Page 71 of Ties of Dust

“During the meeting, when you weren’t paying attention to whether the guild representatives were actually assassins in disguise,” he explained lightly. “Where were your thoughts then?”

“Oh.” Flora relaxed. “I was thinking about Princess Miriam, actually. If I know her—and I do—she’s been very distressed all this time, probably blaming herself for my…”

“Predicament?” Cassius offered, and she nodded.

“Yes, that. I wish I could send her a message to tell her I’m all right, but...” She glanced around to make sure no one was hearing their conversation. “But I don’t think it’swise for me to send messages to Siqual through the royal courier.”

“Probably not,” Cassius agreed thoughtfully. “But I don’t see the danger in sending one through a normal courier service, outside the castle.”

She gave him a pointed look. “Except that to do that I would have togooutside the castle, which isn’t an option.”

“It is if I accompany you.” Cassius seemed enthusiastic about the idea. “Didn’t I promise to show you some of the beauties of the city?”

“You did,” Flora said cautiously. “But can you be spared?”

“I’m the crown prince, I can do whatever I want.”

A grin escaped Flora at the highly inaccurate statement, and Cassius’s answering chuckle told her that was how he’d intended it to be received.

The offer was irresistible, and Flora wasted no time in penning a note to Miriam. Before long, they were riding out of the castle gates, four other guards in tow.

“There’s a market not far from the castle,” Cassius told her, as their horses traversed the cobblestones at a walk. He was clearly as delighted to have a change of scenery as she was. “And a posting house just next to it. You can send your message, then we can buy something to eat at the market and take it to the nearest park. You said you wanted to see one of those.”

“I’m supposed to be on duty as your guard,” Flora reminded him. “You don’t need to buy me food—in fact, you shouldn’t.”

“I brought a full complement of guards so that you wouldn’t need to be on duty,” Cassius corrected her. “I want you to just enjoy seeing some of the city.”

She hesitated, and his pale blue eyes took on a hint ofentreaty. “Please, Flora,” he said quietly. “For my sake if not your own, can you pleasetryto just enjoy my home?”

Unable to resist the appeal, she felt her shoulders relax.

“I wouldn’t be averse to some food,” she acknowledged.

Cassius’s smile was blinding, and Flora’s foolish heart did yet another flip. She was unwise to so desperately crave being the one to bring the lightness back to his brow. But she couldn’t help it.

The letter was easily dispatched, and Flora felt more relaxed than she had in a long time as she followed Cassius into the markets. One of the guards stayed with the horses, the other three following them through the throng. The prince’s presence quickly attracted notice, and Flora enjoyed seeing the easy way in which Cassius wore his position. He didn’t show much warmth, but neither was he cold or aloof. He acknowledged the attention with steady grace, everything from his gait to his alert gaze proclaiming strength and confidence.

He took her to a series of stalls, apparently in no hurry as she admired beautiful fabrics, exotic flowers, and even a stall that featured a few wolpertinger pelts.

“They’re expensive, aren’t they?” she commented, running a finger over the soft fur.

She could still make out the squirrel-like shape of it, and she saw that feathers from wolpertinger wings were also for sale, along with a few of the antlers that graced the small creatures’ heads. She lowered her voice so the salesman wouldn’t hear.

“Is it a scam, do you think? Do people think that these items retain magical properties? They don’t, from what I understand.”

Cassius shook his head. “No, there’s no deception. They’re not marketed as containing magic. They’re justvery rare, since it’s illegal in Carrack to kill wolpertingers.” He raised an inquiring eyebrow. “As I assume it is elsewhere?”

Flora nodded. The creatures were found in the woodlands of both Torrens and Siqual, and they were protected in those kingdoms as well. They couldn’t be bred, farmed, or hunted. The potential for misuse was too high, given their movements generated a disproportionately huge amount of magic.

“Vendors must prove that the animals died of natural causes,” Cassius went on. “Each dead wolpertinger must be registered intact and cause of death must be determined by an expert before the pelts can be harvested. All of which makes them a rare commodity. Doubly rare since the creatures are so infrequently seen in the first place.”

“I see.” Flora turned away, sniffing hopefully in the direction of the next stall. It was selling some kind of honey-dipped pastry.

“This is a Carrackian delicacy,” Cassius told her enthusiastically. “You must try one.”

Flora hung back as he purchased two of the pastries, her eyes scanning the area. She knew that the prince had said she wasn’t on duty, but being in a crowd ignited all her guard instincts of alertness. She noticed one man in particular who was watching the prince with intense focus. He was making his laborious way past a nearby fountain, leading a horse that pulled a cart of goods. He saw her looking and hurriedly averted his gaze, but Flora’s attention was caught.

She received the pastry from Cassius with a word of thanks, her focus still half on the stranger.

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