Page 72 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
The farther into the Capital we went, the houses became smaller and the crowds bigger. The sculpted wooden eaves lost some of their intricacy, turning thinner and less arched. The flower pots were tinier, painted in brighter, bleeding colors. The narrow paths clattered with laughter and life.
“We stick together,” Adara warned as we hurried through the labyrinth of houses and alleys in a single line.
“It’s not that–” The words died on my lips as we exited into the main street.
The salty breeze grew tangier, but I couldn’t see the port from the mass of people rushing in every direction. Large carts tugged by oxen with horns as thick as my waist did little to spear the swarm of people. There was a weird sense of order in the chaos. The crowds flowed seamlessly in a well-rehearsed dance, one that Adara seemed to know well.
She guided us through the mass with practiced ease.
My skin prickled as the crowd swallowed us. So many bodies, struggling to walk, pushing against me.
It reminded me too much of the wedding.
People running for their lives.
I held onto my basket for dear life, taking hurried, sharp breaths.
This wasn’t my wedding.
No acrid smell of fear wafted through the air.
Nobody ran for their lives.
They all had their own business to rush to. Some of them carried large satchels on their backs, looking around about as lost as I felt. Newcomers, same as me.
“The Capital is full,” Leesa said as we finally traversed the main road and neared a temple, much smaller than the main one in Phoenix Peak and lacking its sculpted golden dragons. “The prince must’ve called in more civilians.”
“Where are they all going to stay?” I asked. I had enough rooms to open to them, but not even the vast buildings in Phoenix Peak seemed enough to house them all.
“The prince will take care of it,” Leesa said with the utmost confidence.
“He always does,” Kaya said. She turned around, her eyes wider and more curious than the newcomers’.
“The crown prince will wed. If any of you know of a just cause why he should not be joined in sacred matrimony with the Protectorate Lost Daughter, you are obligated to declare it hereand now,” a priest’s voice echoed from the open temple. The building had an opulent, gleaming roof, held upright by sturdy, carved columns that rose from an elevated stone platform adorned with golden symbols. “This is the twenty-seventh time of asking.”
I gulped. Where had twenty-seven days gone?
“I heard this Lost Daughter is a nasty piece of work,” one of the men smoking in front of the worn temple stairs said to his small group. Loudly. They all smelled like cheap alcohol and too many sleepless nights. “Always demanding, always commanding. She uses that servant boy of hers like she owns him.”
I huffed in indignation. First of all, Goose was myemployeeand he needed this job. And I wasn’t demanding…was I?
I chanced a look at Goose, who just shook his head. “Don’t listen to gossip, Your Grace,” he muttered. “This is the best job I’ve ever had.”
“I’m glad,” I said, distracted by the laughter from the group and the acrid smell of fish guts wafting from somewhere near.
“She can’t even handle a sword.” Another one laughed, a mean bite to his lisp. “Imagine, a Blood Brotherhood princess who’s useless in battle. Disgraceful.”
Now that hit a little too close to the truth. “Where are they getting this information from?”
“You’re Protectorate,” Adara said like it was the most obvious thing in all of Malhaven. “You could have beamed light out of your eyeballs and they wouldn’t have liked it. But minds can be changed.”
Which meantIhad to change them. I rolled my shoulders back.
Step by step. Words were pretty, but actions mattered.
The rumor still stung. Because it wasn’t just gossip, was it? I couldn’t properly defend myself in a battle, at least not yet.
“And she keeps begging the prince for jewels,” another one said, just as loud, making sure everyone at this corner street heard. “On her knees.”
