CHAPTER III #9
Was it to make me aware that the two royals were inquiring into me and my travels?
Holis already suspected, as did I. Though why they would be so interested in our work for the King is what confuses me the most. I’m sure their father employees hundreds of men and women for various lines of work, so why be curious now?
Our group has been traveling into the Court of Warriors for months now and has never caught their attention before.
I couldn’t bring myself to ask Golem the questions outright, just stayed up tossing in bed until the early morning settled in.
My mind was littered with too many thoughts when Alanna finally entered our room, so I waited for her breathing to steady and threw my traveling bag over my shoulder before rushing out.
The need to get out of my head was pressing, but there was still some time to kill until Cal and I would meet by the clearing at the lake.
I knew I had to do something. Move. Anything.
So I settled on taking Millie for a ride, hoping that the calm ambience of Agnor would lend me and my thoughts some of its relaxation.
“I’ll take Millie at a walk through the city if you want to stay beside us,” I tell Golem when we reach the inn’s stables, “but I plan on riding her along the lakeshore once we get there.”
Golem looks at me in concern, his nod telling me he doesn’t plan on leaving my side. I give him a small smile and walk inside Millie’s stall, watching as he takes a few steps away from my gentle horse to put some distance between us and him.
“You’re going to have to get used to her soon, Golem,” I shake my head.
I hear, rather than see, the rustling of his robe behind me, almost as if he’s attempting to close the space.
“After my ride we’ll meet Cal for the normal morning routine,” I tell him as I secure Millie’s saddle, “I can let you out again then.”
I give my mare a solid pat on the rear and look back at the magical creature, but all that greets me his absence and the empty stables. Golem’s jar vibrates against my hip instead, the greeting catching me by surprise and making me look down at my bag in confusion.
“Why are you inside your home? I thought you were okay walking next to us for the first bit?”
“Do you often talk to yourself, Lady?” an amused voice greets the quiet stables, “or are you just overly friendly with your horse?”
My shoulders straighten at the sound, body tensing at the familiarity.
Prince Keane stops behind Millie’s stall door, his hand holding the reins to a large black steed that’s also saddled for riding.
He’s wearing a rich, satin black shirt that has its long sleeves pushed up to his elbows, his brown eyes dancing across my face with the same amusement I just heard in his voice.
Ancients, he’s fucking devastating.
His features are sharp and angled, made sensual by his full set of red lips and the small playfulness hiding behind his eyes.
Those lips are curved just slightly into a smirk, the gesture almost similar to Troy’s but not quite the same at all.
Where his younger brother has a cold sort of beauty and uses his smirk for arrogance, Keane’s is a mixture of proud and playful beauty, his smirk given in genuine delight while he awaits my answer.
It’s his eyes.
It’s his eyes that make the smirk so welcoming. While not the same color as his father’s, they have the same level kindness resting behind them.
“Just overly friendly, Your Highness,” I reply with a low bow. There’s no point hiding that I know who he is. The Bardots are easily recognizable throughout the whole Kingdom.
I turn my back slowly to the Prince and grab Millie’s reins, not hearing any indication that he’s satisfied with my greeting or that he’s moving along. I sigh when I feel his eyes lingering on my shoulders, hating that custom dictates I’ll have to invite him in my ride.
Please decline. I came out here to clear my head, not to spend more time with you in it.
I turn to greet the proud Discerni royal and meet his gaze with a sweet smile.
“I’m taking a ride down to the lake, Your Highness. Would you care to join?”
The Prince’s brown eyes dart over my face in silent laughter, everything about him seeing through my faux friendliness.
“I would like nothing more,” he grins.
I hide my next sigh and urge Millie behind the Prince as he starts to walk away. The cool morning air greets us the moment we step outside, the moons barely lending their light over the city as they make their final descent down the horizon.
“I’ll follow your lead,” the Prince nods, hoisting himself into his saddle.
I quickly do the same and bring my hand to my bicep in habit.
“What’s your name, human?”
He doesn’t say the last word in the familiar distaste as other Discerni do, as Alanna so often does, but instead just simply and straightforward.
“Alexis,” I reply as he brings his horse to Millie’s side.
His eyes roam over me in quiet assessment. “And how old are you, Lady Alexis?”
“Twenty-five, Your Highness.”
“So not a girl, then,” he replies after a small pause.
I have no answer to that.
“You’re currently employed by my father…” he continues as we set off in our walk.
I look at him in curiosity.
Seems we’re both not hiding that we know who the other is.
“And you now ride with my brother?”
“I do,” I reply, thumbing the new ring I bought.
Keane’s eyes narrow on my finger playing with the fluorite, his stoic Discerni features giving nothing away.
“We were told we’d be connecting with you in Dalloway, not Agnor, Your Highness.”
“Indeed,” he replies, “but I found myself in meetings across the bridges and decided to stay here for the night.”
I know exactly what kind of meetings he’s referencing and offer no reply in return. Instead I urge Millie through the city at a slow pace, the calm of the roads extremely quiet in this early morning.
“Do you often take rides before dawn?” the Prince asks curiously.
I hate the question. Hate that he’s making inquiries into me right now just as he told Desmond and Alanna he would. It may be that I’m asking for trouble or just looking to confuse him out of spite, but I decide to lie to him just because I can.
“No, Your Highness,” I shake my head, “this is very out of character for me. I often sleep in long past the sun’s rise.”
The Prince’s brown eyes lock on to mine in an instant, his gaze turning hard and cool. I give him another sweet smile and lead Millie down a side path, silently applauding myself and hoping he takes that false information back to his brother.
“And do you often take rides with humans?” I ask after a brief silence.
“Quite often…” he nods in response.
Hmm, well that’s a surprise.
Does the Prince share his love for human culture as his father does?
“We cross the bridges today and travel within the Court of Warriors,” he looks my way, “have you ever visited the lands within my Court?”
“I have,” I nod, moving Millie towards another small path as the lake comes into view, “mainly the southern portions. Dalloway, Varon and Dardar.”
Keane lifts a brow in my direction, “you’ve traveled as far south as Dardar?”
I smile, remembering the southern city that borders the Barren Flats much like the Palisades does.
“As south as Dardar,” I confirm, “visited that city for nearly two months.”
That was one of the longest stays I’ve ever had in a mystical library, rivaling only my stay in Auclair.
“Any of the northern lands?”
I shake my head.
“Not even Gaumond?” he looks at me curiously.
“Haven’t had the pleasure...”
The Prince goes silent for the briefest of moments before leaning over his saddle in amusement.
“Is that disdain I hear in your voice, Lady Alexis?”
“Not disdain,” I turn and match his gaze again, “just a bit of disinterest.”
Another lie, as I’ve wanted to visit the Black Capitol for a while now.
“We’ll have to find something to fulfill your interest in Gaumond then,” a smile curves on the Prince’s lips, “I’ll personally make sure to it that the Black Capitol captures your attention, Lady Alexis.”
“Oh you will, huh?”
“I will,” he states, as if in challenge.
I stare into his brown eyes before flicking my gaze down his chest,
issuing my own.
“Do the men in Gaumond wear shirts as their everyday attire?”
“Yes, of course,” he looks back at me with mild confusion, “why do you ask?”
I let my gaze linger on his broad muscles for a second longer than proper, then look away in feigned disinterest.
“Because I’m sure I won’t find your Court as interesting as Pyre.”
The Prince goes absolutely silent, his brown eyes dancing across the side of my face in quiet amusement as if he can’t believe my words. I watch as his lips tip up in another genuine grin from the corner of my eyes, then hear as he starts chuckling in obvious approval.
“I think I’m going to enjoy our little trip together, Lady Alexis.”
I roll my eyes at the statement and lead Millie straight to the lakeshore. She stops just shy of the water and lets me swing my leg over-
-Wait…
My full body stills once I hit the ground.
I just rolled my eyes at the Prince of Disce.
I carefully watch as the Prince dismounts next to Millie, glad to see he still has a small grin playing across his lips. His eyes are crinkled a bit at the corners as he joins me next to the water, his gaze finding mine for a quick moment before he looks out towards the lake.
“You show much more emotion than I’m accustomed to for a Discerni,” I note.
I watch him consider the comment for a moment before nodding in agreement. “You’ll soon find that most of the Discerni living in the Court of Warriors do.”
“Prince Desmond doesn’t as much,” I think aloud.
“My brother has one foot in both Courts,” Keane nods again, “and while his heart chose Warrior, a strong part of him still resides within Knowledge.”
That’s… interesting.