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When the carriage door was opened for them, Ace jumped, not yet used to having someone waiting on her. Shelby’s chuckle helped to propel her out of her seat. The driver took her hand and guided her down into the shade.
Few people paced by them in the street, their shadows finding the alleyway and disappearing into the darkness before they themselves were out of sight. Queen Ambrose had settled in a small town rather than one of Pasia’s larger cities. Csumitta was an old farm town not too far away from River’s Bend.
Only Csumitta was doing much better than River’s Bend. Ace couldn’t remember if this small town had been prospering when she was a child or if that was something that came with Queen Ambrose as she settled here.
“Here we go.” Rehan stepped down from the carriage, folded cloaks held to his chest. As summer faded into fall, the thin cloaks meant to protect from the sun were traded for something thicker and warmer.
“For you.” Rehan offered a cloak to Shelby who shrugged as if he wouldn’t need one before taking the cloth.
Ace held out an expectant hand. The edges of Rehan’s lips only puckered in while he tried to suppress his smile. Some quiet part of her loved how much he smiled, and for him to hold one back from her turned her stomach almost sour.
A thick blue cloak, embroidered with silver thread that connected roses, vines, and thorns, was unfolded in Rehan’s grasp. With wide eyes, all Ace could do was stand there as he swept around her and secured the material around her shoulders. One hand lifted to brush along the sparkling broach at her collar.
The inside of the cloak was soft, the thick material brushing her limbs as Rehan ran his hands down her arms. She shuddered at the finery of the clothing. She’d never bothered to steal something so gorgeous only to ruin it on the streets. It had seemed a waste then but now when she was able to feel the difference in quality for the first time she couldn’t stop thinking about all those days she’d shivered needlessly.
With wide eyes, she looked up. Shelby’s gaze washed over her only for the briefest of seconds before he turned his back and swung his cloak over his own shoulders.
Rehan stepped around her, his sparking gaze filling her vision. A strand of brown hair fell forward on his face. It begged to be tucked behind his ear.
“It looks perfect on you. Stunning really.” He didn’t hide his smile any longer and the joy of it melted Ace’s heart just enough.
He was trying. Rehan had accepted his role in this new life and was making an effort for Ace.
“My mother made this cloak when I was still young.” He pulled the fabric closer around Ace’s torso, trapping her body heat under it. “She’d declared that it was for my future bride and tucked it away to never see the light of day. Until now.”
Ace recognized the shine of a beloved memory in the intensity of Rehan’s gaze. It fueled her impulse as she lifted a trembling hand to his cheek. As if her touch were a kiss, Rehan stilled and his eyes fluttered closed.
A smile tugged at Ace’s lips and she, ever so gently, traced a hand along his cheekbone until her fingers met the unruly strand. His hair was so silky Ace’s fingers slipped right off. Carefully, she tucked it behind his ear. When she’d finally pulled her attention back to his, Rehan was watching her.
“It never stays in place.” His whisper was a heavy rasp between them.
“And neither should we.” Behind Rehan, Shelby leaned against the carriage, hands tucked in his pockets. He glared into the brick of the building closest to them and sighed impatiently.
“Right.” Rehan drew the word out. “Let’s go?” He waited on an answer from Ace, a hand sliding from her arms to the air behind her back as if that were a question of whether or not he could touch her there too.
Ace lifted the hood to hide behind it. Whatever verbal answer she could give was somehow lodged in her throat or caught behind her teeth. So instead, she moved forward, sliding past Shelby. She held his hazel gaze until she passed and could hear the crunch of windblown leaves and small bits of gravel under the men’s boots behind her.
Stepping out of the alley they were greeted by the cold cutting wind that tunneled between the long streets. Ahead, the castle’s towers cast their shade upon the manicured lawns, the long picket fence separating it from the homes with their makeshift store fronts and farther back the fields where cattle grazed the sparse grasses.
In the carriage, Ace had been so preoccupied getting a glimpse at the castle she hadn’t noticed how everything in the town moved away from it. What little traffic was on the streets moved hurriedly in the opposite direction.
Ace, Rehan, and Shelby were able to part the passersby with little effort. Strangers in a small town where everyone knows everyone. Anyone walking near them gave a wide berth. No one else dared to shift toward the castle.
Whispered prayers carried on the wind, caught in Ace’s head no matter how far she stood from someone. Words overlapped words, forcing her to concentrate on one voice at a time. Most prayed to Malek, the god of safety, as they bustled down the streets.
One word stood out more than any.
Fae.
Her brows pinched together. “What is happening?”
Shelby’s hood was down, the warmth of the sun shining down across his angular features. “I can’t read minds but it’s clear these people are spooked about something. Look at them. Each of them looks paranoid.”
He was right. Shifting eyes, hurried steps, weary gazes, and clear avoidance.
“They think the Fae are coming.” Rehan’s eyes were shaded by the top of his hood, they shifted to glance toward Ace. “Some think we are Fae. Others think we are thieves of opportunity.”
“I wonder who has them so nervous about Fae. As far as they know the queens have kept them out of our borders.”
