Chapter 13
Aliya
The sun had long since set when Zadé approached.
Aliya stepped out from behind the mound of horse feed.
She wiped any residual tear tracks from her cheeks.
After seeing Tsara and Elessan kissing in the hall earlier that day, she hadn’t been able to focus on anything, much less face him and invite him to accompany them.
She’d stayed in her room until Shadow had arrived to exchange places with her.
Then, with nothing else to distract herself, Aliya had gone to the stables to wait for Zadé.
Three hours early.
It had been a mistake. Sitting alone with nothing but the image of Elessan’s lips locked with Tsara’s shredded her insides into a pulpy, blubbery mess.
Zadé’s forehead puckered. “Princess? What’s wrong? Ya been cryin’?”
Aliya sniffled, shaking her head, then paused. What was the point in lying? Zadé already knew she had been. Maybe the other woman could help talk her off the proverbial cliff.
She took a deep breath as they ducked inside the barn and headed to the two saddled horses. “I was looking for El this afternoon, to let him know we were leaving, and to see if he wanted to come with us.”
Zadé raised an eyebrow as she studied Aliya, absentmindedly tucking her supplies into the various saddle bags. “Uh, huh. And?”
Aliya swallowed. “Princess Tsara had her tongue so far down his throat I couldn’t tell where she ended and he began.”
“What?” Zadé’s cry echoed off the walls.
“Shhh!” Aliya hissed, a single finger pressed to her lips. “Quiet, or you’ll have the whole castle coming for our heads!”
Zadé stared at her, frozen, her jaw loose. “Elsan and Tsara?” She wrinkled her nose in the same way Shadow had the one time Aliya accidentally served her sour milk. “That doesn’t make sense. Yeh sure yeh saw whatcha think yeh did?”
Aliya pushed her palms into her eyes, as if applying pressure would change what she’d seen. “Trust me, it’s seared into my brain.”
“Hmmm.” Zadé’s mouth pursed into a thin line. “Yeh know whatcha should’a done, Princess?”
Aliya turned away, shoving her extra set of clothes into her saddlebag with more force than necessary. “What?”
“Taken’ my punching lessons ta heart ‘n punched Tsara in the face fer stealin’ yer man!”
Biting back a harsh laugh, Aliya sighed.
She wished, but that was too far out of character, despite the gratification it would’ve brought.
“Tempting, but I can’t afford to pick a fight with my highest-ranking elven ally.
Not this early in the game.” And if her recognizing that instead of immediately acting on her emotional response wasn’t a sign of her maturing into the crown, what was?
The bread and cheese she’d filched from the kitchen followed her clothing in the saddlebag.
She ground her teeth until the tendons in her jaw popped.
“And honestly, she can have him.” If he was so casual about who he was with, she was lucky she’d found out now, before she was in too deep.
She winced, resting her forehead against the cool leather of the saddle.
Who was she kidding? She’d fallen for Elessan well before they’d even kissed for the first time.
Pressing the palm of her hand into her sternum, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Like a naive fool, she’d opened her heart and let him in, and now she was paying the price for trusting the wrong people.
“Hey, Princess.” The comforting weight of Zadé’s hand settled on her shoulder. “Elsan’s a standup guy. I’m sure there’s an ‘xplanation.” She gave Aliya a gentle squeeze. “Elsan’s one o’ the good ones, and the sun elf royals aren’t easy ta say no to when they want somethin’.”
Aliya lifted her head to meet the other woman’s eyes.
“Cheatin’ on yeh doesn’t seem like him, does it?”
Sniffling, Aliya shook her head. Everything El had ever done pointed to him loving her, completely and exclusively. Until now, his eyes had never wandered. Reluctantly, she whispered, “No.”
“People don’t usually do things outside o’ their personality, right?”
“Okay.” As much as she hated to admit it, Zadé had a point. “But then—”
“So,” Zadé interrupted, “We need ta think o’ a motivation or a reason fer Elsan ta do whatcha saw him doin’.” She blinked, her gaze burrowing into Aliya’s. “Could he be protectin’ someone? Or tryin’ ta prevent somethin’?”
Chewing her inner lip, Aliya let her vision unfocus as she contemplated the possibilities.
“Hmm. I suppose I could see him protecting me, or his mother. But Tsara wouldn’t blackmail me.
” Aliya and the elven princess might not be best friends, but their contract negotiations had been cordial, and there had been mutual respect.
Something flashed in Zadé’s eyes, gone too fast for Aliya to interpret it. “Do yeh think Tsara’d threaten Elsan’s mom?”
Elessan did. He’d mentioned it a couple of times in their travels.
It was why he’d agreed to spy on her kingdom, to guarantee his mother a place among the sun elves.
“I suppose you’re right. I should give him the benefit of the doubt.
” She brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face.
“At least, until we have a chance to talk about it.” But she was in no mental state to do so now.
Meeting her gaze, Zadé gave her a ghost of a smile. “Let’s take a few days n’ letcha calm down. When we come back, we can chat with Elsan. Together, if’n yeh want.”
Aliya swallowed, nodding. Yes. Taking some time to sort her emotions would make it easier to face him. She did want to confront him before he took Tsara and left to go back to the home he missed so much.
But, if warranted, letting him go was going to be just as hard in the future as it was today.
A sour taste pooled in the back of her throat. And with Elessan gone, she’d lose her excuse to avoid selecting an acceptable suitor.
She shoved the thought to the back of her mind. That was a problem for another day.
Hauling herself into the saddle, she turned to Zadé. “Can we talk about something else?” Anything other than Elessan, or her own too-soft heart.
Zadé chewed the inside of her cheek as she studied Aliya. “Sure, Princess.” Something akin to mischief sparkled in her eyes as one side of her mouth curled into a wicked smile. “Yeh didn’t tell him yeh were leavin’, didja?”
Aliya shook her head, studying the reins she held in a white-knuckled grip.
Zadé tapped her horse with both heels and clicked her tongue. They moved forward. “Well, then, this should be interestin’.” She offered her flask, wiggling it in Aliya’s direction. “Need a drink?”
Aliya patted her own canteen tied to her belt. “No, thank you. I’ve got my own.” The last thing she needed was an upset stomach after imbibing whatever alcohol Zadé managed to get her hands on. Aliya raised her eyebrow. “Assuming, of course, there’s something stronger than water in there?”
Zadé flashed her a wicked grin, mischief glittering in her eyes. “It’s the good stuff. C’mon, Princess. No worthwhile story ever started with drinking water.”
In spite of herself, Aliya shook her head and chuckled. She reached for the proffered flask. “Well, when you put it that way, why not?”
They made it out of the castle without any problems. Likely courtesy of the oversized hood she kept up to hide her identity, and the fact that it was the middle of the night.
Aliya would’ve been more upset her guards were so lax if it hadn’t been to her advantage.
But her head was pleasantly light due to Zadé’s whiskey, so she let their dereliction of duties slide this time.
As the city lights faded behind them, Aliya glanced overhead.
Ripping her gaze back to the darkened road at her feet, she shook her head.
That had been a bad idea—the star-studded night sky reminded her of Elessan’s skin during the full moon, and the last thing she needed was yet another reason for her brain to obsess over him.
“Do you know where we’re going?” she asked.
Zadé peered over her shoulder, frowning as she met Aliya’s eyes. “Sure. Brisimin is ta th’ north. So… we go that-a-way.” She pointed.
“Are you certain?” Aliya asked, swallowing past her dry throat. “There’s a lot of ground to cover to the north.”
Zadé shrugged. “This road’ll get us there. Don’tcha worry, Princess. I has this all planned out.”
Thank the mages, because Aliya had no clue what she was doing.
Hopefully, going on this little jaunt with Zadé and leaving her aunt in charge didn’t end up being a mistake.
Though, after the Elessan development, a few days away from the palace was exactly what her heart needed, because Zadé was right.
Elessan deserved the same second chance as the rest of her nobles.
Silence stretched between them as the eastern horizon lightened. The trail became more visible beneath their horses’ feet.
Zadé threw her a mischievous glance. “Wanna race to th’ top o’ the next hill?” Without waiting for Aliya’s response, Zadé flicked her reins with a whoop, urging her steed into a canter.
“Hey, no fair!” Aliya pressed her heels into her horse’s ribs, taking off after her.