Page 36 of The King's Sword
He closed his eyes, and she watched the soft rise and fall of his chest. A few days worth of stubble covered his chin, giving him a harder edge than before. It made him look slightly older. His hands rested at his sides. While he appeared innocent, he’d killed several men today. Originally, she assumed it was to protect her. But really, he did it to keep her alive so he wouldn’t wind up in a war with Rainer. Evander hadn’t saved Sabine because he cared about her in any capacity. They weren’t even friends. Not really. She barely knew him. Yet, for some strange reason, she wanted to. Every little thing he revealed about himself was like peering behind the door in a great castle. The more glimpses she got, the more intrigued she became. She wanted to see it all.
And that scared her more than knowing an assassin was hunting her.
ChapterSix
Sabine and Evander left the inn at dusk. The streets remained crowded, even more so than before. The two of them kept their ruse up by holding hands, hoping not to attract any attention. While Evander wanted the assassin to be able to track them as they made their way to the palace, he hoped to stay a day or two ahead of him.
At the dock, dozens of people were haggling, trying to acquire a boat for the evening. Evander quickly led Sabine to where they’d tied theirs up. She stepped in, getting settled on the front bench while Evander untied the knot. He shoved the boat away from the dock, and they set out. He expertly navigated them between several boats until they were in the middle of the canal, once again heading south.
The majority of the boats had two passengers with a raised pole at the front with a lantern hanging from it. Sabine hadn’t noticed that yesterday—and she’d been paying attention. “Why are there so many out on the water at this hour?” she asked, trying to determine the reason for the change from the day before. Perhaps something was going on that she was not aware of.
“You’ll see.” Evander scooted over on the rear seat and patted the spot next to him.
Since they were pretending to be a married couple, she moved to sit beside him.
As they floated along the canal, the sky darkened and more and more boats joined them. Sabine continued to take in her surroundings, diligently observing. Evander had to be impressed she’d remained quiet for so long. However, with several boats so close by, she didn’t want to point it out by talking and attracting attention.
A light flashed to her right. She blinked, wondering what it had been. And then another light flashed right in front of her. She watched as tiny bursts of light appeared all around. Her eyes widened, and she turned to Evander. “What’s going on?”
“Lightning bugs,” he said. “Have you never seen them before?”
She shook her head, marveling at the idea of bugs producing light.
“They only come out at night,” he explained.
“Is that why there are so many people on the water?” It truly was a sight to behold. It felt almost magical witnessing the tiny flashes. Like fairies if fairies were real.
The corner of his lips pulled into a wry smile. “Sort of. It’s Lovers’ Night. Since we’re newly married, it’s only appropriate we’re joining in.”
“Lovers’ Night?” She’d never heard of such a thing.
“The story goes that Princess Kalina fell in love with a young man named Lakin from a warring family. The two managed to secretly marry on this day almost two hundred years ago.”
“That sounds romantic. Did the two families stop fighting and become friends?” she asked, watching the lightning bugs all around her in a beautiful display of nature.
“No. When her parents found out, they killed Lakin and his entire family. They burned Lakin’s village to the ground. No one survived.”
She looked at Evander. “That’s horrible.” And violent.
He turned to face her. “It is. Kalina took her own life when she discovered what her parents had done.”
“I hope that taught them a lesson,” she replied.
“Unfortunately, it did not. However, the king and queen declared today a day of mourning. On this day each year, no fighting is allowed in order to pay respect to the princess. However, it has turned from a day of mourning to a day of love.”
“But not by royal decree?”
“No.” He smiled, the look both mischievous and thoughtful.
Sabine found herself leaning toward him, wanting to hear what he said next.
“The people decided that since they couldn’t fight, they’d make love. Through the years, the day became known as Lover’s Night.”
She laughed, enjoying the idea that something beautiful could come from a tragedy.
Evander reached out and took hold of her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it. “In case anyone is watching us,” he murmured.
“Is this dead princess your ancestor?” she asked. She recalled the story Markis had told her about the warring families and one managing to assassinate the others in order to gain control of the land. She didn’t know the timeline of these events.
