Page 61 of Somewhere down the Ley Line
Isolde wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t sound very romantic.”
He laughed. “It wasn’t, but I didn’t really care at the time.”
She grew quiet again. Somehow that comment, along with all she had seen, made her sad for him. She wondered how on earth he had still turned out so… well, nice. But she also had more questions.
“And the others?” She tried her best to keep her tone as casual as she could.
“What others?” He raised his eyebrows innocently. “Is this academic interest again, or are you scoping out the competition?”
She bit her lip and smiled. “Both.”
He considered her through narrowed eyes, then ran his tongue across his teeth. It did strange things to her insides. She stared at him, and he stared back, until she thought she would combust in her saddle right there. It was Felix who looked away in the end. “Not much to tell,” he replied, his voice sounding deceivingly casual.
Isolde willed her heartbeat to slow down. She was stupidly grateful she had more of a handle on her magic these days. “You must have stories,” she pressed, refusing to give up so easily.
“You want to hear about faceless, nameless encounters in taverns and back alleys? Are you secretly writing indecent things in that little notebook of yours?”
“I – what? No! You know that’s not what I meant,” she sputtered.
“DoI? Who is the posh-looking guy you hated kissing?” His eyes glittered, but something in them was not joking. It was dark and dangerous.
This memory did not make her smile. Felix didn’t know about Bastiel. About her hastily cancelled engagement, about any of it. She had given it all surprisingly little thought since they had left Azuill, like it was already long behind her. Or maybe she had just not been brave enough to truly examine her feelings, nor brave enough to tell Felix about it. Because she feared what his reaction might be. But now, what was the point of trying to hide it any longer?
She took a deep breath. “He is – was – my fiancé.”
Felix turned so fast he almost fell off his horse.“What?!”
She stared off at the horizon, remembering Bastiel’s face, his genteel manners, all the things that made him the polar opposite of Felix. His hands were soft; his clothes were always impeccable. He liked fine wine and art, and he had probably never uttered a curse word in his life.
“We met last year. His name is Bastiel. He was charming, and our families approved. He is a Laghain, the younger son. I am an only child, so he would inherit my father’s title. We were supposed to get married in the spring. At the time, I thought I should be happy about it. Of course, when the midsummer ball happened, his family informed my father that the whole thing was off. That same night; they were very efficient.” She grimaced.
“Why would you agree to marry someone you hate?”
Isolde huffed. “I didn’t hate him.”
“Yeah, you did. He disgusts you. Can’t say I blame you. Kind of slimy. Frog-like.”
“He isn’t slimy! He is a… a good man. Kind. Respectful.”
Felix barked a laugh.“Respectful!I’m positively swooning over here. If he is such a good man, why did he drop you like a hot brick without so much as an apology?” That look was back, the look that made her wonder what dark thoughts were going through his head. She shrugged.
“If he didn’t even try to fight for you, he didn’t deserve you,” Felix said, his voice almost a growl.
“He is not much of a fighter, I think.”
“Wouldn’t have expected anything else from a slimy frog.”
Isolde could not respond to that beyond a fit of hysterical giggles. Before she could recover enough to form coherent words, though, Luella called out from the front. They hurried to catch up with her.
“There is a small homestead a short way up ahead,” Luella informed the group. “The closer we get to Marsan, the more people there will be. I think we should find a place to camp nearby. Then, Felix and Leif can go on. It’s another half day or so from here to the city.”
Isolde had almost forgotten that Felix and Leif would leave them. Dread settled in her stomach. What if something happened? What if they got in trouble? No, she would not think about that. She glanced over at him, and the look he returned seemed to mirror what she felt.
22
Old friends
If Felix ever ran into Bastiel Laghain, he was going to gut the bastard like a fish. The man’s smarmy face kept surfacing in his thoughts, and Felix kept scowling at the image until Leif asked him for the fifteenth time what was wrong.
