Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ASHLYN
Iwould never get used to riding for so long. Nor would I get used to Fyn observing me as if I might break.
For all we knew, I still could.
An unsteady warmth remained long after I stole from the stars. When it started to settle, exhaustion only gripped me harder until I saw the palace.
Twin spires were tipped with gilded iron.
Orange and violet surrounded it as the last of the sun’s light leaked over the mountains.
I had heard so much about the mountain range from father’s emissaries when they visited Estlen long ago. Their words paled in comparison to the magnificence they held.
Each village and trade outpost we passed through, I was recognized with human eyes. My title had weight here. Who I was mattered.
It didn’t feel anything like home, but maybe it could be.
Fyn brought his horse alongside mine as my eyelids grew heavy. “Your Highness, do you need to rest?”
He had addressed me as nothing else all day until I realized I’d rather him call me moonflower—or any other ridiculous name he wanted to call me. I doubted I would hear any of them again.
“I feel perfectly fine,” I muttered. “You don’t have to call me that every time you speak to me.”
“I am simply trying to fit in.” Fyn took a sip of water from his flask.
He towered over me and the human men that escorted us. The points of his ears poked out between his windblown hair. “I’m pretty sure there is nothing you can do to fit in.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I’d be slightly concerned if you didn’t.” I gripped Ivy’s reins tighter in my palms.
“Humans stare a lot.”
“I certainly wouldn’t know how that feels.” I tossed my braid over my shoulder.
“No one stared at you in the Heart,” he said.
“Maybe you just didn’t notice it.” They always stared at me everywhere I went.
“Even if they did, how is it any different from being here? No one seems to take their eyes off you.”
I fought the smile that climbed across my lips.
He steadied his mare’s even pace beside mine.
The palace’s marble walls were etched with a scroll design. The ironwork door was illuminated with the candlelit halls from within.
Fyn helped me lower from the saddle. “Do you not find it odd that he isn’t here to greet you?”
“I’m grateful he isn’t.” I was a mess from the road. I smelled like it too.
Lord Remus stepped in front of me. Gesturing a lady’s maid that stood near the castle doors forward. “The princess is ready to be shown her chambers.”
She curtsied before me.
“Lord Fyn, you and your men will be shown yours in our guest wing,” Lord Remus said.
Fyn looked past me to the castle door. “I will require chambers close to the princess.”
The human lord crossed his arms. “My lord, I don’t know how things are done in Nythrel, but there are certain expectations here. A member of a royal family—”
“I am not asking to stay in her room. Just within the same hall.” Fyn’s eyes caught on mine.
“I can seek permission for such arrangements to be made, but they may not happen tonight,” the lord said.
Fyn towered over him. “I am under King Lioran’s orders to be her personal protection. It was outlined in our correspondence.” Fyn’s hand fell between me and Lord Remus. “Wherever she goes, I do too. It will not wait until tomorrow.”
There was an intensity in his glare.
Lord Remus turned to the lady’s maid. “Prepare the chambers beside the Princess for Lord Fyn.”
“It will take us some time as the room wasn’t readied for you, my lord.” The lady’s maid bowed her head to Fyn.
“Whatever state it is in is acceptable,” Fyn said. “I require little.”
Reluctantly, the arrangements were made. Fyn would remain entirely too close to me.
A lady’s maid awoke me early in the morning. I jolted in bed when she pulled the curtains back.
“My apologies, Your Highness. I didn’t mean to startle you.
” Her voice was so meek it barely carried through the room.
Light washed over her curly brown hair, causing it to glimmer.
“I am Eva. I’ll be attending to you while you’re here.
The royal family is most eager to meet you this morning, Princess Ashlyn. ”
“This morning?” Of course, they would. They weren’t going to wait on me to feel like I was up for it. If they did, I’d probably remain in this room for a fortnight longer.
“My gown is in the bag.” I pointed to it. It was probably a mess. I should have laid it out when we arrived.
Her eyes widened as she looked at my bag that still lay on top of a side table. “Dresses were brought in for you. In various sizes, we weren’t really sure how tall you’d be.”
“Luckily, I’m a very standard-sized human.” I slipped out of the bed.
“Yes, quite.” She pulled the cabinet back. “You shall have whatever you require for your stay. The prince wishes for you to feel at home here.”
I ran my hands over the black velvet sofa in the corner of the room, trailing the gilded edges. “That is most thoughtful.” I would have to retrain myself to say the right things.
“Which colors do you wish to wear? Do you have a preference?” She pinched the edges of a pink gown. “Rose or indigo, perhaps?”
“Whatever fits,” I said.
“The rose would look lovely on you with your golden hair.”
I tugged at the edges of my waves. Maybe the stories about the gorgeous hair colors were a myth. The lady’s maid’s hair wasn’t enhanced.
The dress was snugger than any I wore in Lythira. Delicate pearls and golden threads framed the neckline that dipped at the center of my chest. The bodice bore the same detail.
I sucked in a forceful breath when she pulled the ribbons tightly.
She tossed her fingers through my unkempt locks. “Many ladies wear their hair down. It is the fashion of the court for most occasions. For the feast this evening, we will style it differently.” She twisted the sides back, tucking a delicate pin into it. “Will that do for you?”
“I bet they brush it too,” I said, wishing I had stuck a comb through it after last night’s bath.
She stared at me, her brows knitting. “Have I done something to offend you, Your Highness? I’m sorry if I have.”
I would easily offend someone because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
This wasn’t the fae realm. I couldn’t say whatever I pleased. I had to be what they expected of me.
I would try to remember it. “Not at all. I just say what I’m thinking sometimes. I apologize if I was making you uncomfortable.”
“Not at all, Your Highness.” Her expression hadn’t changed. “You look lovely.”
The sight of the stranger in the mirror startled me. It had only been months since my world tilted, but somehow it felt like a lifetime.
“Are you ready?” She asked.
I didn’t think I’d ever be.
The glittering rose fabric trailed behind me as I stepped out into the hall.
Fyn leaned against the grey stone wall in a freshly pressed tunic, just as he wore around the castle in Lythira.
He lowered into a grand bow. His eyes only had a hint of a glimmer when he rose. “Did you rest well, Your Highness?”
“Extremely.” The bed was heavenly after every temporary lodging along the way. “And you, my lord?”
“It was a bed.” Fyn studied my gown. “Are you ready?”
“Do I not look it?” I asked.
He coughed, his voice cracking with his next words. “You look very royal.”
My glare eased when Lord Remus’s boots echoed down the hall. I pressed my hands down the fabric of the back of my gown so no one could see them quake.