Chapter 42
Florian
Llyndale was the farthest north that Florian had ever ventured and certainly the coldest place he had ever been.
Having grown up on the Merchant’s Coast, he was accustomed to mild winters tempered by the warm currents of the channel.
Such an upbringing had left him entirely unprepared for the northern temperatures, or the snow.
The sheer volume of it had astounded him.
The last few days of travel had been rather miserable, leaving him to wonder if trekking so far north was a good idea in the first place.
However, the mulled wine in his hand was steadily changing his attitudes.
The dozens of bonfires warding off the winter’s best efforts to freeze them all solid didn’t hurt either.
The morning after Keira’s letter had arrived, Florian had read it over breakfast in the massive dining room at Grimlocke House.
Lilith had been the first to insist that they take her up on the invitation to the Holly Festival.
“It’s the largest Holly Day celebration in the kingdom!
” she’d stressed. She’d never been this far north either and wanted to see the snow and what she began calling a proper Holly Day.
Which was fair given that the Holly Festival in Stormhaven was often a damp and disappointing affair.
Of course, when Lilith pleaded, Rhea soon caved.
And if Rhea went anywhere, Gareth was bound to come along too.
And Florian wanted to see how Keira was doing.
He couldn’t miss his chance to hear firsthand the story of how Caspian was alive after all this time, and a lord at that.
And Knox hadn’t wanted to be left alone.
So they’d all journeyed as far north as the roads would properly allow, arriving just in time for the Holly Festival where there was no sign of Keira whatsoever.
Florian had sent Thaddeus off to find her earlier that day.
But the raven had yet to return. He glanced through the crowded square, the heart of the celebration.
They were surrounded by many market stalls selling festival trinkets and refreshments.
Most in attendance were common folk, though it seemed a few nobles had descended from the keep to enjoy the festivities.
Everyone from pauper to princeling was dressed in their finest. Many wore sprigs or even crowns of holly woven in their hair.
In the center of it all, Florian had contented himself with watching the people coming together for jaunty folk songs only to pair off for lively partnered dances.
He was draining the dregs of his wine when a flash of red caught Florian’s eye.
Not the ripe crimson of the holly berries, but a head of coppery red hair, like that of a fox.
When he caught sight of it again, he could see it was tied in a long, intricate braid.
Her back was to him, but he could make out pale skin, almost white as the snow.
She wore a woolen cloak of dark burgundy that hid her shape, though her frame was tall and narrow.
Florian moved blindly through the crowd, trying to catch a glimpse of her face-
“Florian!” The sound of his name broke his singular focus just as he was about to knock into Lilith’s tiny shape. She scowled up at him as she readjusted the crown of holly and ribbons now askew in her blonde hair.
Rhea was looking at him with brows raised. A flush was showing even through her ebony skinned cheeks hinting that she too had been enjoying the spiced wine. “At least look where you’re going,” she joked.
He had been gawking rather obviously hadn’t he?
“Sorry,” Florian offered, though he was already trying unabashedly to find the red haired woman again in the crowd.
There she was. He could only see part of her figure, she was blocked by a man with a blood red cape and nearly golden blonde hair.
He was clearly wealthy, likely nobility.
They could only be standing a foot apart.
His hand was touching her cheek. Realization struck deeply within him at the intimacy of their touch, heavier than he would have thought.
Something beyond disappointment. Florian turned away entirely.
He wasn’t sure if he could stand to look anymore.
An insane agitation gripped him that he hadn’t even gotten to see her face.
“What in the Fate’s fucking…” Lilith cursed, voice trailing off as they craned to see around him.
“Florian.” Rhea pulled at his arm, angling him back toward his mysterious fox.
But that wasn’t who she wanted him to see.
Florian followed their gaze in the matter of a second.
He was easy enough to spot, a head of brilliant white hair.
A blue cape lined with fur hung from his shoulders, draped over a coat embroidered with holly berries in honor of the day.
But the figure that stole their focus was the woman on his arm.
Everything about her was delicate, graceful, and lovely in a soft and sated sort of way.
She was looking up at Caspian with unflinching attention as he spoke.
“That’s him isn’t it?” Lilith asked, her voice barely below a whisper.
It had to be. How many snowy haired knights ran around Northall?
“In her letter, she said that they were together again, didn’t she?” Rhea asked.
Florian nodded. Yes, that was the strangest bit. Keira had written that they were taking time to get to know one another again, but she’d sounded hopeful. So why in the Fate’s design was he walking arm in arm with a beautiful, and rich, young woman, who was certainly not Keira?
“We’ve got to find her,” Rhea said, seeming to sober almost instantly as she straightened to her full, considerable height. “Something isn’t right.”
“Someone’s got to go and give him a piece of Stormhaven justice is what!” Lilith said.
“We don’t know the whole story,” Florian protested.
“We need to find Keira first.” Even as he spoke, his eyes were following Caspian.
He was going right to the blonde man who had turned.
They spoke only for a moment before Caspian left alone.
The man’s eyes as he left were frozen over with anger.
Florian’s brow furrowed as he puzzled over the exchange.
Absentmindedly, he glanced back to where the red haired woman stood.
His chest stilled as she looked up and he caught the first glimpse of her face.
He saw brown eyes and a sharp little nose.
But what captivated him was the sadness about her that only seemed to grow louder the longer he looked.
And then she was gone.
Here one moment and then vanished.
Gone.
Florian blinked.
“What are you looking at?” Rhea gave him a nudge with her elbow.
He rebalanced himself, shifting his focus back to the matter at hand.
“We need to find Keira!” Lilith said impatiently.
He turned and nodded. Finding her was the first step in untangling this web of intrigue, and finding out who his fox was. Florian pushed the errant thought away, slightly appalled it had even come to him at all.
His mind remained willfully focused on their goal as they returned to the Bear’s Brew Tavern.
They’d purchased the last two rooms likely in the whole town as soon as they’d arrived that morning, putting off a garishly dressed merchant who’d arrived only moments after.
He likely would have caused a scene if Gareth hadn’t stared him down until he looked about ready to be sick.
When the rest of them had left that evening to enjoy the festival, they had left Knox and Gareth behind with enough coin and ale to keep them occupied in their absence.
Rhea decided it would be the best course to go back and retrieve them, rounding out their numbers before they started to search in earnest.
What Florian had not been expecting was to find Keira already there.
He hadn’t seen her at first. The tavern was more crowded than Florian had anticipated, filled to bursting with revelers in various states of inebriation and in some cases undress.
Amidst it all, Keira was tucked away at a small table in the corner with a mug of ale and Knox of all people.
Thaddeus was perched on the back of her chair.
Knox leaned forward, speaking too quietly to be heard through the chaotic atmosphere, and Keira looked up to where they stood by the door.
“Florian,” she said, her posture lifting at the sight of him. Her eyes soon flicked to Rhea and Lilith behind him.
They all took seats until they were positioned shoulder to shoulder at the small table.
“I’ll go and get fresh ales,” Knox mumbled before leaving them, his form quickly absorbed into the fray.
“You got our message, I suppose,” Florian said, glancing up at Thaddeus who ruffled his feathers in a manner that could only be described as imperious, as if insulted that he would impugn his abilities as a messenger.
“I really wasn’t expecting you all to actually make the trip.”
“Lilith wanted to see the snow.” Florian shrugged.
“I suppose it is a change from Stormhaven,” Keira agreed, looking down into her empty mug.
“Enough about the fucking weather!” Lilith burst.
“Keira, what’s going on?” Florian agreed, though his tone was more subdued.
She looked up at them, lips parted but silent.
“Do you mind telling us why Caspian was strutting around the village with princess snowflake?” Lilith pressed, waving dramatically at the door and nearly smacking a passing woman in the shoulder.
Keira paled. “Priscilla,” she said. “He was going to marry her before I came back.”
“And now?” Florian asked, interrupted by the arrival of the ales.
Knox had reappeared with five mugs in hand. He set them down in the center of the table and took a seat silently beside him.
Keira sighed heavily enough that her shoulders sank beneath the weight of it, wrapping her fingers around the new mug, but not taking a drink. “What if he should?” Her words were thick and full of hurt.
Beside him, Knox took a diverting drink.
“What are you talking about?” Rhea asked. “Isn’t this the man you’ve been… mourning since you came to us?”
“Yes, but-”
“But what? What did he do?” Lilith asked with her usual vigor.
“Nothing,” Keira explained, an agitated breath leaving her.
“I’m just- Everything is so different now.
He’s trying to bend his whole life around me, but what if I just don’t fit in it anymore?
What if I’m holding him back?” It seemed as if the ale was the only thing keeping her upright as she looked down at it miserably.
“But you want to stay with him?” Rhea probed.
“I mean, of course I want to be with him, but-”
“And he wants you to stay?” Florian added. “Is he meeting you halfway? Making things easier for you?”
“Yes,” Keira said, getting heated again. “But what if it’s not what’s best for him? What if he’s just holding onto the past and I’m letting him? If I stayed, maybe he’d be happy for a while, but then wake up one day and- What if he resents me?”
“Stop trying to run,” Knox said, his tone mild yet firm. They all looked at him, firstly in surprise that he had anything to say on the matter and then to see if he might add on to the sentiment, but he said nothing more.
“He’s right,” Lilith added finally, “if it’s what you both want. You need to trust his choices.”
“Don’t make yourself miserable because you’re afraid of a good thing,” Rhea agreed.
“Is that what I’m doing?” Keira said, looking at them all with her wide green eyes. “I’m just afraid of losing him again, aren’t I?”
Florian put his arm around her, rubbing her back.
She hung her head, pressing her fingers into her temples. “Fate’s teeth, I’ve been so stupid!” she growled.
“So go and get him!” Lilith exclaimed.
“You’re right.” Keira breathed in deeply. “You’re right,” she repeated, standing and taking a deep drink of her ale. “I’m going to go find him.”
“You might want to find something else to wear,” Florian added before she could roll out of the tavern in a righteous wave.
Keira took in her appearance. Her thick woolen coat and frayed hair, leather pants and worn in boots. She looked more ready to go trapping in the woods than enjoy the festival, especially not on the arm of the hosting lord.
“Right,” she said, reaching the same conclusion. “I can fix that.”