Chapter Thirteen #3
Reeve wasn’t wrong. Any time Rhea came to the hall for a meal, both men and women would stop and stare at her. Seeing a fairy was a rare occurrence in the realm and everyone was curious about her, but Rowan had a sneaking suspicion that Reeve was more than curious.
“I can introduce you to her,” Rowan said, taking another bite. The look on Reeve’s face was hilarious. He looked terrified and possibly ready to hurl, neither of which swayed him to stop. Lifting his hand, Rowan called out, “Rhea!”
The fairy had been standing to leave and turned when she heard her name. She walked toward them and Reeve choked on his food, hitting himself in the chest to dislodge it. Rowan suppressed a smile when Reeve glared at him until Rhea reached them. Then Reeve looked up at the fairy and forced a smile.
“Rhea, this is my brother, Reeve,” Rowan said. “I’m sure you heard about what happened at the tournament?”
“I did.” Her fingers fidgeted, as they often did when she was nervous, while she glanced over at Reeve.
“He’s our newest knight. If you ever need assistance, just seek him out. He’d be thrilled to help you.”
“Oh. Alright.” She blinked then gave a nod. “I will remember that.”
She smiled slightly then turned to go. Rowan popped another bite into his mouth as he watched Reeve rub a hand over his face in frustration.
“I can’t believe you told her that,” Reeve grumbled. “Thrilled to help?”
Rowan laughed and dodged the kick Reeve gave him under the table. Having a brother to tease and torment was fun. He was just sorry he’d missed out on getting to do so until now.
~*~
The horses were ready in the morning, before the sun had even cleared the castle walls. Sidonie said her farewells to Bree. Princess Sarita was displeased that Sid was leaving again. She stomped away but Sid suspected it was only so that she didn’t show her tears.
Dagan mounted his horse and waited for Sidonie to climb onto hers, then they set forth toward Sire. It was typically a two-day journey if they stopped to rest, but they rode overnight and made it there by late morning.
The port was busy with people loading and unloading ships that traveled the sea and barges that ran up and down the Cyan River.
They rode up to a tavern within sight of the port and Dagan dismounted.
He was just about to tie the reins to a post when he felt a hand on his shoulder that made his body stiffen.
He turned to see his father standing behind him.
Edmund was wearing a set of dark green wizard robes over his brown pants and tunic.
And he had somehow found time to cut his hair and trim his beard.
He couldn’t have used magic, as Dagan knew, but now he looked much younger and more alive than he did before.
“I’ve chartered a passage to Odustis. We leave now,” Edmund said.
“We can find our own way.”
“Don’t waste time you don’t have, Dagan. Leave your horses here, with Art. He’ll return them to Junacave,” Edmund said, gesturing to a young man who was putting a saddle on a horse nearby.
“Dahlia suggested a man who works in the stables. We planned to bribe him into keeping them for us,” Dagan replied with a frown.
“Do you want to mention her name to a man you don’t know? That doesn’t sound very safe, considering she just escaped this place.”
“He does have a point,” Sidonie said. It earned her a stern look from Dagan, but she knew he agreed in spite of it. “What will we do when we return? How will we get back to Junacave?”
“I’ve already taken care of it,” Edmund replied. He turned and walked toward the docks. Dagan looked at Sid who smiled faintly. Reluctantly, they turned to follow.
Dagan was dumbfounded. How his father had been able to put this plan into action so quickly and thoroughly was beyond his understanding.
But Sid was already unloading the bags and pouches from her horse.
And Edmund was right, to refuse his offer would be a waste of time.
Time was a luxury that they didn’t have.
Edmund greeted a man on the docks when they approached.
The sailor was just as round as he was tall and most of his teeth were crooked, but he offered a smile.
He was standing next to a large wooden ship that was preparing to sail.
Edmund introduced Dagan and Sidonie both as his children and neither of them refuted the claim.
The man, who they later learned was named Vicar, led them down to a small room below deck with four thin wooden beds mounted on the walls. They stashed their belongings in the tiny space then Dagan put a quick spell over the door—just in case—before they returned topside.
Standing at the rear of the ship, they watched the shoreline getting smaller and smaller.
Dagan wanted to reach out and hold Sid’s hand as they enjoyed the view together, but it wouldn’t look appropriate.
She was supposed to be his sister, for the journey at least. He would have to be careful of how he acted around her for the next five days.
It wouldn’t be easy to feign disinterest, especially when a wave crashing against the ship caused her to fall against him. He caught her and looked down to see the tops of her plump breasts, sitting pretty in the top of her gown. He closed his eyes and cursed to himself.
“Oh, hell.”