Page 59 of The Curse of a Kingdom
The carriage stopped in front of a row of red brick shops, and the morning sun hit the uneven copper roofs with golden highlights. Nava jumped down faster than any polite lady of society should; Laurie would have been scandalized if she’d seen it. However, her caregiver was far away in the Pearl Island with Cameron, and Nava was too happy to be out of that can to care.
She dusted the skirt of her dress, staring at the orrus through her lashes. The creatures were fast and strong, without an ounce of elegance in their massive bodies. It took her a moment to calm the storm brewing in her stomach before she faced the shops.
These were undoubtedly a place of elegance where people of money would come to get fitted for their clothes. A bit far from the castle, and Nava guessed the royals didn’t really come this way, but rather the seamstress Marni would go to them.
“This way, miss.” Leela’s gentle fingers wrapped around Nava’s arm, pulling her toward the shop.
The gentle breeze brought smells of baked goods from the nearby bakery, mixing with the distinct scent of sea breeze from the canal nearby. Light music tones grew from the distance—someone playing a guitar, perhaps a street performer?
She strolled behind Fael’s giant frame, his white spotted wings swaying with his every step. His hand rested all too casually on the hilt of his sword as he looked around for anything amiss. Always alert.
Leela walked next to her, chatting vividly about the preparations for the dance. “At the ball, women wear golds or yellow, while the men wear whites.” Leela had not stopped talking. Nava admired how she could fit so many words into one breath. “It will be hard to tell who’s who with the masks. Except for the royals, of course. Their aura alone gives them away.”
Right. Nava still couldn’t see Arkimedes’s all the time, but she had to assume it looked just as scary as the king’s.
Fael tilted his head, staring at both of them with a raised brow. “Most of us in the guards have the aura as well, Leela.”
“But it’s not the same, obviously.” Leela grinned. “Are you jealous I’m not specifically pointing at the royal guard too?”
Fael choked on a laugh. “You wish I was jealous.”
Nava had not realized Fael and Leela were close, but it was clear now with the affection that shone behind both of their gazes. If Arkimedes trusted this man with her protection, and Leela liked him, he couldn’t be so bad.
Leela answered an unspoken question while snickering. “Fael and I went to school together. Actually, he was a few years ahead of me. He is an old man.”
Nava couldn’t help but smile. “That makes sense. I was wondering for a moment why you had gray hair if you were as young as Leela.”
Fael’s laugh rolled in a carefree way. “To a human eye, we probably look around your age. However, we have to be nearing a century now.”
Nava almost choked on her own tongue at his words. Fael didn’t appear much older than Arkimedes or Devon, with his copper skin, gold eyes, and smooth face. Leela looked much younger than Nava. Twenty at most.
“Not all of us, even though we are fae, inherit the wonderful genetics of the Rosalors,” Fael continued.
“That’s my family name,” Leela replied, perking up. “But Fael is actually graying now because of the stress, not genetics.”
“If you keep going this way, Leela, I will not bring you the honey wine you love the next time I come to visit you.”
Leela’s lips clamped shut at his words. “What a delicate child you are.” She turned to face Nava. “I will bring you some of that honey wine. You would enjoy it, maybe you can share it with your fiancé.”
Right. “Oh, you don't have to. I actually don’t eat honey.” The skin of her face turned warm. “But speaking of Devon, would he get fit with an outfit as well?”
“Oh, yes. I believe His Royal Highness took him earlier in the day,” Leela said, and Nava’s heart sank in her chest.
It was silly to be jealous of Devon, but her mind hadn’t been acting rationally today, and her nerves were still fried from her ride here. Nava clasped her hand together in front of her, trying to hide the need to fidget.
Why would the Crown Prince take her to get fitted for a dress? Not even if he had been courting her would he do such a thing, and he was not. That would raise questions, obviously.
Had he talked to Devon by now about if their engagement was true? If so, had the Crow lied just to make things difficult for them? She wouldn’t put it past him to do so.
Even though she liked her current escorts, she would have preferred Arkimedes’s company, even after their small fight last night. He had almost kissed her. He believed her. She just needed time to convince him to leave all this madness behind.
“Must be nice to be catered to by the prince.” Nava said.
Leela’s attention came crashing to her, her face practically glowing as she bounced on the balls of her feet. The fae’s plump lips opened to say something but shut the moment she remembered they weren’t alone. They had arrived.
* * *
Incense hung in the air outside the shop. Notes of patchouli and roses tugged at a ghost of a memory that wasn’t present any longer, something she had lost, and it ached for unknown reasons.
