“Is that one of the princes?” a woman to my right said in what was likely meant to be a whisper. “It is! What was his name again?”
I’d bet no one forgot Alrec’s name.
“Where is Prince Alrec?” another woman asked as if she’d heard my silent musings.
“I see the future queen! I see her!”
Even with his sword drawn, Broderick could do nothing to keep the fray from surging toward us.
Roisin and Lowri smiled and waved at everyone, seeming not a bit bothered by the potential for danger here. If anyone decided to attack, we’d be defenseless, completely at their mercy. Yes, Broderick could fight, but all I had was a decorative dagger I was useless with, and I was certain Roisin didn’t have any weapons strapped beneath the white gown that clung to her curves like—
I swallowed past a sudden lump in my throat. What had Alrec been thinking, leaving the castle with so few guards?Dammit. Why hadn’t I spoken up?
“She’s beautiful,” said one woman.
“Stunning creature,” said another.
“Enchanting,” agreed a young man around my own age with only one leg.
“A vision,” his female companion agreed.
A short bull of a man shoved his way through a group of children at the front. My hand fell to my dagger. Before I could draw, he spat at Roisin’s feet. “Yer naught more than a pair of fae whores,” he snarled, gripping the leather belt around his thick waist. “Get back to yer island where ye belong.”
Lowri whirled, turquoise eyes narrowed into slits. “What did you call us?”
Roisin caught her friend’s arm, tugging her back toward the shop.
“I’d rather be a fae whore than human filth,” Lowri spat.
“Broderick, arrest that man,” I shouted over the now-roaring crowd.
The guard moved impossibly fast, catching the blackguard by the collar and slamming him onto the ground. He deserved to rot in the dungeon for the rest of his days.
I gave the bakery one final longing glance before looping my arms around my charges’ backs and bringing them back into the dress shop. The handful of customers milling around inside stopped to stare. A woman with a measuring tape draped around her neck stood from her stool next to a lady on a raised platform.
“Is there a back exit?” I asked. Between dress forms, bolts of cloth, half-made dresses and people, it was almost impossible to tell.
“There is, sir. Just there.” The woman gestured to a black curtain behind her.
I thanked the woman, but before I could tow my charges toward the curtain, Roisin stepped out of reach. “I am perfectly capable of walking on my own.”
Lowri drew closer to me, clutching my arm, tears swimming in her eyes. Crying women made me feel so bloomin’ helpless. What were you supposed to do with them? I gave her shoulder an awkward pat. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring you back home.”
For some reason, my attempt at reassurance only made her sob harder.
“This place isn’t my home.”
“Do not allow one human to turn you against us all.” It was that sort of nonsense that had started our war with the fae all those centuries ago.
We made it out the back door, down three uneven wooden stairs, and through an alley to where the horses waited without incident. To my relief, the final guard was still close by. Roisin paused in the street, glancing over her shoulder toward a crowd of people who hadn’t noticed us.
I helped a sniffling Lowri onto her horse, not bothering to offer assistance to Roisin since she could do it “on her own.” I caught the horn on my mare’s saddle, but before I could slip my boot into the stirrup, I saw that Roisin had abandoned her horse and started back down the street, muttering that she would be right back.
That infernal woman. “You cannot go off on your—dammit.” I told the young guard to take Lady Lowri back to the castle. I would have to talk some sense into my brother’s bloomin’ fiancée.
After what had just happened, didn’t she realize this city wasn’t safe? What could she possibly need to do? The moment I rounded the corner of the building, I found Roisin speaking to a young girl in a tatty brown dress. The girl’s eyes glittered with tears as she clutched a pink purse to her chest.
A moment later, Roisin sauntered past, chin lifted and a smile playing on her lips as she approached our horses.