VINCENT

Nothing was going right. I sat across from my father in an open carriage surrounded by people on foot. I was supposed to be locked up in my room. Being shackled to the wall in the cellar would have made more sense.

A crowded market was not what I had been expecting when my father had me join him for the day. I would have sent a prayer of complaint to the Lady Below had it not all been so distracting.

The winding cobblestone streets were lined with quaint little shops. Between their open doors and large windows, booths made of wood and decorated with colorful cloths had been propped up, taking over every bit of available space that had been left. I couldn't tell if some were extensions of the shops they sat in front of, or if their vendors had found an empty space to sell their wares.

We were approaching the square, and it was all so charming. I wished I could properly enjoy the market, but all I could feel was resentment and envy. Despite my feelings, it took everything I had to keep my eyes from wandering.

Voices that called out in search of customers quieted as we neared, picking back up after the last guard had passed. It only confirmed that all eyes were on us. There would not be a moment to relax. I kept my mask of indifference in place, hoping we would quickly return to the home Father had taken over.

Back to the windowless room where he could keep an eye on me and wouldn't be embarrassed by my presence should any of his inner circle see me. Depths of the Mallou, why did he insist on bringing me? And to a crowded market of all places. There was no reason for it.

I was a failure in his eyes, so he never showed me off. Not anymore. No more public testing. He couldn't risk my lack of talent as a reflection of his own weakness. He was content to leave me forgotten in the libraries and gardens of one mansion or another.

Was it some form of punishment? Tease me with the freedom of others then lock me away for however long he felt necessary? I had pushed it further last night and let Father know of my frivolous fancies by breaking off my engagement to Alessa.

Being out in the open was a strange turn compared to the confinement I had been expecting. That I had been counting on.

Perhaps he was hoping I would give him reason to punish me in public and prove willingness to destroy any who would cross him.

Unless I had let something slip. I did my best to not let my thoughts linger, searching for a distraction. A child was playing with a dog, and I latched onto the regret of never having a pet. Or any sort of soft toy that could have served as a stand in. If he had ever caught me hugging my pillow as a child, it would have surely been confiscated.

Father waved for the carriage to stop, and he looked over the goods on display in a shop window. I saw nothing of interest among the old books. No spelled objects or interesting statuettes. There must have been something I missed since he sent a guard to retrieve something.

I scanned the crowded market as we waited. The people gave us a wide berth, not wanting to tempt Father's guards. If only I could join them and fade into obscurity.

A flash of red caught my eye, and I took advantage of a break in the crowd to take in the beauty of a bookish young man with a sour frown and unruly dark red hair. He was dressed much like a student or perhaps a clerk: a dark grey suit in the modern fashion and an earthy green tie. He held a book in one hand and tapped it against his companion's broad chest—a brutishly handsome man with a scar running down the left side of face who towered above the crowd. Such a rough man looked like he would be at home on one of the pirate ships in some of my more entertaining books.

The only reason Father hadn't taken my books from me was because they were truly awful. I used to hate that they were the only things I could read unsupervised. The only things I was trusted to read. But now I cherished the escape they provided.

The young man's face broke into a grin when the pirate ducked his head in shame. The pair fed my fanciful thoughts of a pirate and librarian, running off together to find love and fortune. How I envied them.

The pirate raised his head, sporting a wide smile, and the unlikely pair shared a hearty laugh. The redhead's smile made my heart lurch with want. I was never treated to such carefree smiles. I wasn't even certain if I would be capable of returning one. Father would surely slap it from my face.

I held back a sigh as a shriek of childish laughter echoed from off in the distance. As much as I enjoyed seeing a real market in person, I hated how it showed everything my life lacked. The people surrounding me were wary, but not so much that it kept them from sharing laughter with one another.

"Vincent."

I hid the shiver that ran down my spine. I had let myself become too distracted. With a bland stare, I met my father's eyes and straightened my back beneath his disappointed sneer. "Yes, Father?"