“No, it's fine.” I shrugged. “A little paint never hurt anyone.”
“Good.” He grinned. “Now let's go find you something that Evella can take in.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Evella worked her non-magical magic on Tae's clothing and took in the seams with her sewing pins so that our chosen pieces looked as if they'd been made for me. With a fur-lined cloak topping the velvet and brocade ensemble and painted gold wings arching over my kohl-lined eyes, I looked like another man. Only my boots were out of place. Tae's boots were way too big for me, and the last thing I wanted was to fall on my face in front of the King and Queen, but Tae said that my footwear could be overlooked far easier than an ill-fitting tunic. I agreed; I mean, who'd be looking at my feet when I had gold paint all over my face?
Once we were dressed, we headed downstairs. We stepped out of the elevator and into an enormous hall over four times the size of my parents' house. Tae's knights weren't waiting there as I'd expected. The vast space had nothing in it beyond a few plinths holding ancient statuary and a single man.
The dark-haired man bowed to Taeven as we approached. “Welcome home, Falcon Lord,” he said warmly.
“Thank you, Halfrin.” Tae waved a hand toward me. “This is our valorian, Shane Rumerra.”
I blinked at that.Had he just given me his last name?
“It's an honor to meet you, Valorian.” Halfrin bowed to me. “If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“And may I say that you look dashing with the gold markings of your status?”
“Thanks.” I grinned, one hand lifting to touch my temple. I did like how the gold looked against my skin and the kohl made my eyes so bright that they seemed to glow.
“My lord, your carriage is waiting,” Halfrin added to Taeven.
“Very good. Thank you, Halfrin.” Tae took my hand and led me toward a pair of grand, double doors.
Outside, the night was brightened by moonlight reflecting off snow. Gardens surrounded Tae's palace, but the plants were just lumps of white split by a circular drive that had been cleared for travel. At the bottom of a flight of stone steps, a carriage waited, the emblem of a falcon on its door. The horses stamped and huffed steam as the driver opened the door of the carriage for us.
Inside, thick blankets waited on the padded benches. I slipped under one and Taeven joined me, settling in beside me to wrap an arm around my shoulders. I tucked him in beneath the blanket with me as the carriage started to move.
“All right, I do like the snuggling part of being cold,” I admitted.
“Just wait until I show you the other wonders of Winter,” he whispered in my ear.
“Oh, that sounds promising.”
We rolled through a pair of massive gates, then out onto the city streets. Fae streetlamps lit Wynvar but so did the softer glows filtering out from the windows of palaces and then, once we left the residential area, shops. Snowflakes drifted by the carriage windows like dandelion fluff, and I leaned against Tae as I watched them.
“It's pretty but I don't think I want to go walking in it,” I said.
“It's not so bad when you're bundled up and you don't have the frigid air blasting in your face.”
“I suppose.”
“Here's the Royal Palace,” Tae murmured.
“That was fast.” I lifted my head from Tae's chest to peer out the window.
“Yes, my proximity to the palace is another symbol of my status.”
The gates we passed through were a pair of gold wings that split at our approach. Soldiers stood beside them, thick coats worn over their uniforms; they saluted our carriage as we rolled by. We went up a long drive then around the side of a roundabout and parked before a set of stairs. The double doors at the top of those stairs opened as soon as we stopped, as if someone had been staring out the window, awaiting our arrival. A man hurried out to us to open our carriage door. He bowed as Taeven and I climbed out.
We went up the stairs and into the soaring edifice that was home to the monarchs of the Falcon Kingdom. I caught only a glimpse of the main keep, outdoor lights shining up its stone walls, before I was inside. This entry hall was even larger than Tae's, but it was also full of people hurrying to and fro, several bearing silver trays and most wearing red uniforms. As we stepped across the room, the bustling people expertly navigated around us. Tae barely paid them any mind, moving straight forward, certain that a path would be cleared for him.
“Why didn't your knights join us?” I asked him.
“They're not necessary here. For the entirety of our visit, they're on leave. Well, partial leave. They'll stay with me in case they're needed to send messages to camp.”
