Phoebe was thinking, Insubordinate. What a lovely word. And when was the last time she’d heard a nice-looking young man use it? Why-never, that’s when. What a treat. And to have a ruler who could...

And Phoebe and Sebastian went their separate ways, to the blacksmith shop and the library, after several backward glances that weren’t coordinated enough to allow either to know that the other one was looking.