Page 25 of Crown of Ellova: Vol 1

I finally give in. “I don’t live in Adreania, Leon.”

The anger clears away. He looks surprised at my admission; his eyebrows draw together. “You don’t? But you have a shop there.”

“I live here, well, not far, anyway.”

“So that is why you were never at your shop.”

Now it’s my turn to be surprised by him. “How many times have you been by my shop?”

“Quite a few times, actually, but there was never an answer,” he says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You never said anything? All those nights we saw each other?” Besides his last letters, I don’t know why it never occurred to me that he might try to find me outside of the bazaar nights.

“I know, I just…I hoped we could be…friends outside of the castle, but we never got enough alone time for me to ask.” He lifts one shoulder. “I figured you weren’t interested in that.”

“No! I was. I am!” The pain in my head makes it harder to know how to respond to him. Maybe this is the best time to admit about the shop. “I only go there for the royal bazaar once a month. The shop is a…front. It’s empty, always has been. If I had known, I would have written or found you. I am truly sorry, but I live here. I always have. My home is within the forest.”

Leon gapes at me. “How on earth did you get in? The iron gates? The patrols? Adreania was built to keep its people in and all others out.”

If it wouldn’t hurt so much, I would laugh at his shocked expression, but the crown’s magic pulses painfully. “Yes, that’s all true, but I know a secret way. To my knowledge, only a few others knew about it, and most are long dead.”

“Where?” he demands, but not in anger or with accusation.

I take a deep breath and rub my head under the crown. “Can we talk on the way? It’s hard to think. We can head to my cottage. I have a salve for your face and something I think might help this headache, or at the very least let me sleep.”

He looks around the forest. “How far do you live?”

“Not far, maybe a twenty-minute walk.”

He looks like he is going to argue but instead says, “We can rest there for tonight if we must, but at first light, we need to disappear. This forest isn’t safe. Grayden will come looking for the crown and he will not stop until he has it. He will kill anyone who gets in his way. The king sleeps late, so his disappearance won’t be noticed ’til midmorning, but we need to get ahead of any guards Graydensends out.” His eyes leave my face to stare at the crown. For a moment something darker flashes in his eyes as he studies it. “Is it hurting you?” His tone quickly fades to sympathy. “Are you still in pain?”

My nod is curt and I agree to rest for the night. No point in arguing with him. I will break away as soon as I’m free to get back to Nueena, even if it means slipping him sleeping dust in his tea. That seems easier than fighting.

If Grayden will be looking for me, he will also be looking for Leon. Neither one of us will be safe by sunrise.

Leon’s eyes are so green that for a moment I get lost in them.

“I am incredibly grateful you are all right, Arra.” He laces his fingers with mine. “So I take it you were never going to follow my instructions to get you out of Adreania?”

I shake my head. “No, but I am beyond touched that you would care so deeply about my safety, Leon.” The water sloshes when I take another long drink and offer him the last few sips.

Leon pushes the bottle towards me. “One more sip. I’ll be all right.” He watches me take another small drink before I push it back at him. He smiles softly down at me, drinking the last of it. His sleeves are rolled up and his thick forearm flexes slightly as he holds up the bottle. His smile widens when he follows my eyes. With the bottle empty, he places it in my satchel and loops the strap over his shoulder. It joins his smooth leather medical bag. “Can you walk? If you cannot, I will carry you.”

I assess my body before I answer. Almost everything aches, and the pull and pulse of the crown’s magic makes me want to crawl out of my skin, but walking may be a manageable task. “Yes, at least I hope so.” I go to rise but he stands first, taking both of my hands to lift me. I stumble for a moment and his arms are around my waist in an instant to steady me. My cheeks heat despite the agony within me at the contact as we start walking. He glances down at the three unconscious men as we pass. His eyes linger on the leader.

“They will be fine,” I say. “Massive headaches when they wake, but they will recover.”

He clears his throat. “I’m glad you didn’t kill them. They wanted the crown for the same reason everyone else does. It has the power to change things, on the right person. I am sure they just wanted a better life.” Leon, being a man of medicine, is generous with his mercies.

“Did they say where they were going?”

“No, but considering Kalvorn was about to go to war for the crown, we can guess it was them. If it were Versairen, they would have taken Jedrick to the shipyard and set sail there.”

We walk in silence for a while, connected at the hip. His arm is tight around my waist. My limbs are heavy, and it makes walking difficult. His eyebrows are drawn together, but I’m not sure if it’s due to pain or anger at the situation. He sees me watching him and meets my eyes. A small smile appears, but it fades when he glances up at the crown.

“How’s your head?”

The pressure there is almost unbearable; the pain radiates in every part of me. I can feel the magic pounding under my skin, desperate to get out, but I can’t release it in front of him. My jewelsmith magic has always felt magnetic and luminous inside me, like hot liquid gold running through my veins. The crown’s magic swirls like water and twisting vines in my chest. I swear I can feel the forest thrum inside me as if my very being is encased in its soil.

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