Free Web NovelChapter 46: Chapter 46
The first light of dawn stretched across the sky, painting it in soft hues of deep blue and warm orange. Shadows slowly receded as the sun began its slow ascent, casting a quiet glow over the palace grounds.
Ragnar and Casilo worked quickly to ready their horses for the journey ahead. There wasn’t much to prepare, just the essentials. They had both agreed to travel light, and neither of them saw any reason to linger. Ragnar, especially, was eager to be gone. He didn’t even wait for the sun to fully rise. The sooner they left, the better. Every passing moment felt like a delay they couldn’t afford. The road to Amris was long and it was always best to begin the journey early.
Ragnar’s horse gave an inpatient snort when he placed a saddle over its back, taking care to fasten it securely. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Circe lingered a few paces away, silently watching them work. Her expression was one Ragnar was yet to decipher. Except for times when she was openly glaring at him, Circe knew how to keep her thoughts and emotions from showing on her face.
She wore the same dress the servant had delivered to her a few nights prior, the one she had worn to dine with the queen. It suited her, far too well, in Ragnar’s opinion.
He kept glancing in her direction, telling himself it was just to make sure she didn’t try anything foolish while they were busy. After all, she had proven how unpredictable she could be more than once, and this wasn’t the time for surprises.
He couldn’t stop himself from glancing at her every so often. He told himself that he was just checking to see that she wouldn’t make a run for it while they were distracted. That was the reason for it. He told himself that his inability to keep his eyes off her was the result of the fact that he couldn’t trust her to stay still and do as she was told.
That was the excuse he clung to.
But each time his gaze drifted her way, it lingered a little longer than it should have. He tried to ignore the way the early morning sunlight spilled across her supple skin, warming it to a soft, golden hue. He tried not to notice how the dress clung to her in just the right places, or how she had pulled her hair up into a high, elegant bun that left the graceful curve of her neck exposed.
This was about caution. He couldn’t trust her, not yet. He told himself that his inability to keep his eyes off her was the result of the fact that he couldn’t trust her to stay still and do as she was told. That’s what he kept telling himself.
But deep down, the voice in the back of his mind called him exactly what he was: a liar.
Circe drifted closer to them when the horses were finally ready for travel. She stopped in the space between both horses. Ragnar swung his leg over the saddle, settled himself atop the horse before extending his hand to help Circe up his mount. He opened his mouth to speak, the words poised at the tip of his tongue but Casilo beat him to it.
" Do you need help,your highness?" Casilo asked, reaching out his hand to help her as well.
Ragnar expected Circe to roll her eyes at Casilo’s offer or sneer at it at the very least. It was how she usually behaved with Ragnar. He hadn’t expected to see her smiling up at Casilo while clasping her hand in his. She placed her foot on the stirrups and with a gentle pull, Casilo lifted her to sit in front of him on his horse’s back.
Ragnar stared at his still outstretched hand, blinking down at it in disbelief. He withdrew his hand slowly and took the reins to guide his horse into a trot. He refused to glance back at his second in command but his mind was hyper-focused on the horse following closely behind him.
Circe accepted Casilo’s help without complaining or putting up a fight. She even smiled at him. When had they gotten so close?
Something ugly stirred within his chest.
The trip to his manor had been a quiet one, at least on Ragnar’s end. Circe and Casilo hadn’t stopped talking with each other since they left the palace, their voices getting lost in the whipping winds.
" What kind of creature did he fight in the arena? I’ve never seen anything like that in my life." Ragnar heard Circe say behind him.
" We call it the fenra. Every year, during the winter solstice, the magic in the veil separating the faelands from the human plane weakens enough to allow one of its kind to wander into Lamora." Casilo answered. " The king usually organizes a hunting party to track it down and kill it before it wanders into towns and villages. Sometimes the king likes keep them alive and use them to torture his worse prisoners."
He noticed Casilo was deliberately slowing his horse’s gait to maintain the conversation he was having with Circe.
Ragnar’s lips were pressed into a thin line the entire ride to his manor, settling further into his darkening mood. When his manor came into view, Ragnar dismounted his horse. He turned and saw Circe doing the same, this time without Casilo’s help.
Nieah stopped by the front entrance to greet them.
" Your highness." She bowed before Circe and Ragnar as they approached the front steps. There was a smile on her face when she straightened. She was glad for their return. Her smile faltered when she met Casilo’s gaze. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
The stable hands rushed over to help Casilo with the horses but Casilo barely glanced at the man as he relinquished his horse’s rein and handed it over, his eyes facing still straight ahead. Still on Nieah.
Nieah averted her gaze first. Circe and Ragnar walked passed her without noticing the interaction happening right in front of them.
