AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Bu—"
“Thank you for your generosity. Please let me know the charge and I’ll make sure you’re compensated,” Noah interrupted my protests.
Roberto bowed. “It’s not necessary. You’ve taken care of us for a long time now. And here you are again. I’ll leave you be. You may come down for food and drink at any time.”
“Thank you,” Noah said again.
He turned and opened the door.
This room was definitely worse for wear compared to the castle, but it was large enough to boast a full bed and its own washroom.
But not anything else that would work to lie on.
“I’ll ask to bunk with Vara or for another room,” I said, moving toward the door.
Noah grabbed my arm. We were still barely speaking and even though I was furious with him, the look he gave me was filled with such a heartbreaking pain behind his anger that I relented slightly and paused.
“Hate me all you’d like right now, but it’s safer if you’re here. The others can defend themselves. Something’s not right here.”
“I think Vara can defend me as easily as you, and you shouldn’t have to defend me anyway,” I argued.
Noah sighed, releasing me as he did. “I don’t have the energy to fight with you and figure things out here. We can share a bed without it meaning anything, Cora. We’re not children.”
The shame that heated my face was instant. My pettiness had no place here now that we were deep into our mission. To let it interfere was selfish and would only cause problems for us. Problems for Noah.
“You’re right,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
Despite the frown, Noah’s lip turned up and if things were normal, I know he would have teased me, telling me he couldn’t quite hear that and to say it again. Instead, he turned away from me, putting some of his things on the bed and walking over to a very small window.
“Is the overly friendly city making you wary?” I moved closer to Noah so I could keep my voice lowered. “If I was better at this, I’d think Roberto was trying to tell you something.”
Noah’s gaze swept the streets outside of our window, and he waited a minute before looking back to me. “Something isn’t right. And you are good at this for picking up on it. I’d imagine our friends from the entrance would have gathered some of the leaders while we were taken here. I think we should try that first before exploring the city further.”
He pulled a dagger from his carrying bag and slipped it into a loop on his belt, then reached down and took out a second dagger. He also extracted a small holder looped around a separate belt.
“Wear this—in case we’re separated you’ll have options. Ryzel has swords for all of us on his person. That will go here.” Noah pointed to the second sheath that he attached.
I held out my hands, taking the belt and fumbling slightly with the position.
“Here.” Noah grabbed one end of the belt and wrapped his other arm around me. I stiffened at the closeness. He nimbly set up the belt around my waist, securing it in place.
His fingertips touched my hips as he pulled back, and even through my clothes, I felt the heat of the touch.
Noah cleared his throat and instructed me to follow him. All of us assembled in the hall, Ryzel brandishing each weapon before handing it out, and then we moved down to the ground floor and out the door.
Sure enough, one of the police from the gate flagged Noah down. He held his hand over his heart and bowed. “Your Majesty, if you’ll come with me, I’ve gathered those you’ve requested.”
The prince didn’t respond directly this time but followed as we were led through the busy city streets toward a larger building centered at the end of the main drag. The cobblestone streets had market stands, shops, trinket stores, everything along it. And people seemed to be out and about, not doing anything other than what I’d imagine would be their everyday dalliances.
It wouldn’t have been strange except for the smiles. The wide grins that everyone was giving each other. Giving us. Like they were trying very hard to convince us that everything was perfect.
The stone building stood before us at the end of the lane, and the policeman acknowledged it simply as the city hall. Upon entering, Noah was immediately welcomed by the town chief. Greeting Noah with a very low bow before introducing him to the town clerk and the police captain. We were invisible in this meeting, which was fine by me, and I suspected perfectly fine to the others. They were looking around, quietly taking everything in as we moved into a large room with cushioned chairs and a few desks.
Noah was cautious in his interactions, I noticed, but still endearing, pulling out stories from the group like they were old friends. When he finally broached the topic of the Seelie rumored to be close by, the room turned visibly cold. Despite the warmness he’d evoked from the crowd seconds before.
“There haven’t been any sightings,” the clerk jumped in, a little too defensively. Especially since Noah hadn’t asked about sightings specifically, just about if they’d heard anything.
Warning bells exploded in my head, I could only imagine what the others were feeling.
