She rose from the chair and went for her bag, unlacing the leather ties that sealed it shut. She pulled out a slim nightgown, that had been rolled up in a tight wad.
I looked out at the darkened streets of Arnlow. They flickered with the late lamplight.
“Don’t turn around.” Her words wavered.
I wouldn’t dare.
“They’re truly worried about what I’ll do when I get to Estlen, aren’t they?” She asked. “Did you see the way he looked at me when we left?”
“Lioran looks like that half the time. He’s very serious if your name isn’t Aelira.”
“He feels better that you went with me.” Her boots clacked on the floor, her clothes hit afterwards.
“I wouldn’t say that.” That was definitely not what he said to me before we left.
“He knows I am unlikely to do something foolish with you around,” she said.
I really hated the stars’ sense of humor—they apparently had none.
“It’s safe to turn around now.”
I wasn’t prepared for what I saw when I did. The moonlight cast a glow on her skin as the fabric wrapped around her too closely. It pulled my gaze to places it shouldn’t.
I took my spot on the sofa, too afraid to look at her any longer.
“Did I say something to upset you?” Her voice softened as I heard the covers shuffle around her.
“No. I’m just exhausted.” I laid down on the sofa.
“Very well, then,” she said. “Goodnight, Fyn.”
“Goodnight, Princess.” I couldn’t say her name.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ASHLYN
Fyn was already dressed in a new tunic, staring out the window when I awoke.
We survived the night.
There were only a few more days until I met Soren and my whole life could change.
I sat up in bed, too aware of how every muscle ached. “Does it stop hurting eventually?” Surviving the rest of the journey would take all my energy. At least there would be little room for nerves.
“By the time you get used to it, you’ll be in front of your prince.” It sounded awful when he said it.
I didn’t know Soren, nor did I know if I wanted him to be mine. “Have you been to Estlen before?”
“My business keeps me on this side of the divide,” he said. “I’ve little desire to be in the human realm.”
The war had left scars on us all in ways we couldn’t always name.
I wrapped a stray blanket around myself. It caught on a raised floorboard as I walked closer to him. As I reacheddown to pry it free, the hem of my nightgown rose too high in the back.
He raised the steaming mug to his lips.
“Is that coffee?” I asked, instinctively reaching for it, before I pulled my hand back. “Where did you get that?” It had been so long since I’d had coffee. The smell alone awakened something within me.
