CHAPTER IV #3
Marybeth smiles and turns to the barrels behind her to get started on the drinks.
“Remember that face, human,” Alanna murmurs, glancing at the Prince who is only a few steps away, “it’s not one you want to see often.”
“He looks calm,” I shrug, taking a large drink from my mug and willing it to still my wild heart, “a bit cool, but calm.”
“Exactly,” Alanna whispers, “that one.”
She swiftly moves past my side and greets the Prince with a smile,
everything about her aiming for casual indifference.
“You found us!”
Keane’s brown eyes turn sharp, no hint of playfulness or kindness resting behind them as he stares between me and Alanna. I ignore his glare and pick up one of the toddies Marybeth left on the counter, stepping past him as I extend it to Cal.
“You need to try this.”
My friend shakes his head with the tiniest of smiles. I know he wants to follow the Prince’s lead of being upset, but I urge the glass into his hands anyways with a grin.
“Down it straight.”
Cal shakes his head again before taking in the pub around him. He shrugs once, losing himself to the lively atmosphere of the room, and tosses the toddy back with his own grin.
Marybeth’s loud laughter can be heard from behind the countertop.
“You and your Knowledge girl downing toddy like there’s no tomorrow morning! I better not find you two passed out behind my tavern later!”
I grin foolishly at Cal who looks properly confused.
“Was I not supposed to?” he asks.
Marybeth pushes an ale towards him with another chuckle, her friendly eyes glancing to me with a nod of approval. “She did.”
Cal’s own booming laughter fills the pub as he slings an arm around my shoulder. “My girl! Seems I taught you well, Alex!”
I laugh with him and clink our mugs together.
“But the Prince is still mad…” he leans in close, arm tightening
around my shoulder, “and we’re still meeting up tomorrow morning.”
I nod at my friend with a sigh. Time to make amends.
The apology I craft in my head is quickly disbanded when I glance over to Prince Keane. He’s no longer standing next to the three of us but sitting on a stool in front of the countertop, his full demeanor casual as a dark brunette Discerni sits on his lap.
Ancients, he moves fast.
“Or not?” I turn back to Cal, lifting my brows in the direction of the Prince.
He follows my gaze and lifts his own brows in surprise. “I guess we’re good, then.”
We both grin and take a hefty drink, Cal running his hand through his auburn hair as he looks between Alanna and me.
“But why in the Ancients didn’t you two say anything?” he asks, “you know I would have joined you.”
The Prince turns his brown gaze to us, expecting an answer as well.
“Ask her,” Alanna replies, hitching a thumb, “I just tagged along for the ride.”
Cal sighs even as his eyes twinkle in affection. “I know you like exploring, Alex, but I’m not sure Gaumond is the right place for that just yet.”
“It’s a pub, Cal,” I roll my eyes, “what kind of trouble do you think I’m going to get into?”
The Prince leans forward and whispers something into the Discerni woman’s ear that none of us can hear.
She laughs and nods at his words, throwing a hand behind his head as she skims her fingers through his brown locks.
I quickly avert my gaze when she starts moving on his lap, her sensual lips tipped up in a smile when Keane leans forward to whisper something else.
I glance at Alanna, wondering if the interaction bothers her at all, but she’s already back in a flirty conversation with the soldier from earlier who’s decided to reappear.
“Wait,” I look around in realization, “where did Desmond go?”
“Away from the crowd,” the Prince replies, moving his hand down the girl’s thigh. I want to ask him why his brother doesn’t feel comfortable in this crowd, but his fingers trailing back up the girl’s thigh to the side of her ass catches my attention instead.
Keane notices my gaze and smiles quietly, his fingers brushing against the edge of her short dress as I continue to watch on. He tugs at the fabric and moves it to the side, the woman parting her legs just slightly as his hand disappears underneath.
“And Holis and Mana?” I flush, quickly turning back to Cal.
“They’re to be settled in for the night up at the castle,” he takes a large drink, “Claymore will show them around.”
I nod and watch him look around to all the pipes in the room. Cal turns to the Prince and juts his chin to the heavy cloud of smoke that surrounds us, his grin only growing with every puff that lands closer to him.
“What do you all smoke up here?”
“Shisha from the forests surrounding Varon,” Keane replies, lips brushing against the girl’s shoulder.
“I’m familiar with it,” Cal grins.
As am I.
The few Discerni at Varon’s library we’re smoking it in the various rooms when I roamed the halls. I distinctly remember thinking that one wrong tilt of the pipe would end with the whole building going up in flames.
“We can share a pipe,” the Prince offers, hand disappearing farther up the brunette’s dress. I take a drink and notice the outline of his fingers skimming across her hips, her dress dangerously riding up as he pulls her closer into his lap.
Dear fucking Ancients, I need somewhere else to look.
“I’d like that,” Cal gives the Prince a beaming smile, hand running through his beard with a nod.
And he would.
Cal loves the smoke and collects pipes and tobacco throughout our travels. He’s an old soul who often smokes long into our nights without saying a word, always content to just rest on top of his bedroll and look up at the stars.
I’ve been waiting for him to get comfortable enough on this trip to finally indulge- it’s been weird not smelling the tobacco on his clothes.
“You miss it,” he grins, gently pushing his shoulder against mine.
I must’ve been staring at my friend for a while because he gives me a knowing look.
“I do,” I smile and rest my head on his arm, feeling the Prince’s gaze on me.
On us.
I look anywhere else in the room then at him and the girl on his lap, and let my eyes roam to Alanna again. She’s still flirting with the blonde Discerni from earlier, the two of them enjoying whatever it is that they’re chatting about as I watch his hip lean into hers.
Hmm…
The soldier is wearing a broadsword at his side, the same that Desmond has been wearing throughout this trip. Mana has his kedge and Holis has his bow and various arrows affixed to his saddle, while Cal… well Cal has his fists and the daggers he’s hidden strategically throughout his body.
I even remember seeing both Barnes and Claymore with similar swords at their hips and can vaguely recall Alanna sharpening a few arrows before I fell asleep at our campsite in the Green Valley. So that just leaves the Prince, a man without any apparent weapons on his body since I met him.
What does he use to defend himself?
My gaze reluctantly falls back on the handsome Discerni, watching as his lips dip towards the Discerni woman’s neck again.
I don’t know if he feels me looking his way but his head immediately tilts in my direction, the smirk he sends as he removes his hand from under her dress making me flush all over again.
“You look like you have a question, Lady Alexis.”
Keane’s eyes hold mine in amusement, his hand now skimming up the side of her waist to her breasts. I subtly shift on my feet and nod into my drink, desperately willing the heated tug between my thighs to go away.
Ancients.
“I was just wondering,” I do my best to settle my features, “what your preferred weapon of choice is, Your Highness?”
Whatever question he thought I was going to ask, that was not it.
His hand stops just below the curve of her breast, while the woman tilts her head to look at me with a laugh.
“You’re funny.”
I frown and look back at Keane. The Prince offers no answer except the sight of his fingers resuming their travel up the girl’s body. He watches as I follow his hand to the high arch of her neck, his fingers grabbing a small fistful of her hair before he tugs down.
“Perhaps I prefer my soft hands, Alexis.”
Bastard.
I need to look away.
Thank the Ancients that Marybeth has just sent over one of her barmen with a pipe for Cal, because the two of us now have a reason to move to a table a bit farther away from the others.
“Why did that woman laugh at me when I asked about the Prince’s weapon?” I ask my friend quietly.
Cal takes a matchbook from his pocket and strikes it against the table.
“He’s the Leading Lord of the Court of Warriors, Alex. First in Command of Disce’s army. You don’t get that title by not being powerful in your own right.”
He places the flame over the pipe and inhales deeply. “I’m sure he uses some sort of weapon in addition to his summoning, but if he’s not going to share, he’s not going to share. Even a Prince can have his secrets, too.”
Cal offers me the pipe but I quickly shake my head. He raises a brow in question, surprised at my refusal, then shrugs all the same and takes another puff of the tobacco I so desperately want to join in.
I yearn to feel the burn in my lungs and the general happiness I always get when smoking at my friend’s side, but I can’t tell him that my body is already feeling heavier from the toddy and watching the Prince’s hands move all over the Discerni woman.
Adding smoke to the mix will only amplify the heady feeling.
Cal offers the pipe once more, frowning in confusion when I politely decline for a second time.
He stands up from the table with another shrug and walks to the Prince, handing him the pipe instead.
Keane nods in thanks and says something that gets Cal laughing, his hands finally leaving the girl’s side as he takes the shisha and inhales deeply.
“Could really use your presence right now, Golem,” I pat my bag
and take a hefty drink of ale, “or that man with the pretty hazel eyes. He’d be a good distraction.”
Golem’s jar vibrates under my palm as I look around the room. I