Chapter 36

Raven

Firelight flickered across the village square, throwing dancing shadows over the tables lined with food and drink. The air smelled richly like roasted meat and fresh bread, mingling with the sweet smell of wildflowers that villagers had woven into crowns for the children. Music drifted from a group of musicians at the far end of the square, raucous and lively music that was made even more so by the people dancing in chaotic circles on the dance floor.

It was a feast to celebrate the completion of the rebuilding, and just about everyone was in attendance.

I sat with Neil and the three guards at a long wooden table near the center, surrounded by villagers who had worked tirelessly alongside us today to rebuild the homes destroyed by the rogue attack. For once, Neil looked relaxed, even laughing a little at something Eric had said.

As I hungrily shoveled stew, bread, and ale into my face—half-starved after spending the day working nonstop—I let my gaze wander over the crowd, and it was then that my eyes caught on a familiar figure standing at the edge of the firelight.

Hannah had finally made an appearance for the first time today, her hair twisted into an elaborate braid that seemed a little too perfect for someone who had supposedly been hauling lumber and hammering nails all afternoon.

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at her. She hadn’t been around during any of the rebuilding, not once, yet here she was, looking around as if waiting for everyone to notice her.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped to mine before I could look away. She immediately beelined over to us, much to my chagrin, and slid onto the bench beside Neil. She was practically pressing herself into his shoulder. The rest of us didn’t exist to her during those moments.

“Oh, Neil, I saw you working on the schoolhouse earlier,” she said, her voice lilting and fake. “I would have joined you, but I was busy building fences over by the front gates…”

Ember, seated across from them, rolled her eyes so hard I thought she might pull a muscle. She didn’t say anything, though, just stood and strode away. I couldn’t bear to listen to Hannah cooing at Neil and I needed a refill on my ale anyway, so I followed her.

I found Ember by the tankards of ale that had been rolled out. She filled her mug, chugged all of it in one go, then wiped her mouth with her sleeve and went to fill it again.

“Hannah’s fucking annoying,” I said, not really bothering to mince my words.

Ember shot me a surprised look, and for a moment I thought she might scold me for speaking ill of a noble. But then she let out a dry laugh, her lips curling into a smirk.

“You say that like we don’t all know it already,” she said.

As if on cue, Hannah’s laugh floated across the square, shrill and piercing despite the din. Ember and I both turned and watched as she leaned closer to Neil, her hand now resting on his arm.

His gaze flicked to her briefly, a polite but distant look in his eyes, and Eric and Castor looked like they wanted to die. But she didn’t even seem to notice.

“Should I go over there and say something, or…?” I asked. I was supposed to be playing the part of Neil’s betrothed, after all.

Ember just shrugged one shoulder. “Let her embarrass herself, I say.”

I couldn’t argue that; and besides, my last interaction with her had been less than pleasant, so I wasn’t really keen on repeating it. “I guess she didn’t get the message that he’s just not interested,” I murmured, crossing my arms and watching the scene unfold.

“She got the message,” Ember replied bitterly. “She just chose to ignore it. Neil told her years ago that he was not interested, that he only saw her as a friend. It didn’t matter. She is too set on being Queen to take no for an answer.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Queen?”

Ember sighed, glancing over at Hannah with thinly veiled disdain in her eyes. “Her father is the King’s seneschal, so she grew up close to the royal family. She has always had her eyes on Neil. She probably thinks he is her best bet at a crown, especially since the other princes are either too old or too... unavailable.”

My gaze shifted back to Neil and Hannah, a knot forming in my stomach. “So, she’s only after him for the title?”

“More or less,” Ember muttered. “Although if you ask me, it is just as much about being the center of attention as it is about the crown. She doesn’t care about Neil. Not really. It’s just about what he can give her.”

At that, Ember’s gaze darkened, and I could sense the resentment bubbling just below the surface. She shook her head and took another big gulp of her ale.

It was strange, seeing her be so open about something like this. After all, Ember was the last person I’d expect to be open about… well, much of anything, actually. I blamed it on the ale, of course, but it was sort of nice having a decent conversation with her for once.

She glanced back at me, and for a moment, something flickered in her eyes. “She could have gotten you killed that night she took you to the King. Could have gotten Neil killed for conspiring with a Werewolf, too. All of us would have been in grave trouble, really.”

I stiffened. The reminder of that night felt like salt in a wound.

But then Ember’s gaze softened. I saw it, even though she quickly looked away, her jaw tightening again. “If she claims to care about Neil, she should not have acted so… rash.”

The way she said those words made my shoulders slump a little, but there wasn’t much I could say other than, “Well, at least nothing bad happened that night.”

Ember shrugged. “Perhaps. But I don’t trust her.”

I nodded. “Same,” I muttered.

It seemed that, despite all of our differences, we had a shared understanding in one matter. And when I looked back at the table, I wasn’t surprised to see Hannah still fawning over Neil, who looked like he was ready to punt her across the square.

“Honestly,” Ember scoffed after gulping down another mouthful of ale, “it’s pathetic.”

I resisted the urge to laugh and filled my own mug. Before Ember could pull away, I clinked mine with hers. “I’ll drink to that,” I said.

She stiffened, eyeing me a little, but nodded and drank with me. We both turned to see Hannah twirling her hair coquettishly. Meanwhile, Eric had taken a sudden interest in twirling his spoon around his stew and Castor just had his head propped in his hand, clearly caught between wanting to be polite and wanting to jump off a cliff.

As if sensing our stares, Neil finally looked our way. When his eyes met mine, I couldn’t help myself. I gave a knowing little tug down the mate bond, a small smirk playing on my lips.

He didn’t roll his eyes, didn’t frown—just gave me a look that said everything he couldn’t say out loud. Although he didn’t tug the bond back.

Suddenly, the sound of glass breaking and voices shouting caused both Ember and I to jump. We exchanged confused glances before turning to see that a crowd had formed a little ways away.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Ember’s eyes lit up. “It looks like we have got a match on our hands.”

“A match?”

Curiosity getting the best of me, I followed Ember and the others as they drifted toward a circle forming around two men.

The crowd cheered and laughed, raising mugs of ale in support of the two men as they circled each other, fists raised. Neither was wearing a shirt, their muscles glistening in the firelight.

The spar went on for a few long minutes, more and more spectators crowding around to get a look. I got jostled on more than one occasion—it seemed that status was forgotten during nights like this—but Neil held his arm out to shield me, his gaze fixed on the fight.

As the fight went on, I noticed that the women especially were cheering louder than all the others. Some of them even seemed to be competing to see who could cheer the loudest, which I found odd.

Finally, one man landed a solid punch and sent his opponent sprawling into the dirt. The crowd erupted in cheers, but I was still a little confused myself.

The victor, a tall, broad-shouldered Lycan with a scar slashing across his jaw, stood over his fallen opponent, breathing hard. He raised his fists, a proud grin stretching across his face as the crowd cheered and banged their mugs.

And then, he lifted a hand, calling for silence. The crowd hushed, anticipation thrumming through the air as he looked around. His eyes seemed to be searching the faces around him.

“Who will challenge me?” he roared.

Finally, his gaze settled on Neil, who was standing beside me. He raised an arm and pointed directly at him.

“How about you, Prince Neil?”