Page 22 of War of Her Heart

“I . . . read a lot.” I wasn’t lying. I do read a lot. But I couldn’t very well say the real reason I knew.

“And to think you were about to sound interesting,” Adar said as he turned back around and began walking up the street.

As we walked through the city, I looked at every sign for each store and anything I could see in the windows. An apothecary, an art gallery, a cafe, and a few clothing stores. I had never seen any of these places before, and I wanted to observe every detail I could.

“I need to pick up a few dresses I had designed for me. One is for the dinner party tonight, and the others are for a few upcoming events we have.”

“I’m going to the bar,” Adar mumbled with the same look he’d had on his face since the first time I saw him. Like there was a stick shoved up his ass.

“I thought you came with us to watch over our delicate flower?”

Delicate flower.I’d only been called that one other time, and it was only a few hours ago by Sebastian. Had they talked about me? And if so, when did they even have the chance to talk about me? I had been with Bronwen almost the entire time since myconversation with Sebastian this morning. Was he the reason Adar came with us? Was he concerned for my safety?

“The bar is right next door to your dress shop. If danger interrupts your shopping, tell me and I’ll be right there.”

When Bronwen and I stopped at the entrance of the dress shop, Adar continued walking to the bar and went straight in, not even looking in our direction.

As we stepped inside the shop, I was overwhelmed by the dresses lining the walls. There were deep purples and blues on one side and the other side was full of black dresses. I went over to the black side and ran my hand down the dresses. There were so many different styles and materials, but they all had the same overall theme: fitted, revealing, and sexy. They were the complete opposite of anything I’d ever worn.

“You should get a few to wear while you’re here. I know you can’t wear them in the Mountain Realm, but it wouldn’t hurt to play dress-up while you can,” Bronwen said as she looked over my shoulder at the dress I was eyeing.

“Oh, I don’t have any money,” I said as I ran my hand down the beaded silhouette of the dress before me.

“It’s on me, Violet.”

I turned to look at her as I said, “I would love to, but I don’t think my father would be okay with me wearing something like this.” I didn’t really think my father would care. Unless it was something that would affect my heart, he was pretty lenient. I was more worried about Calum.

“Suit yourself,” Bronwen responded as she shrugged her shoulders and walked toward the back of the shop to a faerie with skeletal fingers that was busy working on a dress.

I couldn’t keep my eyes off of the dresses. They were so beautiful, and I knew that in the next few months I would be back home, and I’d never have a chance to wear something like this again. My mind kept going to Calum and how he would reactto seeing me in something like this. He loved when I dressed to please him, but that was always when we were alone, in the privacy of his chambers. I knew he wouldn’t be thrilled about me dressing like this where others could see my body, but then I thought about his hands rubbing on Nathara’s body while she wore dresses similar to these.

It may have been immature of me, but I couldn’t help what I said next. “Actually, I think I would like to wear some of these dresses.”

Bronwen turned around and clapped her hands. “When in the Night Realm.” She winked at me.

Bronwen asked the faerie to pack up her dresses while she helped me pick a few. She then sent the faerie to the carriage with our dresses ahead of us while we slowly walked through the city.

“Are you hungry? We can go to the cafe before we go back to the castle,” she asked.

“What about Adar?” I asked while we were slowly getting farther from the bar. Even if I’d rather not be around him, I was so used to having a male around toprotectme that it made me nervous being without one.

“I’ll tell him, and he can grace us with his presence when he feels ready.”

I nodded and continued looking at the buildings around us, taking note of every little detail.

“What is it?” Bronwen asked, noticing my mind was elsewhere.

“I’ve just never seen anything like this before,” I said while looking at the entrance to a small bookstore. I took extra time looking at the bookstore. A place where you can choose the books you want to read, unlike our library that was filled with books chosen by someone else. It had a warm, inviting feel to it, even from the outside. It was in a smaller building than the onessurrounding it with a glass door, worn wood framing, and two large windows on either side that peeked into a room filled to the brim with books.

“I’m sure this is completely different from the villages in the Mountain Realm,” she said as she smiled at the beautiful architecture that surrounded us.

“I wouldn’t know,” I mumbled as I looked closely at a stack of books near the window I was walking past.The Pleasant Place.An odd title for a book here, but nevertheless intriguing.

Bronwen stopped walking and turned to face me. “Wait, you’ve never been to a city?”

I brought my attention back to her as I said, “I haven’t stepped foot outside of the Mountain Realm’s castle walls since I moved there when I was a faeling. Well, until I left to come here.”

“That’s . . . tragic,” she said with sadness in her eyes.

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