5. Invitation
Chapter 5
Invitation
S tellon
If it was the last thing I ever did, I was going to reunite this woman with that locket.
I’d order some troops to find the band of marketplace thieves. A few minutes with my best men, and they’d cough it up.
If they didn’t have it, my soldiers would turn the Rough Market upside down, searching every rickety booth and tent until the necklace was found.
Then I’d have it delivered to her village—along with a bag of coins my soldiers wouldn’t allow her to refuse. Better yet, I’d deliver it myself to make sure she took it—the least I could do after what she’d done for me.
The young woman turned her back to me and started marching down the lane away from the palace, apparently deciding not to wait for an escort.
“Raewyn, wait.”
Suddenly overcome by a baffling sense of desperation, I grabbed the back of her cloak, stopping her forward motion.
“Give me a few minutes to muster an escort party for you. You can’t walk home alone.”
And I certainly couldn’t escort her myself. It was a miracle I’d made it this far without losing consciousness.
She spun to face me. “Do you really expect me to go off on my merry way with a group of strange Fae men? No thank you. I’ll be fine on my own.”
This woman was so exasperating. Though admirable, her sense of independence was simply foolish in this situation. The open road was hazardous for any lone traveler, especially a female.
Worse, I was absolutely certain she meant to return to the Rough Market.
The band of thieves could still be there—and they would make her pay for not only injuring them but humiliating them as well.
“I’ll send one of my men back to the market to fetch my horse,” I said. “It won’t take long. When he returns with it, I’ll take you home.”
In the meantime, I could be healed so I’d be able to withstand the journey. Riding Malo in this state would be sheer torture.
Raewyn’s jaw unhinged and hung open. “Your horse ? Do you mean to tell me you had transportation, and you let me support your heavy carcass all the way here?”
“I couldn’t have mounted a horse in my condition,” I explained. “Much less ridden him all this way.”
Her fear about my broken ribs wasn’t unfounded. It was nothing our healer couldn’t handle—a few hours from now, every crack and bruise would be repaired. But at the moment I felt as if I might pass out with the next inhale.
“Please take me up on my offer to come inside,” I said. “You can eat something while I’m being healed, and then I can put you on Malo in front of me and get you home much more quickly than you can walk there. Or better yet, we could ride together in a carriage. That’s what my sister prefers.”
If Raewyn didn’t want to ride, I’d at least walk with her and provide safe escort. The Rough Market wasn’t the only place ruffians like the band of thieves hunted for innocents like her.
Just thinking of it had my anger burning again. Why had she been there alone?
I knew her father was disabled, but was there no one else who cared about her welfare? She’d said she was responsible for looking after her younger sisters… but who looked after her ?
Raewyn shot me a look that suggested I was more daft than the court jester.
“You can’t take me home—on horseback, or in a carriage, or astride a dragon . My reputation would never survive the scandal of being seen with you.”
“You humans hate us that much, do you?”
“It’s you who hate us ,” she countered. “Or no… what was it you said? You rarely even think of us. I won’t force you to keep thinking of me for another moment. Now may I leave, or am I to be your prisoner?”
She directed a pointed glance down at my hand, which still clutched her cloak.
“Of course I wouldn’t hold you against your will. I simply want to show you my appreciation.” I gave her a placating smile. “You’re not making it easy.”
My fingers were still curled in the fabric, refusing to obey my mind’s order to release the human girl. I had no idea which village she was from.
Once she walked away and rounded the bend, it was very likely I’d never see her again. That felt oddly wrong.
“You’ve thanked me repeatedly,” she said, clearly annoyed now. “That is enough. As I said, I just did what anyone would do. Now if you’ll please—”
“I know just the thing,” I practically shouted, interrupting her.
Yes , this would be an excellent reward. If she wouldn’t allow an escort, she could at least accept a token of gratitude.
The fact it would ensure that I saw her again was of no consequence.
I motioned to one of the guards. “Bring me a quill and some parchment.”
There was a supply of paper and ink in the guardhouse in case of unexpected visitors. They would write down their names and purpose for visiting the royal city, and a runner would carry the message up to the palace then return with either permission or refusal of entry.
Today I’d be putting the writing materials to a different use.
When the guard returned, I asked him to turn his back and pressed the parchment to it, dipping the quill into the inkpot he held up for me.
At the bottom, instead of signing my name, I scrawled a large S.
Raewyn would no doubt be thrilled to be invited to a royal ball where there’d be unending amounts of food and drink as well as many entertainments. I’d have someone watching out for her arrival that night to make sure she was admitted.
After a few moments, I handed the still-drying document to her.
She read it silently, her eyes moving back and forth and then going wide before she looked up at me.
“You’re inviting me to a ball?”
“Yes. As my guest. You’ll love it. It’s only two weeks away. I promise, it’ll be the best night of your life.”
“But…” She looked down at the paper again then back up at me. “It will be all Fae, won’t it? I wouldn’t feel comfortable attending as a human.”
“You’ll be fine under my protection. And you won’t be the only human. There are plenty of humans in the palace daily,” I argued.
“As servants ,” she said. “No thank you. I wouldn’t have anything to wear to a party like that anyway.”
“I’ll buy you a dress,” I offered, chastising myself for not thinking of this part earlier.
“And new dancing slippers. Whatever you require,” I said. “Tell me where you live, and I’ll have them delivered to your door. Or send a seamstress and cobbler to your home so you can choose the materials and fit yourself.”
Instead of looking grateful, she frowned at me. “You Highborn Fae think you can buy everything and everyone don’t you?”
I opened my mouth to deny it, but now that I thought about it, my family’s wealth did open any door I desired to enter. Usually.
Not this time apparently.
Raewyn folded the paper in half then folded it again.
“As I told you this morning, I don’t need your help.”
She handed me the rejected invitation.
“Or your money, or your gifts. All I need is to be allowed to return home. So if, as you say, you don’t intend to hold me against my will… then please… let me go.”
So this was it. I had no valid reason left to prevent her from leaving.
“Very well.” I exhaled a long breath. “Be safe, Raewyn. And thank you again. I owe you my life.”
“You owe me nothing,” she insisted and turned her back to me, beginning to walk away.
Before she got out of reach, I stretched out my arm and dropped the folded invitation into the hood hanging over her shoulders and back.
It was an impulse, probably pointless, but at least she’d have it in the unlikely event she changed her mind and decided to attend the ball.