Page 17 of Romancing the Throne
I was going to ask her more about the charmed thread,but at that moment someone else stepped into the shade of the stall, exclaimed, “Elowin!” in a delighted and familiar tone, and stepped forward andkissedhim.
And every word in my head dropped right out again as I stared at them both in shock.
CHAPTER 8
ELOWIN
“Elowin!”
I barely had time to register the fact that Teon was here before they were in my arms and pressing a kiss against me. They smelled like cedarwood and dewberry, and I’d bet my life they’d just dropped a small fortune at an apothecary’s stall. I kissed them back and then released them, laughing. “Teon. Good to see you.”
“It’s been forever,” Teon said and then winked. “Well, it’s been about a sennight, which is the same thing.” They looked around, gaze stopping on Sparrow. “Oh, hello.”
“Hello,” Sparrow said, his voice as small as his eyes were large.
“Teon, this is Sparrow,” I said. “Sparrow, Teon. Sparrow is the Fyreham Lathian. Teon is…” I trailed off, unsure how to finish that sentence.
“The one that got away,” Teon provided helpfully with another wink.
That wasn’t exactly true. Teon and I had courted for a few months several years ago and agreed that we were better as friends than lovers. As lovers we had been disastrous inevery way, except when there was a bed involved—or on one memorable occasion, the parade ground outside the barracks of the Royal Guard—but as friends we were unshakable. They were bright, generous, friendly, and despite their slender stature, absolutely terrifying with a sword in their hand.
“Whatever you say,” I muttered and Teon laughed.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Sparrow said, still wide-eyed.
“You too,” Teon said. “Have you looked around the market yet? I’ve heard a rumor there’s someone selling a musical charm and I simply must see it demonstrated. Apparently, it gives you the ability to perfectly play any song you can recall on any instrument. The bards will all be out of work if it’s actually true.”
I thought of Sparrow playing the lute at the tavern, and how terrible it was and yet how charming. He’d been so delighted to get any noise out of the strings, however jarring, and I’d delighted in watching him do it. Listening? Well, not so much, but at least I’d laughed a lot.
“It sounds like a terrible idea,” I said. “Mimicry isn’t the same as creation.”
“The bards agree with you,” Teon said. “So do I, as it happens, but I’m curious to see if it exists or if it’s just this year’s favorite rumor.”
“This year’s favorite rumor is the one about someone very important getting engaged to a nobody,” Rowan put in from where she was now holding up different pairs of leggings against Sparrow.
“Oh, you mean the daughter of the wealthy clock designer from Gearwick and the lowly shepherdess?” Teon asked.
“I heard it was a council member’s child from Dun Steorra,” Rowan said.
“Huh.” Teon shrugged. “Maybe there’s a lot of it goingaround this year, or maybe it’s all bullshit. Who’d you hear your version from?”
“Thanafern,” Rowan said, and then she and Teon said together, “So it’s all bullshit.”
They both laughed, and then Rowan showed Sparrow to a space behind a curtain where he could change without showing his ass to anyone passing by.
“So,” Teon said in an undertone, “that’sthe Fyreham Lathian.” They waited for my answering hum. “Not really Aldian’s type, is he?”
He really, really wasn’t. Sparrow was far too sweet and earnest for Aldian’s tastes, and I couldn’t imagine the prince listening happily to Sparrow chatter about birds, or flowers, or an interesting rock he’d found, or being as charmed as I was by his ability to generate a patch of personal sunshine. But it was for Sparrow to discover that himself, not for me to tell him. I hoped he wouldn’t be too disappointed in Aldian when they met. More than that, I hoped he wouldn’t believe it was his fault they weren’t a good match. He’d been raised to be the perfect spouse for a prince, except what happened when the prince wasn’t a perfect spouse for him in return? I’d bet anything that Sparrow’s parents hadn’t given that any consideration when they’d raised him.
But now he was here in Everend, and the least I could do was help him to enjoy it and show him that the world was larger and a lot more colorful than he’d thought. And maybe that knowledge would cushion his pride when he was inevitably disappointed by Aldian’s lack of interest.
“Drumroll,” Rowan instructed, and Teon obediently slapped their hands on their thighs as Rowan pulled back the curtain.
Sparrow lookedgood. The doeskin leggings clung in all the right ways, and the blue tunic was fitted perfectly to his frame. I wanted to trace the lace patterns up either side of historso and touch the pale skin underneath. The lace inserts were repeated down the length of both sleeves, offering more glimpses of skin. The lace gleamed like dew caught in spider’s silk.
Rowan hadn’t just dressed Sparrow; she’d also redone his braid, weaving silver thread through the strands that appeared to glow even in the shade of the booth. And his hair wasn’t the only thing that glowed. His smile, shy and tentative, was like sunlight.
“Beautiful!” Teon exclaimed. “Absolutely gorgeous.”
