Chapter 14

He hadn’t ventured too far, keeping a clear view of the road between the trunks. It was too early for the traffic of wagons and carriages palace bound. Only apprentices woke this early, leaving their dorms to trudge to the royal kitchens in the dark indigo of night’s departure.

Henri grinned, kicking through the ferns still curled in slumber he saw, there on the road, the familiar form of an apprentice cloaked. Ill-fitted, his wool cape draped more like a gown over his drooping shoulders. His gait skittish, as if fearing the trees as much as everything else, his lantern thrust out in front of him like a shield.

Poor, poor Alix, Henri thought. If he wasn’t such chickenshit, there was something endearing about him. Almost.