Dominic chuckled. “And you sayI’marrogant.” He paused, glancing at her, then up at the dress hanging on the cart, and back at her. Adara furrowed her brows, deliberating what sort of plan he was concocting. “I suppose if we are to rest up before our journey across the continent, we may as well stay for the festival. It would be strange to leave during such a widely-lovedholiday. And if we’re going to stay, it would be best to dress for the occasion.”
She was already breaking out into a radiant grin before he even finished speaking.
He raised a brow as he failed to suppress the crooked smile growing on his face. “Wouldn’t want to draw suspicion, now would we?”
Chapter 25
Pressingherlipstogether,Adara tried to hide her smile. “Are you serious?” she asked, not letting her hopes get too high. Was Dominic really going to waste his time and stay a little longer to satisfy her childish dreams?
A mischievous grin spread across his face, as if it were forbidden to enjoy themselves while on a deadly journey. In answer, Dominic reached into his rucksack and set the required amount of gold coins onto the wooden tabletop. The merchant gratefully took the money with a smile and gestured for them to take the dress.
The gown glimmered beneath the sun, as if encased in a veil of starlight. She’d never seen anything like it in Lykrios. Judging from the merchant’s accent, it must have come from Enfider.
Festivals were the only time people from foreign kingdoms dared to venture into Lykrios. It was the only time this kingdom was bearable. In addition to the merchants who traveled with their carts decorated with goods, dark shadows swooped overhead. Adara tilted her head up to peer at the dwodis soaring high above, large baskets presumably filled with items from Enfider clenched between their talons. With the Plagued Sea being far too dangerous to cross by ship, dwodis were the creatures everyone turned to for trade. Captured from the Red Raven mountains, tamed, and bred for the ability to fly great lengths, the elegant beasts were most efficient to fly over the vast seas.
Adara had planned to hitch a ride on one to fly to Andreilia before she’d met Damon. It was probably best that she met the pirate before attempting to break into the queen’s aerie to hijack one of the massive birds.
The dwodi’s bright orange feathers lit up the sky like a firebird, a beacon of hope from another kingdom. A bronze-skinned woman rode atop its back, another basket of foreign materials strapped behind her saddle. The bird screeched, announcing its arrival. The sharp teeth lining the inside of its beak glinted in the light, a mirror of the woman’s radiant smile. Eyes closed in delight, the woman tilted her head back, letting the wind whip through her braided black hair.
Adara envied the riders, traveling the world atop an elegant beast, seeing everything each kingdom had to offer. Nomads who dwelled wherever they pleased, with nothing but their dwodi and whatever material they were being paid to transport, the riders were never tied down to a certain city. Nothing ever stopped them from seeing all the wonder this world had to offer.
With Blemythia in need of saving, Adara couldn’t say the same about herself. Her people were counting on her. Perhaps once the prophecy was fulfilled, she’d be able to live out her dreams.
The dwodi banked left, curving down for a graceful landing in an open square where they unloaded shipments.
Adara turned her attention back toward the gorgeous dress Dominic had purchased for her. She reached up to remove the gown from the hook, but Dominic beat her to it and draped it over his arm, careful not to wrinkle it. He nodded forward, indicating that they should keep moving.
“Who knew Dominic Nite could be such a gentleman?” Adara said with a smile.
“Don’t get used to it, love.” Despite his grave tone, there was a slight smirk playing on his lips.
He let out a shrill whistle, and the Andreilians soon gathered together. He informed them all that they’d be staying for the festival. Eager smiles broke out on all their faces and their group started down the cobbled streets in search of a tavern.
Swift and unnoticed, Adara’s nimble fingers slipped into pockets and purses, snatching anything of value she could find. Dominic, of course, noticed when she slipped some gold coins into his pocket, though she wasn’t exactly trying to be discreet.
“For the dress,” she said, wanting to repay him.
He only nodded. Whether he knew she’d been nicking the poor saps around them for the money or not, he didn’t show, yet she found it hard to believe that Dominic’s keen eyes wouldn’t notice her thievery.
She couldn’t help herself. Stealing was how she survived here. Always a thief, always on the run. But running to Tarin or Remaline was never an option, not when the ships used to cross territories were under high security. And certainly not after she discovered the enchanted water on Andreilia. So begrudgingly,she had remained in this awful kingdom, searching for a way to that magical island.
Adara never intended to be in Lykrios in the first place. One moment, she was in Blemythia, watching Callan die in her arms, Alecsander bleeding out alongside them. The next, she awoke covered in the blood of her friends, enemies, and her own in a ramshackle hut in the Jarkan Forest. Thankfully, someone had found her and healed her wounds, or else she probably would have died that night.
Sometimes, she believed the world would be better if she did.
Adara had never even learned the woman’s name. She’d fled in the middle of the night, too cowardly to make a new friend in a new world after hers had been taken from her. With no food, no shelter, no money, and hardly any knowledge of continents outside Blemythia, thievery was her only option. She’d only been nine when she was taken from her family, and being isolated in the dungeons of the Shadow Empire did nothing for her education about foreign countries. She had to survive with the skills she acquired as a prisoner.
At first, she was ashamed of committing such a dishonorable crime. But when she’d successfully pick-pocketed a great amount of coins, she told herself she wasn’t doing such a terrible act because that night she had slipped the money into the cottage of the healer who had saved her.
The Andreilians halted, having reached a tavern at the corner of the block. Golden light poured out onto the street in slivers from the small windows on the side of a wooden building. The door creaked on its hinges as it swung back and forth, citizens coming and going. Adara tilted her head up to the familiar sign hanging over the door. Painted over an ocean blue background were the words:The Lykren’s Den.A black serpent weaved through the letters—one of the many representations of a lykren the tale depicted.
When Adara reached for the doorknob, a hand gently grasped her wrist. Dominic stepped in front of her, opening the door wide for both of them to step inside while the others followed. The moment she crossed the threshold, the scent of roast meat and ale hit her. The tavern was brightly illuminated by wooden chandeliers holding candles high above. Lanterns set each table in a soft, golden glow. A blazing fire roared in the stone hearth across the room. Drunkards lounged on the sofas surrounding it, with harlots sitting on their laps, shamelessly flirting.
The bar to her right was crowded with people, ale sloshing out of mugs and splattering on the wooden bar top as drinks and coins were eagerly exchanged, trying to keep up with the copious amount of patrons. Toward the back of the tavern, it was much dimmer. Shadows clung to everyone as if to help hide the cards held closely in their hands, fanned out between their fingers as they placed their bets.
To the left of them were a few secluded booths against the wall, where patrons ate and chatted quietly among themselves. That was where Dominic grabbed her hand and led her to. The other Andreilians dispersed. Caleb and Tobias found a booth to themselves as well. Asher, Ace, Silas, Niran, Zephyr, and Sawyer all squeezed around a table across the room. Tyson and Desmond strode up to the bar while Vesper and Evreux headed for the gambling tables.
Dominic slung his rucksack off his shoulder, neatly folded the dress, and placed it inside his bag as he sat down. Adara cautiously slid into the seat across from him, placing her own pack beside her. Although she knew Dominic’s elixir had hidden her tattoos and everyone only knew the Phoenix by the eyes, she still couldn’t help the churning in her gut that someone would find out her secret and report her to the queen.
