For a moment, something flickered in his grey eyes, surprise, perhaps, or recognition. Then he shook his head with that familiar gesture of dismissal, sending golden hair catching the light like spun metal.
"Always so serious," he murmured, though not unkindly. "The cook told me something interesting, you know. He said that those who come to Eletheria with heavy hearts find them lightened, while those who arrive seeking only pleasure..." He paused, studying my face with unexpected intensity. "Well, they sometimes discover hungers they never knew they possessed."
Before I could ask what he meant by that cryptic observation, the ship's captain called out orders as we approached the harbor. Sailors scrambled to adjust the sails, their voices cutting through the music of wind and wave.
Serin straightened, and I watched transformation overtake him like sunrise burning away morning mist. The subtle melancholy that had haunted his eyes since leaving home vanished, replaced by eager anticipation that made him seem to glow from within. This was the prince the court knew, charming, curious, impossible to resist.
"Well then," he said, clapping his hands together with childlike delight, "shall we see what adventures await? I do hope you're prepared to keep up, dear Rhazir. Something tells me the pace here might prove... challenging for someone so devoted to duty."
The words carried a challenge I didn't understand, though I recognized the gleam in his eyes. It was the same look he'd worn before every escapade that had left me grey with worry over the years, climbing the palace walls, swimming in shark-infested waters, accepting duels from men twice his skill.
"I will endeavor to manage," I said dryly.
His grin widened, bright as polished silver. "Oh, I do hope so. After all, what good is a grand adventure without someone to worry beautifully in the background?"
The harbor drew closer, bringing with it the sound of laughter and music that promised everything I feared. I watched Serin's face light up with each detail that came into view, the young men lounging on marble steps, the flower petals scattered across sun-warmed stone, the glimpses of bodies moving like living sculptures through shaded colonnades.
He was already half-gone, I realized. Already slipping away into this world of beauty and freedom,leaving me to follow like some grim reminder of the life he sought to escape.
Eight years of faithful service. Eight years of watching and wanting and never speaking the words that burned in my throat like swallowed fire.
The ship slowed as we entered the harbor, and Serin practically bounced on his toes with excitement. Whatever shadows had driven him from home were forgotten now, buried beneath anticipation bright as hammered gold.
I gripped the rail tighter and prepared to watch the man I loved disappear into paradise.
Chapter
Two
SERIN
The first breath of Eletherian air was like drinking liquid sunlight.
I stood at the harbor's edge, salt-weathered planks solid beneath my feet after days of rolling deck, and felt something tight in my chest unfurl like a flower greeting dawn. The very atmosphere seemed to shimmer with golden motes, as if the gods had ground precious metals into dust and scattered them on the breeze. Each inhalation carried scents that made my head swim, jasmine in full bloom, warm olive oil, the green sweetness of growing things, and beneath it all, something indefinable that spoke of mysteries and pleasure in equal measure.
"By all the gods," I breathed, unable to contain the wonder that bubbled up from some hidden well within me.
The harbor sprawled before us in graceful curves of white marble, nothing at all like the harsh black stone of our ports back home. Here, every line flowed like water made solid, every arch and column shaped to please the eye rather than intimidate. Flowering vines cascaded over balustrades in waterfalls of purple and gold, and the very flagstones beneath my sandals had been polished to a gleam that reflected the late afternoon sky.
Young men moved among the docks with unhurried grace, some bare-chested in the warm air, others draped in silk so fine it was nearly transparent. Their skin glowed with health and sunlight, and when they laughed, which seemed to be often, the sound rang like temple bells across the water. One caught my stare and smiled, a expression so open and welcoming that heat bloomed in my cheeks before I could stop it.
"Your Highness." Rhazir's voice carried that careful formality he'd maintained since following me aboard the ship. "Shall we seek lodgings for the night?"
I turned to find him scanning the crowd with those sharp eyes that missed nothing, one hand resting near his sword hilt in a gesture so habitual he likely didn't realize he was doing it. Even here, in this paradise of marble and music, he remained coiled like a spring, ready for violence that would never come.
"Actually," I said, suddenly seized by inspiration, "I have a different notion. You see to finding us rooms, something suitable near the palace complex, if you can manage it. I wish to climb to Elyon's temple and pay my respects."
His dark eyes snapped to mine, and I caught a flash of something that might have been alarm. "Your Highness, I hardly think it wise for you to venture alone into unfamiliar territory?—"
"Rhazir." I let just enough princely authority creep into my voice to remind him of our respective positions. "This is a sacred island, not a battlefield. I'm hardly in danger of being murdered by priests and poets." I gestured toward the terraced hillside that rose above us like a god's garden. "Besides, someone needs to secure our accommodations, and you're far better suited to such practical matters than I."
For a moment, I thought he might argue. That familiar tension gathered in his jaw, the one that appeared whenever duty warred with protective instinct. Then he bowed, stiff and correct as always.
"As you wish. I'll find lodgings."
Something in his tone pricked at me, resignation, perhaps, or disappointment I couldn't fathom. But the island's beauty called to me like a siren song, and I was already turning away, drawn upward by curiosities I'd dreamed of for years.
"Excellent. Don't look so grim, dear friend. What could possibly happen to me in paradise?"
