The Way Across

 

Noel is skilled at shopping in the Antionum grand alley on market day. She knows where to find the prettiest dresses, the jingliest bangle bracelets, and the richest pigments to paint her clay figurines. Finding the lost heir to Kan's throne wasn't on her list, but he's not hard to look at, so she takes him home.

It's been fourteen years since Seth left Antionum, and he left a lot of things unfinished - accepting his grandfather's throne for one and completing an arranged betrothal to Eli's sister for another. He intends to accept the responsibilities of the throne, but the betrothal is off. He met - accosted actually - the prettiest girl in Antionum in the market, and he knows he can't give his heart to anyone else, not even to smooth the way for Eli to return to his family.