Page 172 of Silverbow
“I hope so,” Enya answered, but there was a flicker of sadness in her eyes that told Oryn she didn’t expect to ever see it again.
Blessedly, Gitaela changed the subject. “What horse did you like the best?” She asked.
Enya smiled fondly. “Arawelo, of course. As soon as she was born, I knew she would be mine.”
“Because everyone else had the good sense to give her a wide berth,” Liam muttered.
“Can we ride her?” The children began pleading.
“Perhaps, after she’s had a chance to rest from our journey, if it’s alright with your parents,” Enya answered.
Alsbet nodded. “Our guests have traveled a long way children. We must let them rest before tomorrow’s feast. Go on to bed now, off with you.”
The royal children lined up like ducklings, pecking their parents on the cheeks before they scampered off toward the stairs. A handmaiden took a sleepy eyed Dothebelle in one arm and let the twins hang off the other.
Colm bid them a goodnight as Liam’s jaw cracked with a yawn, leading the stable boy and his companions back down out of the royal apartments. Enya remained where she was, stretched out on the rug like a cat, eyeing him and their hosts.
“Listening ears and wagging tongues departed, I want to hear of Drulougan,” Alsbet said.
Enya obliged, diving into her story with more detail than she’d shared with anyone so far. He studied Leon and Alsbet, on the edge of their seats with delight. They chuckled as she needled Oryn for his reaction.
“I got the idea from him, actually,” she said of the vow. “I never would have known how to swear one had Oryn not taught me.”
Bloody wonderful.He felt Leon’s eyes linger on the strip of marked skin that sometimes peeked through his coat sleeve. He would have questions about that, no doubt, but he let out a hearty, rumbling laugh as he contemplated aloud what Pallas would do when he realized the nest had been plundered.
Oryn had difficulty finding humor in that. His brother may have reinforced his wards, but wards were not infallible. Not when a dragon fired the ward stones.
Enya finally failed to stifle a yawn. “If you’ll excuse me, Your Highnesses, I really am quite tired.”
“By all means, dear.” Alsbet waved her off, content with the tale.
Oryn listened to the hum recede up the stairs with her footsteps, lamenting the silence when the sound was lost to him.
The Princess of Dwarves turned, her eyes sharp. “Wherever did you find such a treasure, Oryn?”
“Plucked her out of some trouble in Trowbridge,” he sighed. “And she’s been turning my hair gray ever since.”
Alsbet’s gaze swept over the silver gray hair he had been born with. The princess gave a wry laugh, but Leon’s knowing look made Oryn chuckle.
forty-one
Enya
Enya woke on her first morning in Drozia gloriously rested. The tonic that had appeared in her room with a note from Alloralla on dosage had at last cast her into blissful, dreamless sleep. Wrapped in the luxury of silk sheets and plush pillows, she could forget the weight of Hylee’s visions and mountain of laters, at least for a little while. Harshilda brought breakfast to her room and she was flipping throughThe Wanderer’s Guide to Droziawhen a timid knock sounded on her door. Enya marked her place with a ribbon as Gitaela entered.
“I am afraid my mother is busy with the feast preparations, my lady, but I’ve come to escort you to the library tower.”
“Is there nothing I can do to help with the feast?” Enya asked.
Gitaela raised a hand to the pink pleats across her breast, looking positively scandalized. “Of course not, my lady. You’re the guest of honor. Well, you and Uncle…I mean, Prince Oryn, of course.”
“Why?”
“It’s custom, my lady,” Gitaela answered.
“And is it custom that I should spend the day in the library?”
Gitaela chewed her lip. “Well, no, my lady, but you can’t go out in Drozia until you’ve been introduced to the court and I thought, well…”
