Lucian fiddled with the eagle pendant hanging around his neck. He couldn’t see much in the faint dawn light that shone through the stable’s one window, but he had the image of it burned into his head. A week had passed since the queen paid him a visit and asked him to join the Blade Corps, and it still didn’t feel real. If it weren’t for the silver chain and the scroll tucked into his travel bag, he would think he had imagined it all.

The creak of the stable door’s rusty hinges interrupted his thoughts, and he quickly tucked the pendant under his shirt.

A figure leaned against the door frame. “I thought you’d be here.”

From his perch atop a stack of hay bales, Lucian smiled. He recognized that voice, that silhouette. It was Khalida, the daughter of the merchant he’d been employed to for the past two years. “You always manage to find me.”

Khalida strode forward, her footsteps muffled by the layer of straw on the ground. “Do you really have to go?”

Lucian exhaled and ran a hand through his dark blonde hair. “You know I do.”

She hopped onto the hay bale and sat next to him. “Who will kill all the bandits and keep track of our finances and take care of the horses?”

“You’ll have to find someone else to do all the work now,” Lucian teased. “Or maybe try doing it yourselves.”

“It’s still better than tutoring a princess,” Khalida huffed. “Talk about boring.”

That was, of course, the cover Queen Elaryse had made up to keep him close to Princess Gwynnoven. His real job would be a bit more complicated than that.

“Talk about better salary,” Lucian fired back lightly. “Go where the money takes you, Lida. You taught me that.”

“Well, you don’t need to leave right now,” Khalida said slowly, running her hand up his thigh. “You can spare a few minutes, can’t you?”

Lucian grinned. “I think we’ll need more than a few minutes.”

Their lips met in the dark. He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her closer. Her fingers curled in his hair as she moved into his lap, and he traced the curve of her spine. She let out a soft sigh.

“I’ll miss you so much,” she murmured against him.

“I’ll miss you too,” he breathed.

Then she kissed him again, and everything else ceased to exist.

×××

Lucian knew from prior experience that the ride to Larch City, Rhodais’s capital, typically took the entire day, which was why he was supposed to get an early start. Not that he entirely regretted his actions.

Night had fallen by the time he reached the city. Despite the late hour, the streets still bustled with hushed activity. It was too late to enter the palace now, so he stopped at a small inn and tavern along the way.

After tying up his horse in the back, he stepped inside the building and was met with a wave of chatter. The scent of food and old beer hung in the air, and weary travelers and drunk soldiers crowded the tables. He was on his way to the counter against the back wall to request a room when he bumped into one of the tavern's patrons.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, glancing down at whoever he’d ran into.

A girl with dark brown hair and green eyes glared up at him from under the hood of her cloak. “Hey, watch it. You almost made me spill my drink.”

“Aren’t you a little too young to be drinking?” Lucian asked hesitantly.

“Aren’t you a little too young to be stupid?” she fired back, taking a swig of whatever was in her cup.

“That...doesn’t make any sense,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, well, maybe you’re just too stupid to understand.” The girl brushed past him curtly.

“Wait.” He caught her by the wrist before she could slip away. “Do I know you? I feel like I’ve seen you before.”

“Nope, never seen you before in my life,” she replied, pulling away from him. “Go home. You’re drunk.”

“I’m more sober than you are,” he scoffed, but the girl was already gone.

Shaking his head, he went to get himself a room.