Page 19 of A City of Flames

Clenching my jaw, I clutch the blade harder, ready to dart forward, but a whistle and a musical voice cuts in. “If it isn’t oat head and dry as a toast at it again.”

My gaze shifts up at where a man, grinning, wraps his arms around the shoulders of Oran and Adriel. His dark hair is cropped and crimped like fresh waves as his eyes slide to me, warm brown and inviting, like the smooth shade of his skin and Freya’s too. Only that she is slightly more bronzed.

“What is it you want, Rydan?” Adriel tries pushing away, but Rydan keeps a firm grip.

“I’m simply here to stop you both from being mauled to death by this lovely lady. Hello there.” He looks at me, saying it in a sultry tone. I jerk my head back, bemused as he returns his gaze to Adriel. “Let the people enjoy their supper unless you are truly starving for some deer, then I suggest you join my table. I am considered great company in more ways than one.”

“You’re disgusting.” Adriel manages to pull away.

Rydan chuckles, crossing his arms over the dark training armor. “You’d be surprised by how many say that of you here.”

A bitter frown comes from Adriel, but Rydan doesn’t step down from it. “Let’s go,” Adriel grits out, bumping his shoulder against Oran’s chest and glaring back at me.

I need to start making a new enemy list.

Rydan turns to us. His eyes travel down to the knife, making me draw my arm back away from it. He’d seen me wanting to use it.

We don’t exchange any words as he shoots me a you’re welcome wink and strolls away from us, leaving me with a permanent scowl. “What just—”

“Rydan Alderis,” Freya breathes, watching as he goes up to another table and leans against it with that same juvenile smile. “Many think he joined for fun since he doesn’t take anything seriously and enjoys irritating everyone, especially Lorcan.”

“How does Lorcan react?” A question not needed to be asked, but I couldn’t help it.

“He tends to walk away once Rydan calls him Lorcy.” As she says that, it’s like we wished him into the mess hall as Lorcan appears by the entrance. Hand on his pommel and calculating eyes stare at everyone before Rydan springs forward to reach him.

Whatever Rydan’s saying, Lorcan’s jaw tenses, I’d even go as far as to think he wants to use his sword on Rydan, but soon his gaze catches mine. He doesn’t seem to shy from it, reminding me of the first day I saw him after killing that rümen. His lips stay in a firm line as he continues ignoring Rydan, and something odd flickers in my gut, but I push it away, breaking eye contact.

“—With the queen coming over in a few days and whatnot.”

I come to my senses upon hearing Freya is in the midst of another conversation with Link.

“The queen?” My brows tangle as I look at her.

She clasps a hand to her mouth. “Solaris! I’d forgotten to tell you! The queen comes by certain days and sees us during training. Most of the time, it’s to hold meetings with my father, but it’s always ever so frightening.”

I’m not sure why I’d thought I wouldn’t meet the queen so soon, but a cluster of anticipation does form inside of me. “Is she nice?”

“More like intimidatingly beautiful.” Link sighs, playing with his food. The encounter with Adriel and Oran looks to have put him back in that shell of hiding away. I’d still not forgotten the mention of him being an orphan. But unlike my brothers and me, I don’t think Link has anyone at all.

“It’s true,” Freya exhales dramatically, placing her elbows on the table and cupping her cheeks. “But I just tend to get nervous either way.”

Pursing my lips as I stare far ahead, I ask myself if the queen would say anything about my father. He never spoke ill of her when he’d visit us, but again, he didn’t tell us much of anything.

Later that night, when Freya had decided she wanted to try out carving like me, I’d lent my tools and left her to work on the sides of oak wood in our room while I’d cut up a piece from her old dresses. I punctured holes through it with my hunting knife before placing my cloak on and walking out into the gardens near the stables, where a pond laid bare surrounded by bushes and blue iris flowers.

It’s not like I’d planned to leave my room at first, but boredom had crept up my spine, and I’d figured why not come out to trap frogs.

I wasn’t going to keep them; Solaris forbid how Freya would react to me bringing back a frog, but... I’d long needed to have the feeling of something familiar.

As candlelight from inside the barracks shadow the grass and the night stars bloom iridescently, I bend down near the edges of the pond, picking up rocks and stones. Frogs prefer shelter, so that’s why I’m building them a small cave.

I place the cut-up dress to one side, which I tied into a knot at the end as a form of net. Scavenging with my bare fingers, I gather some mud before finding a worm and also put that inside the towered cave.

Dusting my hands against my corset, I slide off onto the grass and bring my knees up to my chin, waiting and waiting... and waiting.

Until the patter of wet feet sound inside the cave I’d built and a frog’s singing croaks deepens from within.

Grabbing my net, I take off some of the rocks and set my eyes on the frog no larger than my fist. I scoop it up, making sure its weight won’t fall through some of the small holes I’d made as I lift the net eye level and smile at my success. Everyone knows capturing any animal is hard enough. Yet, they seem to gravitate towards me, much to my dismay when it comes to other creatures too.

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