.
He slowed when he caught sight of them: Elissa, cloaked, color high in her cheeks; Martha at her side; and Rael.... standing a touch closer than strictly necessary, posture relaxed but attentive.
A light thread of tension pulled through Alistair's shoulders before he could stop it.
He watched for a moment, just long enough to see the way Rael's head inclined toward Elissa, the way she looked up when he spoke. Nothing improper. Nothing outrageous.
Still.
Without fully deciding to, Alistair changed direction and walked toward them, his steps quiet but purposeful.
Rael's eyes flicked past Elissa and Martha, catching sight of him.
"Prince Alistair," he said, tone easy, respectful enough for a host prince. "Out late?"
"So are you, Prince Rael," Alistair replied, voice cool but not hostile. His gaze moved briefly over Martha in acknowledgement, then settled for a heartbeat on Elissa. "Princess. Martha."
"Your Highness," Martha said, giving him a short nod.
Elissa's fingers tightened slightly on the edge of her cloak. "Good evening," she said.
Alistair's eyes noted the faint flush on her face, the stray hair at her temple the brush must have missed, the hint of cold still clinging to her.
"You've been outside," he said.
Martha bristled a little. "On the balcony," she repeated. "For air. I was with her."
Alistair's mouth pressed into a thin line, something like annoyance—or concern—flickering there. "The castle is full of guests tonight," he said. "Not all of them…disciplined. " He paused a little and then added, " I'd prefer not to find any of them in the wrong corridor with someone under my own palace."
The words were for Elissa, but also quite clearly for Rael and any other guest who might be listening, even in theory.
"And that," Martha replied back, "is why I didn't let her go alone."
Rael's gaze slipped between them, taking in the currents, the way Alistair spoke as a prince on his own ground.
Alistair exhaled slowly through his nose, as if conceding that point. He turned his attention to Elissa.
"Next time," he said, "if you need air, send word before you disappear into the quieter parts of the castle. I'll have someone see to it."
Elissa lifted her chin just a fraction. "I didn't vanish," she said. "Martha knew where I was. And we stayed within the walls."
Alistair's eyes held hers for a moment, measuring the steadiness there.
Rael's mouth twitched faintly, amused by the subtle pushback.
"I appreciate your concern, Your Highness," Elissa added, more carefully. "Truly. I'll be more…predictable next time."
Alistair's jaw eased a little. "I'd settle for 'locatable,'" he said.
There was a fleeting hint of dry humor in it, so quick it almost wasn't there.
Rael glanced between them, filing that away. "In any case," he said lightly, breaking the thread, "I was just about to suggest the princess return to her room to rest. I imagine tomorrow's ball will be…interesting." A smirk appeared on his lips.
Martha seized the opening. "On that, we agree," she said. "Come, Princess. Before every man in this castle decides he needs to escort you personally."
Rael smiled faintly at that, not offended. Alistair's eyes flickered, just once, at the implication.
Elissa dipped her head to Rael. "Goodnight, Your Highness. Thank you for your offer."
"And to you," Rael said. "Try not to let their words get under your skin. They'll get bored eventually."
"I'm not sure I believe that," Elissa admitted.
"Then at least make them work for their amusement," Rael replied.
Martha began to steer Elissa gently down the corridor. As they passed Alistair, Elissa gave him a small, polite nod.
"Goodnight," she said again, quieter this time.
Alistair held her gaze a heartbeat, then inclined his head. "Rest, Princess. Tomorrow will not be kinder than today."
Martha muttered under her breath as they moved away, "Wonderful. Exactly what she needed to hear."
But Elissa wasn't entirely discouraged. There had been worry in his tone, under the hard edges. Real, or she was imagining it. She wasn't sure which was worse.
Behind them, Rael watched Alistair as much as he watched Elissa go.
"You're…attentive," Rael said mildly once the women were out of earshot. It wasn't quite a question, not quite an accusation.
Alistair's expression shuttered. "I'm responsible," he corrected. "This is my castle. I don't intend to let anything happen to my guests. Any of them." He added.
Rael's eyes glinted. "Of course," he said softly. "Responsibility....We understand that word in the West as well."
For a moment, the two princes regarded each other—host and guest, both measuring, both filing details away for later.
Then the moment passed. The corridor quieted again as they parted ways.
In her room, not long after, Elissa slipped off her cloak and sank down beside Skoll, fingers tangling in his cool fur. Martha moved around the room, banking the fire, muttering about stubborn girls and vampire princes and castles full of trouble.
Elissa let the warmth slowly seep back into her bones.
"I'm still trying," she thought, closing her eyes.