Page 29 of Ties of Dust

“Well, you certainly won’t be going to any without me, will you?” She mimed yanking on a rope.

The prince laughed, the sound only slightly pained. “That would be true even without the tether. To tell the truth, I rarely have time for activities like visiting parks. But to give you the full experience of Crandell, I will make time.”

“Something to look forward to,” Flora said, smiling hesitantly. He was being far nicer to her than their situation warranted.

Her words made him sigh, and his gaze shifted to the gray and red castle that rose from the buildings near the city’s center.

“There may not be a great deal to look forward to,” he said abruptly. “I should warn you that things will become very tense as soon as we enter the city. An attempt was made on my life, and although my injury is negligible, it’s still a matter that will be taken very gravely.”

“As it should be,” Flora agreed.

The prince gave a thoughtful shake of the head. “I still don’t understand it. I can hardly imagine a less thought-through attack. Three men in the trees, no back up, hoping to manage a fatal strike through my squadron of guards?The fact that they actually managed to hit me is as surprising as it is alarming.”

“It wasn’t the most sophisticated attack, that’s certain,” Flora agreed, biting her lip. “The haphazard nature of it worries me. I’m no investigator, but even I can see the striking similarity between that attack and the one that targeted the princess.”

“Yes.”

Prince Cassius frowned, his eyes flicking to where she was still worrying her lip. She released it quickly, reminding herself she was supposed to be a capable bodyguard, and shouldn’t be unnerved by threats to her charge’s safety.

“Your Highness.” The head guard had ridden back down the line to check on his charge. “Is all well? Is your injury worsening?”

“No, I’m fine,” Prince Cassius said. “We merely stopped to admire the view of the city.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” The head guard’s tone was as respectful as ever, but it didn’t hide his impatience with such frivolities. “I suggest we keep moving, however.”

“I am ready to do so,” the prince said.

The group began to move again, and Flora fell behind Prince Cassius as they made their way down the far side of the hill. Soon, they could see the city only from the level of the plain on which it sat. Its enormous stone walls were still impressive, but not as striking as the panorama had been.

Flora didn’t see how it happened, but somehow she found herself a few riders back from the prince, beside Lord Armand.

“A word of warning, child.”

She stiffened at the greeting.

“King Aelius will not take kindly to any liberties taken with his son,” the nobleman told her. “You would do well to keep some distance.”

Distance? She stared blankly at him, unable to find words.

“I am aware that you are in an uncomfortable position.”

How magnanimous of him.

“But twenty feet is not inconsiderable. It allows active monitoring of the prince, but it does not justify such presumptions as sharing a chamber at an inn. It is beneath the prince’s dignity to be exposed to the gossip of the guards.”

Flora drew a long and shaky breath, fighting with every ounce of her willpower to hold back the hot retorts that were desperate to break free. She was a member of the guard, she reminded herself. She was not supposed to argue back, even if the nobleman’s words were outrageously unjust.

“I am also shocked that you need to be reminded to address Prince Cassius as Your Highness at all times,” Lord Armand went on.

Flora’s brows drew together. He had her there. She’d never intended to dispense with the use of the prince’s title. Had she really done so? It had become alarmingly easy to converse naturally with him.

“Yes, sir,” said Flora woodenly, eager to bring the conversation to a close.

With a nod, Lord Armand urged his horse forward, leaving Flora to her reflections. The nobleman might be insufferable, but he was right. She was in an awkward situation—made doubly awkward by the prince’s desire to conceal their tether—and she couldn’t afford to put a foot wrong. Any inconvenience to the prince that arose fromtheir connection would be blamed on her, however little she could control it. The nobleman’s reaction to her and the prince sharing a room—a situation entirely of his own making—was an excellent example.

For the short remainder of the ride, Flora kept her mount further back in the group. They were expected at the city gates, and the group entered with much fanfare. As they were escorted through the city, Flora soaked in the new sights and sounds. Stone dwellings surrounded them, neatly kept and cheerful, with colorful flowers in every window box. The cobblestones were even and swept, and some of the thatched roofs had been painted bright colors. They passed through a number of lovely squares, with fountains tinkling merrily in their centers, and she caught a glimpse of green as they passed one of the public parks.

As for the castle, it eclipsed its counterparts in other kingdoms just like the city in which it sat. It was made of the same gray stone as most of Crandell’s buildings, but it didn’t blend in. It rose majestically above the city, its turrets piercing the sky. What really impressed her, though, was the bursts of color. Trees rose up around the base of the castle, and flower boxes could be seen in many of the windows. Those splashes of green, white, and purple offset the intensity of the pennants, all of which were crimson. And they were everywhere. Pennants adorned the turrets and hung down from the battlements. Flags flapped from poles along the tops of the walls, and alongside many of the windows. They were all the same crimson, some with a white flower embroidered in the middle.

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