I watched as he looked around and took a moment myself to take in the dingy tavern. A bar took up the back wall with stools lining it, all of them full. Worn, cracking wooden tables that looked hundreds of years old were placed close together throughout the rest of the space. I spotted a small tablehidden in a corner that would serve perfectly for my needs and brought us directly to it.
“Leave your hood up,” I instructed Azurill as we sat down. “Unless you want them to figure out who you are, of course.”
“We certainly wouldn’t want that.” He nodded, his eyes glinting in the dim light of the tavern. “Not when tonight is supposed to be just us.”
A barmaid quickly appeared to take our orders and asked with a smile, “What can I get you two?”
“How about a sparkling ale, since we’re in the kingdom they originated from,” I smirked at the king as I ordered the diamond-inspired drink, and he leaned back in his chair, smiling up at the older woman.
“I’ll have the same.” He flipped her a coin that had to be worth four times our order, and her wide eyes and open mouth showcased her shock quite clearly. I nearly sighed in defeat. The man knew nothing about how to blend in.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. He was meant to glitter and shine from his throne, not hide among the rabble.
“Sir, this is too much.” The woman argued, but the sheen of tears in her eyes made me soften. It was obvious she needed it, but her morals were at least solid enough to argue.
“I insist,” Azurill said plainly, a gentle smile on his face.
The woman took a deep breath, gathering herself, “Veritx bless you, sir.”
She nodded before taking off to get our drinks, and Azurill turned his gaze back to me.
“I’d argue that was foolish, but it’s nice to see you actually care about these people,” I conceded begrudgingly.
“Did you think I didn’t?” he asked, his brows shooting up in surprise.
“Many nobles don’t.” I sighed deeply. “But…you’re truly not what I was expecting,” I wrenched the words from deep in my soul, admitting the truth—to both of us.
“And what were you expecting, Mini-Dite?” He leaned forward, his elbows landing on the table in a way he’d never dare at the palace. My smile snuck out despite myself, but I was saved from having to answer right away when our drinks were quickly delivered. Obviously, the woman had rushed in an effort to earn her substantial tip.
I chugged back the sparkling, silver ale, watching as Azurill did the same. He almost fit in here, chugging ale in his peasant clothing, but something about him was justtoo muchfor a commoner.
He stared at me quietly, waiting patiently for an answer to his question.
“I expected you to be a pompous noble who didn’t give a shit about the less fortunate.” I finally told him, watching his brows furrow. “That you’d be eating up having the ladies in the competition fighting over you. That you’d be violent and cruel, capable of doing anything to secure your throne.” I made myself shrug casually, like my heart wasn’t beating out of my chest, like I wasn’t hiding years' worth of contempt deep in my soul.
His teal eyes widened a bit, and he looked me over critically for a moment. “Well, I didn’t expect such a scathing review.”
His voice sounded uneven, and I knew he was trying to hide the hurt I saw brewing in his eyes. It shouldn’t have caused the pang in my heart that it did.
“I said I was wrong, didn’t I?” I replied, knowing that I had to fix this. For the sake of my vengeance, or perhaps…
He huffed a slight laugh, “Still, that isn’t the impression I want to give to any of my subjects. I don’t want them thinking I’m like Car?—”
He cut himself off with a cringe, and I couldn’t help the curl of my lips as I continued his thought, “Like Carnelian?”
He laughed quietly, taking a swing of his ale as he shook his head.
“You must know how he is.” He raised his brows at me, but there was something deeper to his question, something searching.
“I have an idea.” I shrugged as casually as I could. “We don’t spend much time together, if you can believe it,” I said dryly.
Azurill leaned forward, and I couldn’t help leaning in as well, until we were close enough to whisper, and for other things I shouldn’t be considering.
“I have my suspicions about him. I’ll tell you that truthfully. But I’m less sure about you.” He shook his head ruefully. “I shouldn’t even be telling you this.”
“Then why are you?” I murmured, our eyes locked on one another’s, and it felt like the space between us was heavy with heat, like a flame could catch at any moment. Or perhaps it was more like a bubbling potion, about to combust and spew smoke into the air.
“I find that despite what my mind tells me is smart, the rest of me feels like being quite foolish when it comes to you.” He admitted candidly, liftinga hand to push a curl behind my ear. My breath caught in my throat as my eyes fluttered.
