And he hoped that one day she might forgive him.
PART ONE
CHAPTER 1
“This is a very bad idea.” I shot a nervous glance towards Raena, already regretting the low-cut gown she’d convinced me to wear.
We both stood metres away from an old cobblestone building, surrounded by enough dark forest to make me shudder. Golden light spilled from its windows, while pounding music seemed to shake the walls. Or perhaps it was the sheer number of people dancing inside. Either way, I was glad I’d taken my anxiety powder before we’d left to come here.
“Nonsense! We’re perfectly safe,” Raena chuckled. Her dark curls bounced as she adjusted the top of her own peasant-style dress. “Besides, it’s about time you returned toyour kingdom. Princesses aren’t supposed to spend their days cooped up in faraway palaces,” she teased. “You’re going to be a queen soon. Queens spend time with their people.”
“Not sure if sneaking out of the palace late at night to visit a Corlixin tavern counts as spending time with my people,” I laughed, but there was a nervous edge to my voice.
“Lady Raena is right, you know,” Erik added from behind her. “I hate to say it, Your Highness, but these past few weeks you’ve barely left your bedchamber.”
I glanced at the golden-haired knight. He’d warmed to me slightly after the day he’d watched me clear out an entire goblin camp using my ‘faery magic’ – more specifically a few scientific powders mixed with water. But he’d warmed to me even more after I convinced King Lukas to promote him to a knight, along with his friend, Theo.
It wasn’t easy to convince Lukas, but it was the least I could do after all the trouble I’d put the pair of guards through. Trouble I hoped was long behind us.
“Let’s do it.” I swallowed, nodding towards the bustling tavern.
“That’s the spirit, Naria,” Raena said giddily. “Or should I say ‘Nora’.” She winked. Grabbing my hands, she leaned closer. “Remember, we’re not nobles tonight. Just two village girls looking to forget about our troubles, drink copious amounts of ale, and maybe,” her voice lightened to a joking tone, “dance with a handsome blacksmith or two.”
Erik cleared his throat, making us both chuckle.
‘To forget’ would be certainly nice right now. The past few weeks had been nothing but stress, combined with a sprinkling of guilt that I hadn’t yet officially moved to Corlixir.Of course, I wanted to be with my people. Rebuilding a kingdom, even one as small as mine, takes so much effort, and it’s even harder when everything has to be communicated via letters.
But ever since that day threelongmonths ago – when Prince Arenn appeared to me as a cat in that grassy clearing – I haven’t felt safe here. And while I hadn’t had any more invasive dreams, just the thought of him being out there was enough to make me stay within the guard-patrolled walls of the Steel Palace.
At least until tonight.
With a weak smile, I took Raena’s hand. Just for one night, I wanted to be free from kingdoms and all the responsibilities they came with. Of course, Raena was quick to offer help in the form of a surprise tavern trip – though she didn’t tell me this tavern would be in Corlixir until we’d already travelled miles on our horses.
The worst part was, I had no idea my people had built a tavern. Or that enough Corlixins had moved back from other kingdoms to make the intense noise coming from inside.
“Let’s go and forget about our troubles,” I sighed.
The interior of the tavern was even more chaotic than I’d feared. Dozens of people surrounded a huge stone bar, each of them waving empty tankards in the air or sloshing full cups, enough to make a permanent puddle of ale on the floor. In the far corner, several musicians played jaunty music to a candlelit dance floor. But the dancing was like nothing I’d ever seen before. There was no partner dancing – or at least nothing structured. Women picked up their skirts and spun freely, while others rocked their bodies to the lively strings anddrums. We’d had dances in Honeymeade, back in my home village. But this was so wild. They all looked so free.
“That looks wonderful!” I called out to Raena, tugging her towards the dancers.
“Oh yes, we should dance!” Raena squealed. “But first, Erik and I have a little surprise for you.”
My eyebrows shot up. Before I could ask what she was hiding, I was pulled through the crowds towards some long tables and bench sets carved from stone. Each one was filled with far too many people and covered in tankards, but it was the table in the far corner that caught my eye first. Because seated around it, their grinning faces lit up by the soft candlelight, were Ivy, Marius, Terrence, and Theo.
“Oh Ancients above,” I beamed, squeezing through crowds to get to them. Raena laughed wildly behind me, dragging Erik along with her.
“Naria!” my friends called out as tears bubbled in my eyes.
“I can’t believe you’re all here.” I threw my arms around each of them. “Wait, how are you all here?” This visit wasn’t exactly planned, and they’d never been the type to frequent taverns – unless more things had changed in Corlixir than I’d thought.
Ivy shot Theo a shy smile as I took a seat beside her. “Your lovely knight friend paid us a visit about an hour ago with a few spare horses to make sure we arrived here before you did.” She turned back to me, a rosy blush heating her cheeks. “I thought I’d never be able to ride a horse, but he’s an excellent teacher,” she giggled.
“Clearly not that excellent, considering Ivy insisted weshare my horse on the journey here,” Theo piped up, returning to his seat across the table. “Not that I minded, of course.” He winked playfully.
Ivy’s blush spread to her ears as I snorted. This tavern may have been rowdy, and the music was already starting to hurt my ears, but still, it was just what I needed. A perfect distraction from everything out there.
“Drinks, anyone?” Erik asked, and our resounding cheers roared over the music.
