Page 16 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
Unlike his father, who specialized in offense, Julian had walked the path of the shield.
Music drifted up from below. The Summer Solstice Festival was in full swing, and people were singing and dancing in the town square. The night market was lit with magical floating lights, and the smell of street food carried on the breeze.
He pulled out his locket from under his shirt and opened it, revealing a portrait of his family on the right side. Julia was smiling a gap-toothed grin, sitting on their mother’s lap. Julian was standing beside his mother, looking awkward and stiff. His father, Grand Duke Lysander, stood behind with one hand on Grand Duchess Calisto’s shoulder and the other on Julian’s.
The other side of the locket held a shard of crystal behind a pane of glass.
“I’m sorry it’s taking so long,” he told his father, rubbing his thumb over the picture. Then he closed the locket and pressed it against his forehead for a moment before dropping it back to hang against his clothes.
Julian leaned on the railings, conscious of the magical barrier surrounding the tower. It prevented anyone who wasn’t authorized from coming or going. When Julian was young, it would catch him from falling off the balcony.
Now that he was older, he could pass through it if he wished … but it would alert his mother. Granted, after Madame Potts’ threatening casts, the grand duchess had set up an overwhelming amount of detection spells around the entire palace.
It was unlikely that he’d be able to leave without him knowing.
Ah, well, this was supposed to be aparty. What was a little more excitement?
He leapt.
[You have attempted to use the Perk:Light Foot. You have succeeded. Spend 3 mana per second to control your footwork. Every step is sure and soft. You can travel up to 63ft in a single leap. Anyone with a Perception equal to or higher than your Dexterity 22 will be able to hear you.]
Fireworks rose into the sky and exploded into colorful fire, illuminating his descent. There was a small courtyard below with a simple fountain surrounded by benches. The unassuming stone decorations were offset by the beautiful fae glade vines in full bloom under the moonlight. The large flowers were green with a pinkish hue in the center.
Julian landed gently on the stone bench then jumped to the outer wall in a single bound.
A sentry, startled from watching the fireworks, whipped around to glare at whomever had had the audacity to scale the palace wall. He stopped short when he saw the serene nod of the duke.
“As you were,” Julian ordered before hopping down to the street.
It was a quick walk to the market.
A half giantess was up on a bench with her lyre harp out, playing a song that echoed out over the town square. Everyone was singing along to “Tammy’s Tavern,” and a few were even dancing.
Julian leaned against a lamppost to watch, breathing in the refreshing cool night air. The lanterns didn’t put out as much light as the magic lights that floated around to brighten up the festivities, but they were more mana efficient and kept the city lit all year round for the same cost as the magic lights used for just this week.
He wasn’t there long before he noticed it. Years of fighting monsters and dungeon delving had honed his senses—someone was watching him. A shiver crawled down his spine.
He searched the crowd until he found her, standing just a ways past the bard.
A troll.
She was dressed in a clinging purple corset dress. Her long dark-green hair fell over her shoulders in intricate braids, and flowers had been tucked into the strands. Even at this distance, he could see the gleam in her clear light-brown eyes reflecting the magical lights dancing overhead.
Her gaze bore into him.
There was something in those eyes that made him catch his breath. An understanding? A recognition. It was soft like pity but cut with intimacy.
Then the troll frowned and glanced behind him. Julian turned, but there wasn’t anything to see.
When he looked back, she was gone.
CHAPTER 7
Pure Fan Service
