“Nice armor.” Regina raised an eyebrow in surprise at my outfit change. We’d just left my street and were stepping over to the horse and carriage that waited in the middle of town.
“Thank you. Kendal and my mother made it,” I told her dryly. I liked her, she was my idol, but I didn’t like that she was taking me away from everything I knew and loved.
She looked surprised again, and I wondered if she thought only the palace seamstresses at Jade City were capable of such talent.
“Sorry about my mother. She’s… protective,” I mentioned to Regina, suddenly a bit embarrassed about how bold my mother had been to her and Nox.
“Good mothers are,” she replied, and then had my trunk loaded onto the black carriage that was hitched to two royal horses. There were a dozen horses waiting at the gate, all with Drayken riding on them. The horses were all black with braided tails, and I dreamed of one day riding on one like the Royal Guard did. Maybe I could learn in Jade City, make the most of this time there while the king flitted about trying to make an heir.
Speaking of the king… I scanned the group of guards, my gaze landing on the one with his hood up.
The village people had no idea they were in the midst of royalty.
The main village baker, Mrs. Holina, and Naomie, rushed forward to hand us each a package.
“To remind you of home,” Naomie whispered.
Mrs. Holina shoved two steamy hot loaves of rosemary bread at us and my mouth instantly salivated. Even though I knew we’d be back in a moon’s time, maybe two, I still felt sad to leave this place… it felt like goodbye.
“Thank you.” We hugged them and then stepped into the carriage. I’d only ridden in one once, on my trip to Jade City, but that was more of a covered cart than a regal carriage. This was black lacquered outside with inlays of jade and gold, and the inside was just as nice. Green crushed velvet lined the walls, and the seats were plush and comfortable. There was a small basket of fresh fruit and a canteen of water on each seat. Folded next to all of that was an accordion hand fan made with purple silk to stave off the heat.
“Oh, I could get used to this.” Kendal grabbed a passion berry and popped it into her mouth.
I smiled and cradled the package Naomie had given me. It was heavy in my hands and I peeled back the paper, letting a little gasp of surprise escape my throat.
An entire bottle of sandalwood oil. That was a very kind and generous gift. Kendal had one too, and was holding hers with unshed tears in her eyes.
“I’m going to miss home,” Kendal shared, and I nodded.
“We’ll be back soon enough,” I said as the cart jerked forward and the horses began our journey.
Kendal frowned. “Hopefully not. Hopefully, the king chooses me and I never come back.”
Oh.
I guessed that’s what I should be feeling too, but I wasn’t. I was hoping he chose the girl from Grim Hollow, or Kendal, so I could just come back here and get on with my life.
WE STOPPED at Gypsy Rock for the night. The day of travel had been long and my butt was numb. It was going to be a three-day journey, and Gypsy Rock was nicer to stay at than the sand dunes, so I wasn’t going to complain.
“Ladies, I’ve booked us a shared room at the tavern,” Regina said. “I hope you don’t mind, but until we get to Jade City it’s not safe for you to sleep without a guard in the room.”
Kendal and I nodded. We could sleep in a barn or inside the carriage, and often did when traveling, so it didn’t matter to us.
As we stepped up to the tavern doorway, I looked over my shoulder to watch the rest of the Drayken stow their horses in the barn and talk to the stable maid. The king wore his hood high up over his head, obscuring his identity. Kendal had no clue the king rode with us, and I wasn’t going to say anything about it. He was keeping his identity secret for a reason, and I didn’t want to put him in danger by mentioning it. He might have been a jerk earlier by pulling his blade on me, but I didn’t want him dead. If he rode with a hidden identity, it was for a reason.
“Come on. Dinner awaits,” Regina said, and I snapped back to attention, giving her an apologetic smile.
We stepped inside the noisy tavern and I was assaulted with the savory smell of stew. My mouth watered and I prayed that we were staying for dinner. I’d hauled that cougarin from the creek on my back, I deserved a meat stew. Kendal and I had grazed on some of the fruits and bread in the carriage, but I was famished from my week on the road and I wanted meat.
The barmaid stepped over to us with a pitcher of ale. “You’re back. Will you be havin’ the private dining hall again then, love?” she asked Regina, and she simply nodded.
They must have stopped in here on their way into Cinder Village.
All eyes slowly moved in our direction as more of our group filled the space. People quieted and whispers of king’s Royal Guard filled the room.
We stepped around the tables, following the stout barmaid back to a private room with swinging saloon doors. There was a large table that could fit at least twenty.
“Mead for the men, water for the ladies,” Regina told her, and the barmaid nodded and left.
“I like a good mead every once in a while,” I mentioned with a smile. Especially on days like this.
A few of the Royal Guard behind me chuckled and I bristled, not intending for them to hear.
Regina gave me a pointed look. “A potential queen of Embergate does not drink mead from a tavern—I can find you some wine though,” she said.
I waved her off, shaking my head. “It’s fine.” This propriety stuff was lost on me. I’d never get used to hearing “future potential queen.” I didn’t like drinking much anyway; I didn’t want to let my guard down.
The barmaid returned with a tray full of mead and the men cheered, causing her to smile.
When she left, one of the hunters flicked his gaze to the hunting blade at my waist. “Have you used that hunting knife, young one?” he asked as he sat down and grasped the handle of his giant mug. His knuckles were scarred, as was the rest of him. He was at least forty winters old, and his skin looked like tanned leather. He’d spent years out in the sun no doubt.
Young one?
Adaline was a young one, not me. I pulled out my hunting knife and slammed it onto the table so that it stuck into the dented and chipped wood. There was still some blood crusted on it from my cougarin kill. “Just yesterday in fact.” I grinned and he sat up a little straighter.
Another one of the guards slapped him on the back. “Never underestimate a pretty young woman. My ex-wife taught me that.”
The whole table burst into laughter and I relaxed a little.
“Alright, you can put your knife away, young one. I respect you,” the scarred man said with a grin, and downed his entire mug of mead.
I pulled the knife from the wood and slid it back into my sheath before joining Kendal at the end of the table.
I noticed she was sitting right across from the king, and from the way she was blabbing on she had no idea. He kept his deep hood up, obscuring his face, and listened to her as she jabbered on about the raids we’d had this year and how dreadful it was the king did nothing about them.
I grinned, enjoying this very much as I pulled out the only empty chair left. It was at the head of the table, next to Kendal and the king. I peered at Drae Valdren, or attempted to, as his face was shrouded.
“It’s almost like the king doesn’t even consider Cinder his lands. He certainly doesn’t protect us as he does the other territories,” I said, agreeing with Kendal.
The king’s entire body stiffened and I had to fight a grin.
“Of course we don’t blame you. You just do as he says,” Kendal told him, and then turned to the guard next to her and asked him about horseback riding.
The king leaned forward on his elbows to get closer to me and I stiffened, swallowing hard to wet my throat.
“The king sent his most elite Royal Guard to look for a wife in Cinder Village. If that doesn’t show a love of the people of Cinder, I don’t know what does,” he declared.
I narrowed my eyes at him and leaned forward as well. “A love of the people of Cinder? How about visiting us every once in a while? The king never comes, and we know it’s because the ashes of Cinder are too dirty for his privileged boots.”
The table fell silent. I wanted to drown myself in mead. Where was this hostility coming from? He’d lost his wife and child only a winter ago and I was being a total witch. But it was true. Cinder was the dirty, poor, least desirable portion of Embergate, and he never came.
“Do you know what is required of the people of Cinder to host the visiting king?” he asked me coldly.
My heart hammered in my chest and I regretted starting this conversation. The other guards were softly talking, but I also knew many were listening on.
I shook my head.
“The streets must be lined with fresh flowers. Fresh breads, fruits, meats, and cheeses must be offered to him and his entire Royal Guard. A private bathhouse must be emptied and made ready. An inn with an entire floor just for him. The people must greet him by bringing him gifts and lavish him with praise. For the king to visit a poor village like Cinder would be selfish. It would empty their reserves and harden their hearts to him.”
I hadn’t moved, hadn’t breathed while he spoke.
That’s why he stayed outside the walls? He didn’t want anyone to know that it was him so they wouldn’t be obligated by centuries-old rules to welcome him in an extravagant way?
I wanted to die.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, hanging my head low with shame.
The saloon doors swung open then and the barmaid entered with a huge pot of stew and a pile of bowls.
“Alright, loves, fresh rabbit stew for the road weary.” She set the giant pot down and then waved her hand over it. A burst of fire erupted from her palm, heating up the stew, and I watched in fascination. Only a day’s journey away from Cinder Village and already I could see the common people here had more magic than we did.
As she started to serve us, I couldn’t help but mull over what the king had said. How many people in Cinder thought the king hated our little village, when in reality he’d spared us an inconvenience this entire time?
Still, he could help with the raids.
The stew was wonderful but I couldn’t really enjoy it. Not fully. Not while the entire time I could feel the man in the hood’s eyes on me with every bite I took. The Drayken drank and ate and talked boisterously, while Kendal and I kept quiet and to ourselves. Regina had to shush them several times when their stories became “unappetizing for a lady’s company.” In truth, I didn’t mind the gory hunting stories or recalling attacks from times past, but Kendal did. She grabbed her stomach and winced as if it made her ill.
“So your father carries dragon magic, Kendal?” the king asked her from behind his hood. She was starting to watch him with a quizzical eye, no doubt wondering why he didn’t even take his hood down to eat.
“Yes. He can create a small fireball at will, and works with the Cinder Village Reserve Army to fight the raiders in the springtime,” she said proudly. Her soup had gotten cold a moment ago, and she’d used her one trick of being able to conjure flame from her palm to warm it and look cool.
I couldn’t even do that.
Her father was arguably the most magically powerful person in our village, aside from Mr. Korban, who was a quarter elf and had some healing abilities. Kendal’s father could create and throw fireballs, which had saved us from bad raider attacks in the past—he was also a horrible drunk. No man was of any use passed out on the floor of the tavern, no matter how powerful he was. But I wouldn’t say that. This was Kendal’s moment to brag about her influential family lineage, and I would allow her to have it.
Meanwhile, I was the magical dud who ate cold stew.
“That’s wonderful,” the king said, as if pleased that she was powerful enough to possibly give him a child.
He then looked at me. “And which side of the family does your magic come from?”
I paled, every muscle in my body going stiff. I obviously couldn’t tell him that the woman who birthed me was a pure-blooded dragon highborn.
“My father,” I croaked. “Barely a quarter I’m afraid.” I wanted to throw him off my trail, get him more interested in Kendal or this powerful girl from Grim Hollow. I knew he could smell a lie, but to be honest I still hadn’t fully processed what my mother had told me, and my father was still my father. So it didn’t feel like a lie. The longer I was away from my mother, the less scary her story felt, but I still wanted to have my guard up.
I wished I could see the king’s face. Was he scowling at me right now? Or merely observing me quizzically?
“The sniffer said she had more power than Kendal,” Regina offered slyly, cutting right through my plan of staying under the radar. “She must not know her complete family history.”
I glanced at her with annoyance, but she was looking at the king.
Kendal shifted uncomfortably beside me. “I’ve never been to Jade City. Is it true there is a college there with a focus in clothes-making?”
Saved by Kendal. I owed her one for that.
“There is,” the king said coolly, and I felt like he was still watching me. It was starting to annoy me that I couldn’t see his face.
“Aren’t you warm with that hood up? Surely you can take it down for dinner?” Kendal said.
Kendal might be simple, but she wasn’t stupid. The hood all through dinner was weird and she was starting to direct all of her questions at him, like she knew he was a man of importance.
The men at the table quieted and cast wary glances from her to their king.
“Kendal, he has a horrible facial disfigurement,” I said suddenly, and a few men at the table snickered.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Kendal said, ever the proper lady.
The eyes that I had suspected were glaring at me the entire dinner suddenly turned yellow, and black smoke began to leak from the mouth of the hood.
I froze.
Regina stood so fast her chair skidded backwards. “Alright. Dinner was great. I’m going to get these ladies to bed. Long day of travel in the morning.”
Kendal stood as well, alarm registering on her face, and she curtsied to the men. “Thank you for dinner.”
I got up last, glaring at the two yellow eyes inside of the hood, which stared right back at me. “Goodnight,” I managed to say, and then turned to follow Regina and Kendal out of the dining hall.
I didn’t know if I was trying to make the king hate me so that he wouldn’t pick me as a wife, or if I truly disliked him. Maybe a little of both.
