Chapter 39

I laughed as Icaan finished recounting his tale. We were sat at the dinner table, both of us finished. We'd been talking for what felt like no time at all and hours at the same time.

More than once I'd marveled at how relaxed he was and how his face lit up when he talked of the things he'd done when younger. His childhood hadn't been perfect, even as royalty, but it had been more idyllic than mine.

I tried not to feel too jealous. It clearly hadn’t been plain sailing since. And he’d mentioned that his parents had preferred his older brother. It was only as I was thinking this that I realized he’d told me two different stories.

The second day he’d taken me he’d told me that his brother hadn’t made a will and his parents had opted to give him the ship. He’d also made out he hadn’t known hi