Chapter Fourteen

Summers in Aria are known for their warm, gentle weather and fierce windstorms. It wasn’t just the delightful smell of saltwater that the eastern winds brought; the warm temperature mixing with the cold, harsh winds of the north often created turmoil in our skies.

I cringed as the wind howled about the Lower Quarter and clawed at my legs like a ravenous animal. A thick cloud of grey hung over the sky, threatening the land below it with small droplets of rain. I maneuvered quickly up the gradual slope of the main road, avoiding eager peddlers and shabbily dressed beggars. Traveling up the road to the castle had become the norm for me, and the overpowering scent of herbs and dirt of the streets had left a permanent mark on my mind.

I tightened the royal cloak over my shoulders as another gust of wind blew through the city. I was going to return the garment to Clarice during our lesson today, but I was starting to regret the decision as the fierce tempest roared through the streets. Squeals of complaint arose from the shopping women; the skirts of their dresses revealed much more than the women were willing. I smirked. That was one reason I didn’t wear dresses.

I entered the marketplace, shoving past the nightmarish feeling that the mass of humans would devour me. I skirted a fruit stand and stopped at the sight of a familiar orange fruit. Persimmons. I blinked. Were they in season? Usually, they were sold in fall, not in summer. The memories that rushed back constricted my heart and I forced myself to keep moving.

In the kingdom square, there were just as many people, although there was an odd, nervous air about the crowd. The lack of jesters was palpable, but that didn’t surprise me. The jester had been executed this morning, as was evidenced by the guillotine that lay in the center of the square. I shivered, although I knew it wasn’t from the wind.

I followed the path that bordered the tavern and nearly tripped into a cloaked figure. “I’m sor—” I abruptly stopped when I saw who it was. “” I gaped at the prince, who was grinning sheepishly beneath the cowl of his hood.

“Actually, I was just coming to find you,” he said, “I—”

“” I growled, lowering my voice. “I don’t see any guards with you. That’s dangerous!”

At that moment, movement from the corner of my eye captured my attention. Past the rambunctious behavior of the gamblers in the tavern, a figure dressed in a black cloak was hovering near one of the tables. Normally, that wouldn’t have been odd, but the entire of this figure sent chills down my spine. I couldn’t explain it, but something about him was…

I started. Why had that irrational thought entered my mind? I gripped my mother’s pendant comfortingly, only to find it warm beneath my cloak. I shook my head. I was being foolish with these thoughts. I was being paranoid. And this stupid piece of jewelry was attracting too much body heat.

The figure abruptly whirled and exited the tavern. As close as he was, I was able to hear the clinking of jewelry before he disappeared from view.

“Lannie?”

I turned back to Titus. “Uh, sorry. I…”

“I’ve been trying to talk to you,” he said in irritation. “The reason I came is because Clarice told me that she was going to cancel her lesson today. So I was going to notify you. And…” I noticed his amber gaze flicker to the tavern, where men laughed and jostled each other as they gambled.

I gasped. “You were gambling!”

The look on his face said it all. “It was only a couple hundred gold coins!”

I threw my hands up in the air. How could he be so irresponsible? With creepy men like that cloaked figure running around, the prince wasn’t safe. “Titus, this isn’t a joke. You shouldn’t be gambling. ” I gave him my fiercest glare. “And the Crown Prince himself doesn’t need to let the duchess’ tutor know that a lesson is canceled. Messengers do that.” I paused. “Do you even know where I live?”

Titus crossed his arms. “Actually, I do,” he said with a haughty look. “And in my case, I really needed to let you know. I needed fresh air. These guards are getting ridiculous.”

“And ‘these guards’ are probably turning the castle upside down looking for you! I have no doubt they’re worried about you right now. Aren’t you still hurt?” How could this boy be so simple-minded?

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you.” His eyebrows drew together in a glower. “I don’t need a lecture from you. I already get them enough from my mother.”

“,” I said, “maybe there’s a reason for that.”

The wind suddenly picked up speed, causing dishware to fly off the tavern’s many tables. I ducked as one flew over my head and shattered into a wooden post inches away from me. Titus shook his head abruptly. “Sorry.”

I blinked at him, not understanding. “Sorry for what?”

Titus paused for a moment, his gaze on the ground. The wind dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. His eyes settled on me again. “Huh?”

I sighed. Clearly his mind was somewhere else today. “Never mind. So I don’t have a lesson with Clarice today?”

He brought a hand through his disheveled brown hair, revealing the small scars on his wrist as his sleeve was pushed back. “No, you don’t,” he said. Titus paused for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to speak. “About that… I was wondering… Would you like to go to the stables with me today?”

“I thought we talked about that.” I glared at him. “I don’t like water horses. And isn’t your father coming today? You’ll miss his arrival.”

“He won’t mind my disappearance,” Titus replied. I noticed a dark expression cross his face. “And I…just want to get out of the castle. If you’re with me, then Maddox might allow me to enter the stables unguarded. You know, because you saved my life.”

I honestly couldn’t see why or how the Captain of the Guard viewed a seventeen-year-old girl as a trustworthy protector, but Titus seemed convinced. “Titus, I really can’t—”

“Please,” he said, practically begging me with his amber eyes. “I won’t show you any horses. It’s just that the stable is the only place without guards, and you… You’re…”

Titus didn’t finish his sentence. “I’m what?” I asked in irritation.

“You’re my only…friend here. And I never get to talk to anyone else when I’m being guarded. They always shy away or don’t even like me in the first place.” He sighed. “And these men”—he jabbed a finger at the gambling hooligans in the tavern—“don’t count.”

I raised an eyebrow at the word. He considered me his friend? Well, given all that we had been through, that wasn’t really surprising. But surely the prince had other friends…

Everything fit together at that moment. The fawning women, Fallon’s comment about how he ‘stole’ every girl at the banquet. The agitated looks from other men whenever Titus was present. And then the nobles who only spoke to him in order to gain a higher social standing.

The only people who interacted with Titus only did so to use him.

Guilt pricked my conscience. If I didn’t accept, Titus would be stuck with prickly guards, alone and— I looked at the ground beneath my feet, studying the intricate patterns of the cracked stone. I sighed heavily. Was this the effect that “friends” had on me? If so, I would be much better off without them.