Page 6 of A Wayward Movement

The man from outside the inn.

Their eyes locked for a moment, then the man turned away, continuing through the market with a nonchalant air. But Alina couldn’t help the shiver that ran up her spine as she remembered the shrewdness of his gaze. There could be no doubt. This time, he’d seen her use her magic.

Chapter

Two

“Prince Xavier, your flattery will turn my head.”

Xavier smiled roguishly down into the face upturned to his. The girl in question, the daughter of one of his father’s lesser nobles, lowered her eyes demurely. He restrained the dry chuckle that rose up inside him, because he wasn’t such a spoilsport as to share his thoughts with her. Those thoughts being that neither her manner nor her protests fooled him. Her head was in no more danger of being turned by his compliments than her heart was of being touched. She was calculating, artificial, and pursuing her own ends.

In short, she was exactly his preferred kind of companion.

“Impossible to flatter perfection, My Lady,” he said outrageously. After all, she was very pretty, in a carefully crafted, golden-curled, beribboned sort of way.

Her lips curled in a smile of triumph as Xavier continued to hold the hand he’d just bowed over. He was in no hurry to release it. There wasn’t much about Lady Liesl that genuinely interested him, but the disapproving glare he was currently receiving from a passing member of his father’s council was highly entertaining. It wasn’t as though he had anything else to do with his morning while he waited for news of the travelers.

Or so he’d thought.

“Your Highness?”

Xavier turned to see one of his personal servants hovering at the entrance of their alcove, which came off the castle’s main courtyard. The man’s expression was apologetic as he looked anywhere but at the pair standing closer than decorum allowed.

“Good morning, Charles,” Xavier said, tucking the hand he still held through his arm and leaning against the stone wall with perfect composure. “Am I being summoned?”

“No, Your Highness, not summoned,” the uncomfortable Charles said, bending in a swift bow. “But you asked me to tell you when the anzu eggs were beginning to hatch.”

“Ah yes!” Xavier straightened, his interest caught in earnest this time. “Is it happening?”

“It is, Your Highness,” the servant confirmed.

Xavier released Lady Liesl’s hand, after pressing his lips briefly to its back with a flourish.

“My Lady, you’ll have to excuse me. Business of a delicate nature calls me away.”

Lady Liesl didn’t look too impressed about being bid farewell rather than invited along. But Xavier felt no remorse. Some flirtation on a dull morning was one thing. Putting up with her conversation for an extended period was another.

“Coming?”

The invitation was directed to Charles. Him, Xavier didn’t mind. He was a good sort of fellow, if still a little too naive. The servant was young and quite new in the prince’s employ. He wasn’t yet inured to Xavier’s gossip-inducing ways.

Looking surprised, Charles trotted along beside Xavier as the prince strode across the courtyard. Xavier spared a glance for the large decorative fountain that formed the centerpiece of the space. Only about half the usual number of anzus were preening themselves in the water. The other half were no doubt attending the hatching. One of those still in the fountain stretched its wings, flicking water expertly over its feathers without splashing its face. Most anzus didn’t like to get their faces wet. They were curious creatures, their bodies all avian, but their heads much the same as those of the cats kept by the castle kitchens to hunt rodents.

“Did you ever see an anzu before coming to work at the castle, Charles?” Xavier asked, smiling at the servant’s fascinated expression.

“No, Your Highness,” Charles replied. “They’re curious creatures, aren’t they?”

“They certainly are,” Xavier agreed. “Vain as peacocks, hungry for attention, and at core, shockingly lazy.” He flashed a grin at his underling. “All of which is why I’ve always felt a strong affinity to our little mascots.”

“Your Highness,” the servant said in a tone of reproach. But Xavier had caught the flicker of a smile he’d only just managed to restrain.

The prince chuckled as he turned away from the fountain, satisfied with his efforts. He liked his servants to be at ease around him, and he’d learned that jokes at his own expense were an excellent way to soften the inevitable barriers created by rank. He couldn’t do anything about having been born heir to a kingdom, but that didn’t mean anyone could force him to take himself too seriously.

“Why are some of the anzus not watching the hatching?” Charles asked.

“I imagine the ones still in the fountain are the ones that spout water,” Xavier said. “Apparently the fire-breathers are the only ones with an active role in hatchings.”

“You’re quite learned on the topic, Your Highness,” Charles said respectfully.