Page 12 of Blood Weaver
I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous. If you ask too many questions, especially if they’re therightquestions, you might risk exposing me before we learn anything.”
Selene bit her bottom lip. “There must be something we can do.”
“Let’s just wait and see.”
Selene sighed. “Well, in other news, tonight is the lantern festival. This year, I don’t want you to spend it with me at the pleasure house. You should go out and enjoy it. At least one of us has the freedom to do so.”
“No,” I said adamantly. “If you can’t spend it with me, I won’t go. You know that.”
She sighed again. “I don’t want to tie you down, Leila.”
I reached out for her hand. “You’re not. You’re my friend. Tonight, I’ll keep you company.”
The streets were bustlingwith people getting ready for the lantern festival. Children’s laughter rang out as they ran through the streets playing, trying to release their excited energy for the night’s festivities. I was closing my shop after treating my last patient for the day when there was a knock at my door. I opened it and without looking to see who it was, said, “We’re closed for to—” I stopped talking mid-sentence when I looked up into Caelan’s hazel eyes. Behind him stood the governor. Remembering who I was supposed to be, I bowed slightly in greeting. “Your Highness.”
“May I come in?” Caelan asked.
“Of course you can!” the governor blustered, answering for me and pushing the door wider to give them enough space to enter. “The prince wanted to meet his savior.”
I tensed. “It was nothing. I was just lucky to have the right ingredients on hand.”
“And whatwerethose ingredients?” the prince asked suspiciously.
“A mixture of milk thistle, licorice root, and ginger,” I replied without hesitation. He was testing me, but fortunately, I was a knowledgeable healer.
He narrowed his gaze as if to intimidate me, but I didn’t waver. Suddenly, he said, “I see you know how to cure fae poisoning.”
I nodded. “I lived for a while in Eldwain. My father was a traveling merchant, so I learned a lot growing up,” I lied smoothly. My father obviously wasn’t a merchant, but I did travel all over Asteria with Sir Edric.
“Ah, so you know our customs, too.” He glanced around my clinic.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“From what the governor told me, your healing abilities are well known throughout the Central Plains.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but I’m quite talented,” I admitted without a shred of modesty.
“Whatever you need, Your Highness, Leila would be more than willing to help,” the governor volunteered. I sent him a glare, which he pointedly ignored.
“Unless she can help me get Princess Lyanna back from the Crimson Clan, I don’t believe there’s anything she can do,” he muttered as he finished scanning my clinic, his hazel eyes landing on me again. “Thank you … for healing me.” He started to leave, his sudden icy demeanor taking me by surprise. The governor quickly followed him as if he was afraid of messing up again.
“Wait!” I called after them. “There’s something I need to report to the prince.”
He stopped at my door and peered over his shoulder. “Which is?”
“Princess Lyanna … she’s not in the custody of the Crimson Clan,” I said quietly.
Caelan whirled around to face me. “How do you know this?”
“I have a reliable source,” I lied. “Don’t fall into their trap … because itisa trap.”
Caelan narrowed his eyes on me. “I don’t know you. Why should I risk the princess’s safety on nothing more than your word?”
The governor cut in between us. “Leila’s best friend works at the Rose Petal Lounge. She must have heard this from her. You know as well as I do that all information travels through there, and the Crimson Clan has spent almost every night since their arrival at the pleasure house,” he supplied nervously.
Caelan’s eyes widened at the governor’s explanation. He took a step toward me, pushing the governor out of the way. “Can you guarantee this?”
“Yes.”
