Page 20 of The Ruins of the Heartless Fae

“It’s fine,” Kolfinna trailed, glancing at the stacks of chairs, boots, clothes, and other random things jammed into the crooks and crannies between brimming dressers and chests. “I used to be a cleaning maid, so I’ve seen all sorts of messes.”

Kolfinna stopped when she noticed a flat wooden badge poking out from between two wooden chests, where the bottom half of it was wedged between them. Kolfinna tugged it free and spread her fingers over the unpolished wood. It was similar to the badges the Royal Guards wore, but it was much cruder. Unlike the gold lion badge that glistened in the light and was said to be made of real gold, this one was clearly handmade and had chipped yellow paint all over it. The lion’s mane was roughly carved out and it was missing a tail.

“What’s this?” Kolfinna flipped it over to find a name etched on the back.

“Hm?” Eyfura emerged from a pile of capes and loose tunics. Her lips broke into a smile when she spotted the badge. “Aw, you found someone’s Hope badge! I wonder what it’s doing up here. People usually treasure those.”

“What is it?” The badly carved lion didn’t look like something a Royal Guard—who were known to be snobby, smug, and noble—would treasure. Did it hold sentimental value?

“When someone is trying to become a Royal Guard, a friend or family member will make them a Hope badge and give it to them at their initiation ceremony,” Eyfura explained. “It basically shows that your friends and family believed in you the whole time. Nollar and my aunt made me one. What about you, Magni?”

Magni rolled his eyes. “I don’t care for stupid things like that.”

“Aw, does that mean no one made you one?”

He shot her a dark scowl. “Of course I received one. I receivedmany.”

Eyfura exchanged a glance with Kolfinna and rolled her eyes, while Kolfinna bit the bottom of her lip to keep from grinning.

“Did you make any for anyone, Magni?” Eyfura cranked open the lids of a scratched-up box and peeked inside of it. “Magni is a brilliant artist. I’ve seen him make elaborate sketches in the dirt with just a stick—”

“No, I haven’t,” Magni bit out as he gave Eyfura a hard look, like she was telling a secret of his.

Eyfura’s expression was hidden as she dug into another box, but she seemed to get his message because she said, “Well, uh, maybe it’s really old? Does it have a name on it?”

“Maybe the person who owned it died,” Kolfinna said, running her fingers over the wood. “Or maybe they lost it. It says Erik on the back.”

“Usually, you put the person’s name on the back, so that’s not unusual but … Erik? Hm, I don’t recall a Royal Guard with that name. What about you, Magni?”

Magni shook his head. “None that I know of.”

“Well, it could be that Erik lost it, or died … Or who knows.” Eyfura lifted her shoulders and placed a hand on her hip. “Everything here is pretty old, so who knows how far back some of these things are.”

Kolfinna placed the badge on top of one of the wooden chests and shifted her attention to the clothes in Eyfura’s arms. “Did you find them?”

“Oh, yes!” She thrust the clothes into Kolfinna’s arms. “I knew we had some training clothes up here! These should fit. We usually give them to trainees when they do an internship with us. Nollar did it here at headquarters last summer and this summer and it was a lot of fun! I wasn’t able to do it when I was in school because I went to a smaller school back home … Anyway, these are from last summer. They should be clean.”

It was a simple black tunic with silver buttons and pants to match. She turned it in her hands. The material was soft and stretchy and reeked of lavishness; there was no way she’d find this fine of a material in the street markets. It wasn’t silk, but she could tell the quality just by touching it. The Royal Guards were extravagant, even for trainees. She brought it close to her face and quickly pulled it away, her nose wrinkling. It also reeked of sweat.

Eyfura’s smile faded into a frown and she stepped forward and sniffed. “Oh my gosh.” She pinched her nose. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize those … well,stink. Gosh, the interns are supposed to clean all the uniforms before returning them.” She held her hand out to the clothes. “I can take those and have them cleaned.”

Out of all the Royal Guards Kolfinna had been acquainted with these past two weeks, Eyfura was definitely the nicest one. That should’ve comforted Kolfinna, but she still felt uneasy. She must’ve had an ulterior motive. Why would someone be friendly to her, a fae and a murderer? Her brother Nollar was the same: contagiously friendly. It was unnerving. She would rather deal with people she could easily read, like Magni.

Eyfura gathered an armful of clothes. “I’ll take these to the laundry and have them cleaned. Magni, do you mind escorting Kolfinna to her room while I do this?”

His frown deepened. “That’s why I’m here, aren’t I?”

“So … that’s a yes?”

“No,” he said sullenly, dabbing his sweaty forehead with a pure white handkerchief.

“Would you rather take this laundry then?” She held up the clothes with raised eyebrows.

He sighed. “No.”

“Then I’ll leave Kolfinna to you.”

He didn’t protest as Eyfura skipped out of the room, leaving Kolfinna alone with him. He stopped glowering at her and instead watched the hallway, where Eyfura’s figure was slowly receding. When she was gone, he turned back to Kolfinna.

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