"Right," Alina pretended to think. "Well Zoya told me that I should be nice to the royals lest they decide to lock me in the dungeons so..." But she couldn't keep the grin back any longer. She had thought him handsome, definitely moreso than the Grisha boys she saw every day. He'd been the golden princeling.
Alina sobered at his next comment, nodding with a sigh. "I thought the wars would be over by now but... General Kirigan says West Ravka is clamoring for independence and...and the royal fetes continue." She hoped he, at least, could persuade his family to act more responsibly.