I wish the festival were longer than a mere two weeks.
“No guards?” I askedRaphael as we mounted our horses in front of the palace. Raphael was on one of the Nykta mares, while I managed to get myself on Alphonse with little enough trouble that I knew my skills hadn’t entirely disappeared in the past two weeks.
“We won’t need them today.”
“Where are we going again?” Raphael had mentioned that the thirteenth night was a particularly large celebration, but he hadn’t shared specifics.
I’d meant to dress for the occasion, with a deep navy gown, luxurious fur shawl, and silver jewelry—not made by a would-be assassin—adorning me, but then I’d walked out and found Raphael wearing simple trousers and a button-down shirt.
They both looked sinfully good on him, but it was almost casual compared to everything else.
That was the point where he helpfully informed me that I should wear riding clothes. Now, I, too, was in a long white tunic paired with trousers.
“It’s a surprise,” Raphael said. “We don’t need the others.”
The city was shockingly empty. Everyone must be gathering somewhere else. I wondered if we were going to join them, but as Raphael led us farther from the city, I had my doubts.
Raphael finally stopped at the top of a cliff and dismounted.
I moved to follow his lead, and he was immediately at Alphonse’s side, pulling me from the saddle.
“I can manage on my own,” I told him.
But the help was nice.
“What are we doing here?” The only other sounds around us were some animals rustling in the foliage. Trees lined our back, plain grass leading up to the sharp drop of the cliff.
Raphael gestured me to join him at the edge.
The shoreline stretched for miles below. In the distance, back by the city, were sparks of people and embers. Bonfires.
“Is that where everyone celebrates?”
He nodded. “There’s been feasts all day down there, and they’ll continue for another few hours.”
“Why aren’t we there, then?” If it was such a big event, surely he was expected to attend. “Are you worried about another attempt?”
The shake of his head was sharp, decisive. “Not at all. But there will be some rather loud parts of the celebration. For anyone with sharp hearing, it can be challenging, but especially for a newly turned vampire.”
Oh. It was all for me. “Do you wish you were over there instead?”
He raked his gaze over me. “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
I looked away. “Thank you. For thinking of me. Will we be here all night?”
“We have some time. There’s an hour now, maybe less, till the show begins.”
An hour. “I’m surprised you’re not making me do drills, considering all the other training we’ve been doing.”
He arched a brow. “Is that your way of asking me to spar with you, little viper?”
I snorted. “Definitely not.”
Raphael went back to his horse and tied her reins. I led Alphonse over, copying Raphael’s practiced movements. Then I walked around the trees, debating breaking a branch. I could do it easily with the vampire strength I now possessed.
A fallen branch caught my eye—or more accurately, my nose. I lifted it, inhaling the warm, spicy scent. Several scaled tufts branched out, so I snapped the branch in two, turning it to a manageable size. I tested the weight in my hand. Perfect.
Raphael was watching me, but he’d moved. Now he sat at the edge of the cliff, legs dangling off the edge as if it were nothing more than a chair.
