“Elysande!” Adrian says, both eager and relieved as he approaches.
He stops himself just in front of me and sizes me up. It seemed for a moment like he was going to come even closer, maybe even embrace me, but the war behind his eyes didn’t settle on either of those.
“We wereso worried.”
“Really? Why?” I ask. They’ve never troubled themselves with my whereabouts like this before. Then again, I’ve never left the castle grounds overnight like that before. I have fallen asleep in the library though, and no one went searching for me then.
We’ve also never had dragon shifter guests in our castle before.
“You disappeared overnight!” Adrian replies. He looks… disheveled. Like maybe he was up very early, pacing and running his hand through his hair. Or up most of the night. Normally, his black hair is perfectly styled and his tunic perfectly smooth. Neither of those things are true today. “It’s dangerous out there after dark. You know that.”
“I do, obviously. But as you can see, I’m perfectly fine. I know how to handle myself.” I risk a glance at my father, who sits still, taking in the conversation with a calm silence.
“You—” Adrian shakes his head. I’ve bewildered him. “Where were you?”
“The Ellyar Inn.” Adrian’s eyebrows furrow, and father continues to remain unaffected. “I was craving a piece of hazeberry pie. Then I had a few drinks, and well… the day grew late. I had to book a room.”
“The Ellyar Inn…” His tone is full of trepidation.
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t want to invite anyone along?” He almost looks… hurt. Confused.
Why would I have invited him? As if he would take off with me on some silly quest for pie. He’s a captain of our guards, and he takes his duty very seriously. But that’s all irrelevant, since that’s not what I truly did anyway.
The guards saw me return with two dragon shifters and my father or Adrian will likely hear that piece of information eventually, but I don’t want to attempt to explain that away right now.
“It was an impulsive, spur of the moment type of thing. I… read about it in a book, and I began to crave it. I remembered I had it there once as a youngling.” I shift my gaze to my father. “You remember, right Father?”
He nods, his hands clasped on the table in front of him, his icy blue eyes focused. I can’t decipher what his mood is right now, but he was always so good at that. He certainly doesn’t seem like he was panicking about my safety only a short while ago.
Adrian looks between my father and me. He doesn’t want to drop the matter by any means, but I know he doesn’t want to push it much more in front of the king. He chooses silence.
“Captain Greenwood, would you give us a moment?”
Adrian straightens, then turns to the king and bows. He doesn’t look at me again as he leaves the room and closes the door behind him.
“Have a seat,” he commands as he watches me with interest.
I do as he says, choosing one several chairs away from him. It’s cold.
“You weren’t alone, were you?”
Oh.
“No.”
“A few males from Torrynth accompanied you on your escapade for… pie?”
“Yes.” I square my shoulders and look into his scrutinizing gaze. “You did tell me to get closer to him.”
“I did. That was before he was found at the scene of a murder. I thought you’d realize the deal was off then.”
“Why should it be? He didn’t do it.”
For some reason, I don’t think it matters to him either way. “Well, what have you discovered of our enemies?”
“Are they our enemies? I thought we were trying to make peace?”
