27

I hadn’t seen any of the town at large, not since we’d rolled through the palace gates and into the courtyard. The four of us took a carriage to the center. Fina and Adora were nearly vibrating with excitement, and Elias looked pleased just to be out from under King Draunar’s thumb.

The town outside Shianga was beautiful. It was quieter than Efra, with low buildings made of stone and clay, cobbled streets, and shop doors painted in bright colors like jewels. Fina hopped out of the coach first and adjusted her wide-brimmed straw hat against the afternoon sun.

“Wow!” she said, and spun on her heel, taking in the town square with a wide smile. “This place is amazing! Come on, Adora!”

Adora hurried out of the carriage, looking a little more hesitant than Fina did. She tugged at the collar of her linen dress. “Where did the attendants say the tailor was?”

I stepped out of the carriage. “The tailor?”

“Yes!” Fina said. “Did you see the golden robes the king wore? Apparently, that’s a fabric you can just buy here. Not in great quantities, of course, but I simply must have a gown that uses it. It’s so gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything like it, it will stun in the Nightfall Court.”

Elias stepped out of the carriage and stretched his arms. The four of us stood near the center of the town square, by an immense, gurgling fountain in the shape (of course) of a dragon spewing water from its long snout. The townsfolk gave us a few sidelong glances as whispered to each other. Apparently, word of the Nightfall envoy had gotten around.

Even in his plain clothes, Elias still had an unmistakably regal air around him. I wondered if I was developing something similar.

“Shall we?” Adora asked. “I’ve heard the dragon tailors are fantastic. She’s expecting us.”

I hadn’t exactly been thrilled to step into yet another tailor shop—I was beginning to think if I’d been in one, I’d been in them all. And there were so many other things to see in Shianga, and I still had so many questions about the map King Draunar had given me. “Ah, well—perhaps I’ll meet you there in a bit?”

Elias chuckled low, and slid his hand around my waist to my hip. “I have an idea of where you might want to go.”

“Of course,” Fina said. “You enjoy the smallest, strangest, most tightly packed bookstore you can find, and we’ll see you at the tailor’s.”

I laughed and leaned closer to Elias. “Am I that predictable?”

“Yes,” Fina and Adora said in unison. Laughing, they strolled arm in arm toward the tailor.

“You don’t think I’m predictable, do you?” I asked as Elias guided me the other way. The heels of his fine boots clicked on the cobblestone.

“Only in this regard,” he said. “If you have a free afternoon in town, you will always find the bookstore. Other than that, I can barely keep up.”

I laughed. “Good answer.”

Elias led the way out of the town square and down a narrow alley. Pale canopies of fabric were stretched between the buildings, shading us from the sun, and the noise of the town melted away as we went deeper into the alley. He opened up a slender, deep blue door; a bell jingled softly as we stepped inside.

“One of Draunar’s policymakers recommended this shop,” Elias said. “Said it had the best selection of historical materials.”

“You asked for a recommendation?” I asked.

He glanced over his shoulder at me. “Of course,” he said. “I knew you’d want to find one eventually.”

Affection flared in my chest. Even though he’d been so busy with the details of the negotiations, Elias still managed to find time to ask something for me. Something I hadn’t even asked him to do. It seemed like a small thing, but the knowledge that I was on his mind even when he was caught up in the mess of negotiations made my heart beat a little harder.

“Good afternoon,” the shopkeeper said. He was a tall, rail-thin man with thick glasses and a bird-like nose. “Welcome in, is there anything—oh!” His eyes widened. “Oh, oh, gods above, the Bl— Your Highness, oh, my, no one informed me—”

“What did you call me?” Elias rumbled in a low growl.

The shopkeeper took a step back, stumbling. “Nothing, um, I mean, Your Highness, that is—if I can be of service—” His face paled. He looked like he expected Elias to shift on the spot and maul him. Elias was not helping with that reputation, either, with the way he was glowering.

“Relax,” I said, and placed a hand on Elias’ forearm. Then I turned my attention to the shopkeeper and smiled warmly. “This is a beautiful space. Are you the owner?”

“Um.” He visibly shook himself, then straightened up and cleared his throat. “Yes, yes, I’m Gulde, the owner here. I don’t have any employees, you see, it’s just me who runs this place.”

“Well, you seem to be doing a good job,” I said. I meant it, too—I wasn’t just trying to ease his nerves, though that was part of my goal. The shop was beautiful. It was bursting at the seams with books, bound in leather and fabric of many colors, the shelves running all the way to the exposed beams in the ceiling. Books were all over the tables, too, stacked over the hearth on the far wall, and even open haphazardly all over what I assumed was Gulde’s desk in the back. The dim space was cool, and smelled strongly of ink and paper. I already knew I could spend plenty of hours in this small space. “I’m Reyna, of—”

“Of Frasia, yes, the King and Queen of Frasia are in my bookstore. Yes.” Gulde was clearly trying to convince himself this was actually happening. He took a steadying breath, then clapped his hands together. “Well, what can I help you find?”