If he was going to the city, they needed more soldiers. Two per person at least.None of my business, I reminded myself. “I was actually on my way to the seaside.”
“Nonsense. You will accompany us.” He lifted his brows, a silent challenge.
I had been putting off asking my father to appoint me as emissary to the continent for months, telling myself I would do it after the hullabaloo with Alrec’s wedding had passed. Now, with Father so unwell, I couldn’t leave him. And when he passed, I’d need Alrec’s permission.
If I wanted any chance of him granting my request, I had no choice but to appease him. A hellish ride into the bowels of the stifling city with miserable company was a small price to pay for freedom.
My mare gave a knicker of acknowledgement as I approached, her musky scent mixed with that of the leather from the saddle calming in its familiarity. Alrec didn’t wait for me to mount, kicking his horse immediately toward the red portcullis wedged between the castle’s high walls. Our party traveled two by two, a pair of guards at the front, Alrec and Roisin behind them. Lowri and Kerrington exchanged flirtatious banter as their horses fell in step. I urged my mount next to Broderick—the most tolerable of the lot—while the final two guards took up the post at our backs.
We traversed the path winding down toward a picturesque city nestled among burnished hills. Unfortunately, Broderick’s stoic silence made it easier to overhear my brother’s boasting about his “grand plans” for the kingdom.
First, he planned on winning the war in the south. A war that had yet to begin. A war that could still be avoided—thatshouldbe avoided at all costs. Next, he wanted to commission a statue commemorating the victory. Finally, he wished to conquer more territory for Vellana, as if the three islands we controlled weren’t enough to handle. Did he honestly believe we had troops to spare for such endeavors? Our army was strong, as was our naval fleet, but we needed them here, protecting our people, not off gallivanting trying to collect more.
Thankfully, Alrec managed to reign himself in when we reached the old gates marking the outskirts of the ancient walled city. Red clay rooftops sloped toward white-walled buildings, nearly every one adorned with window boxes overflowing with colorful blooms. Cobbled streets corkscrewed toward the square, where the space came alive with music and chatter. Although we were a few miles north of the port, an occasional breeze carried the perfume of a salty sea, reminding me of my abandoned plans as sweat painted my back.
We dismounted at the edge of a pedestrian street, Alrec catching Roisin by the waist to help her down from her saddle. Lowri looked to Kerrington as if she expected the wastrel to do the same, giving a huff of irritation when she found him too busy picking lint from his breeches. I bit back my smile. Maybe today would be entertaining after all.
One of the guards stayed behind with the horses, while the other three accompanied us into the fray of now-gawking onlookers bobbing curtsies, bowing low, and singing choruses of, “God save the King.”
I knew they meant my father, but Alrec smiled and waved as if they were speaking to him. From his pocket, he withdrew a small pink purse—likely filled with gold coins—and handed it to his bride with a flourish.
Roisin and Lowri popped in and out of shops, giggling over bolts of fabric and lingering over strands of diamonds and pearls. None were as beautiful as the necklace Roisin wore. A necklace I recognized as one my father had given my mother on their fifth wedding anniversary. One that should have been mine to give to my wife.
Seeing as I had no plans to marry, the fact that Alrec had been the one to present it to Roisin shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did.
“How many dresses does a woman need?” I grumbled when we stopped at what must’ve been the tenth shop.
The corner of Broderick’s lips twitched in the closest thing the man had to a smile.
The buzz of excitement grew as more people arrived, word of our visit spreading like the plague. If Alrec had wanted to make a spectacle, he’d succeeded.
“He should’ve brought more guards.”
“I know,” Broderick said in a surprisingly deep voice.
I blinked up at him, not believing my own ears. “You can talk.”
His dark eyebrows arched toward his short hair.
“I mean, of course you can talk. It’s just, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you say anything.” He’d been assigned to my brother for almost four years and not once had I heard him so much as sigh.
It came as no surprise that Broderick didn’t respond.
Alrec threw gold around like it was his personal duty to empty our coffers while Lowri clung to Kerrington’s arm, whispering and laughing, not seeming to notice the way his gaze snagged on every other passing female.
An hour into ourexhilaratingexcursion, a manservant I recognized from the castle came running down the street, straight for the guards at our back. Although he was stopped briefly for questioning, the guards let him pass. Alrec dropped his hand from where it had been resting on Roisin’s lower back to take a folded piece of paper from the bowing servant.
He scanned the missive, a smile lifting his lips. I waited for him to explain, to hand over the note. Instead, he stuffed it into his pocket and announced that he and Kerrington had been called back to the castle on urgent business. Then he looked directly at me and said, “You will stay with the womenfolk and ensure they return safely.”
Think of your goal. Play along. My leather gloves creaked when my hands flexed. “Of course.” I’d love nothing more than to stand here all bloomin’ day with the sun beating down on my head and watch two women buy dresses.
With a smirk, Alrec ordered Broderick to stay as well—much to the man’s obvious reluctance—and himself, Kerrington, and the remaining guards marched off toward the horses, leaving me with one lone guard and two glaring fae.
“Come, Lowri, let us find more pleasant company.” Roisin threaded her arm through her friend’s, and they marched off to the next shop.
* * *
By the time we left the shop, the path was thronged with peasants and gentry baking in the afternoon sun, leaving the air ripe with the stench of sweat, unwashed bodies, and cloying floral perfume. Despite the foul air, my stomach howled with hunger when I spotted loaves of freshly baked bread and pastries displayed in a bakery’s window across the street. A bakery these people shoving against one another seemed determined to keep us from ever reaching.