Ollie looked as though he wanted to protest, but a silencing glare from Elyria had him swallowing whatever words might have been on his tongue.
She stormed down the corridor, the heels of her boots echoing sharply against the marble floor. The corridors of King’s Keep were too pristine, too bright, their gilded fixtures polished like they were meant to blind. Everything for show, everything a distraction.
These days, Elyria vastly preferred the dark.
She’d turned the corner and was halfway down the next corridor when she heard footsteps behind her. She whirled toward the source of the noise. “Ollie, I thought I told you to?—”
Not Ollie.
Cedric was panting, as though he’d sprinted to catch up to her. She resumed her stormy stride without hesitation, her shadows rousing under her skin as she stalked away.
“Elyria, wait.”
She didn’t wait.
“Elle.”
Again, she whirled on him. “Don’t call me that.” She crossed her arms as he closed the distance between them. “What, is myescortto start now?”
He huffed a breathless laugh, the sound of exasperation. “I only suggested that to try and convince His Majesty to allow?—”
“Yes, you seem very much inclined to followHis Majesty’sallowances,” she interrupted. “How are you so fine with being trotted around the city as some personification of the accords?”
Cedric sighed, raking a hand through his chestnut hair. It had grown out since they’d parted ways in the Lost City. Elyria found her lips pursing in irritation over how well it suited him.
“I am a knight of Kingshelm. He isthe king.What would you have me do?”
“I did not let my own king prop me up as some symbol of purported peace. I do not intend to allow yours to.”
“I’d never presume you would. And I would never ask you to.” There was something wistful in his tone, and it softened the edges of Elyria’s ire.
“Then why are you here?” she asked.
He rubbed at his chest, his jaw working like he was trying to figure out how to answer, what to say.
Elyria braced herself for the inevitable lecture, for the pleas to return to the council chamber, to sit down and shut up and play the role she had been brought here for.
“I’m staying here, in the palace, you know,” he said instead, surprising her with the sudden change of topic.
“Perks of being victor, I assume?”
“Part of King Callum’sallowances,” he said, and though his mouth was tipped up in a smirk, Elyria’s cheeks heated over her unfair words. “And at Lord Church’s insistence, of course.”
Her demeanor cooled instantly. “Ah, yes. Your lord certainly seems...” She let her first thought fade away before voicing it. This was Cedric’s benefactor. His adopted father, for all intents and purposes. She supposed it wouldn’t be fair to lambaste the lord, even with the thinly veiled remarks he’d made prior to Cedric’s arrival in the council room. “He clearly has a vested interest in these peace proceedings,” she finished lamely.
A pause. “He does.”
Another pause. Elyria shifted her weight between her feet, her magic feeling restless beneath her skin. “Well, I should?—”
“Will you allow me to walk you back to your quarters?” Cedric asked.
“Don’t you mean, escort me?”
He rolled his eyes, the ring of gold at the center of each iris glinting. Like it was winking at her. “What I mean is, I’d like toaccompanyyou. If you’ll permit me.”
“I am perfectly capable of finding my way around this place, you know.”
“Four hells, woman. Does everything have to be a fight with you?”
