Chapter 15 #2
“There were,” Kazrian confirmed. His voice sounded remarkably even, which was a considerable achievement given that every nerve in his body was still ringing.
“That would be from the palace gardens earlier this morning. I was visiting Aurelise and Ryden. Cassiel rises at an hour no civilized person should be required to acknowledge—well, all the little ones do. Coralie and Emeric were there too, with their rather beleaguered nurse in tow. And all three of them decided I was something to be climbed on. I believe I was on my hands and knees in the rose garden for most of the visit.”
The flustered look softened into something fond. “And do the three of them play well together? The little cousins?”
“’Play’ is perhaps generous. It is mostly Coralie following Cassiel about and removing things from his mouth, and informing everyone within earshot that he is her little cousin and they are not to forget it.” He paused. “She is extremely firm on this point.”
Lucie pressed her lips together against a smile. “That sounds rather wonderful.”
“It is. Tiring, but wonderful.”
“I should love to witness it,” Lucie said, and something wistful moved through her voice. “Perhaps I shall see them all at the tea house at some point. I am rather looking forward to it. I have not seen Aure—Lady Aurelise,” she corrected quickly, “in some time.”
“Oh, no. They will all be coming to The Honeycomb. You shall see them soon enough.”
Lucie blinked. “To The Honeycomb?”
“Of course. They are most eager. The only reason they have not descended upon the place already is that Grandmother has strictly told them to give you space until after the launch.”
A hint of a flush darkened Lucie’s skin, just across her cheeks. “Oh. That is … that is kind of her.”
They stood there a moment, the flower stall’s roses nodding in the light behind them, a bee tracing a lazy path between the sweet peas.
“Well, ah, Dreamland opens tonight,” Kazrian said, not yet willing to let the conversation end.
“Yes.” Lucie brightened. “Lady Mariselle must be thrilled.”
“She has been talking of little else.”
“Every year I hear such extraordinary things about it.” Something soft and longing touched her face. “I should love to see inside Dreamland one day.”
The words left his mouth before his mind had any say in the matter. “You should come tonight.”
A blink. “What?”
“To Dreamland.”
Lucie stared at him. The warmth in her expression shifted into something careful and uncertain. “Oh, no. I—I cannot. Surely you must realize that I …”
“You?”
“I could not possibly accompany a fae lord to—well, it is simply not done.”
“Oh, no. No, of course not.” The words tumbled out. “I did not mean it that way. Not that you would come with me. That is—I was not suggesting—” He was making this worse. “It was more … ah … that if you wish to experience it, then you should.”
His gaze darted about the lane as though a solution might be lurking behind one of the stalls. “Oh.” His gaze shot back to her. “Rosavyn.”
“Rosavyn?”
“The two of you are still friendly, are you not? Through your sister Charlotte.”
“Well … yes.”
“So you would not be with me.” He felt his face warming. “Well, not only me. Not—not alone with me, which would be entirely—I would never—” He stopped. Closed his eyes for a moment. Drew a breath.
Start again, Kazrian.
“There would be nothing improper at all,” he said, slower now, “about visiting Dreamland with your friend Rosavyn. And Rosavyn will of course invite her good friend Charlotte. So you would be there with Charlotte and her husband and Rosavyn, and if you would prefer not to see me at all, then I shall stay far away from—”
“Oh, no, it is not that. I did not mean that I do not want to see you.” Lucie’s hands moved to the handle of her basket, gripping it. “I should very much like to go. However …” She hesitated. “There is one other … complication.”
“Complication?”
“Dreamland is …” She trailed off. Her gaze dropped briefly to her basket and then returned to him, and he saw in her expression that she was trying to communicate something without saying it aloud.
Something he was clearly failing to understand.
“Well, ah, most human families are not in the position to …”
It took him another moment. Then understanding struck him, and he felt like an absolute fool.
Of course. Dreamland was not a public garden or a morning promenade.
It was an exclusive, ticketed event, priced for the sort of purse that did not need to think twice.
For Lucie and her family, it was likely an extravagance they would never even contemplate.
“Oh! No. Of course. Forgive me, I should have—that is not a concern. The advantages of being related to the founders. Complimentary admission.”
Lucie ducked her head, her gaze on the basket again. “I, however, am not related to the founders of Dreamland.”
“But your good friend Rosavyn is. How remarkably convenient is that?”
She studied him for a moment. “Rosavyn does not even know of the existence of this idea.”
“Rosavyn will embrace this idea with considerable enthusiasm. That I can guarantee.”
“You cannot simply decide on your sister’s behalf—”
“I can, in fact. I know her well, and I am exceedingly confident in this prediction.”
The corner of Lucie’s mouth twitched. She pressed her lips together as though to prevent the smile from forming, but it was too late. He had seen it.
“It would …” She hesitated, glancing down and then back up. “It would truly not be an imposition? On your family, I mean?”
“Lucie.” He said her name without thinking, and once it was out, he decided not to correct himself. “Evryn and Mariselle would be delighted. And there is no one in all of Bloomhaven who would enjoy showing you and Charlotte through Dreamland more than Rosavyn.”
The smile finally won, and it made Kazrian’s chest ache in a way that was entirely unhelpful. “Well,” she said. “If Rosavyn truly would not mind …”
“She will not mind at all. And if I am wrong, you have my full permission to blame me entirely.”
Lucie laughed and shook her head. “Very well, then. Yes. I should … I should very much like that.”
“Excellent,” he said. “Then I shall speak to Rosavyn this afternoon, and she’ll send a messenger pixie with all the details.” He paused. “You will enjoy it, I promise.”
“I believe I will.”
They stood for a moment in the gap between the stalls, and Kazrian was suddenly aware that neither of them had moved to leave. Lucie appeared to realize this at the same instant, because she adjusted her basket against her hip and straightened.
“Well. I ought to find that piping nozzle.”
“And I should—” He gestured vaguely with the bag. “Components.”
“Yes.” A pause. “Thank you, Kazrian. For the … for all of that.”
“Of course.”
She moved past him and into the crowd, her basket on her arm, and Kazrian watched her go until she paused at a stall and leaned in to examine something.
He turned and walked the other way. The bag knocked gently against his hip as he moved through the market, and he felt, for the first time since arriving in Bloomhaven, that he was truly looking forward to the evening ahead.