Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
As we stepped out into the morning light, I tipped my face up to the sun and sucked in a deep, refreshing breath. It was nice to be outside, even if we were still prisoners. When the City Watch had chucked us into the dungeon, I’d worried that I’d never step out in the light of day again. Now the birds were singing around us, the sky was a crisp and flawless blue, and there were half a dozen servants surrounding the carriage along with the guards.
Fuck.
Losing this crowd was going to be tricky.
I glanced over at Nylian, who was wearing the same bland and emotionless expression he had whenever he was in front of other elves in the palace. However, I didn’t miss the brief twitch in the corner of his eye or the sudden tightness of his lips. Either Queen Sumina or King Beldroth had proved to be craftier than we’d given them credit for.
With a smirk, I inserted myself between Nylian and a servant, opening the carriage door for him. I offered my hand to help him up and bowed my head. “Your Highness,” I murmured.
His demeanor cracked enough to allow him to cup my cheek before he took my hand. “My precious pet,” he purred as he stepped into the carriage. I followed him and tried to take the seat opposite him, but he caught my elbow and pulled me onto the bench beside him. “Behave yourself, my pet.”
“Anything to please my prince,” I replied, which earned me an extravagant eye roll now that we were visually alone. He didn’t believe my new subservient attitude in the slightest. I had no doubt that the guards and servants next to the carriage were straining to hear our every word.
Nylian stretched a hand up and knocked twice on the roof, sending the carriage smoothly forward through the palace gates and into the city proper. “Let us do a little shopping,” Nylian announced.
“As you wish.”
However, Nylian clearly mouthed, Stay close. Be ready.
I got it. There wouldn’t be multiple opportunities today to shake free of both the guards and the servants. We had to remain close to each other or risk being separated permanently.
I nodded, hoping the anxiety creeping up to strangle me wasn’t showing on my face. I wasn’t worried about Nylian leaving me behind. He wouldn’t. He would sacrifice his chance to escape in order to stay by my side. But I couldn’t allow him to do that. We needed to get the fuck out of Ulmenor and head south to Lockeheim.
Of course, that held its own complications. Unless we boarded a ship in Galinaes bound for Lockeheim, all routes across land required us to cut through Wolfrest to reach our destination. Nylian was banned from setting foot in his home kingdom. Those problems were for later. Right now, we had to escape the royal city of Ulmenor in one piece.
The first six stores were tailors who specialized in garments for the nobility and royalty. Each shop owner took time to fawn over Nylian, complimenting everything from his natural grace and appearance to how perfectly he breathed. Most summarily ignored me, giving me a chance to poke about and search for ways to create trouble, but there were a few who sicced assistants on me to make sure I didn’t dare touch anything with my grubby human hands.
After the clothing district, we moved on to shoes, gloves, undergarments, and even a shop that sold walking sticks.
Despite my increasing boredom, I couldn’t deny that all of it was incredibly gorgeous. Each bit of lace was finer than the last. The stitching was exquisite, and the fabric was the best I’d ever seen. It might have broken my heart a bit to walk out of the boot shop without a new pair after feeling the soft suppleness of their work.
The shopping excursion also gave me a chance to take in more of the city sights. When we’d first landed in Ulmenor, Nylian and I had been running for our lives, dodging the City Watch after dark. There had been no chance to take in the beauty.
For an elf city, I found it surprisingly cold and austere. The buildings were all made of pale shades of gray stone, while glass windows sparkled and reflected the sun as it rose higher in the sky. The streets were wide and immaculately clean. That appeared to be thanks to the droves of humans in bland charcoal gray uniforms hurrying here and there to clean up any bit of rubbish, from horse droppings to a stray leaf. Nothing was out of place. Were the humans slaves that had been purchased or gifted from other kingdoms like Kodra?
As the citizens of Ulmenor passed them, not a single one gave the humans a second glance. It was as if they weren’t there, or part of the scenery, like a lamppost or trash can. No wonder they seemed so shocked that Nylian would bother to keep me, even for a pet. I was no better than a Roomba.