Braxton POV

We made it to Cyran yesterday. Captain Nikki kept us on schedule through a thunderstorm the day before yesterday. It took us three days to reach Cyran from Tana Town, and it’s been hell. The calm and cool Rosewyn has turned into a silent time bomb. I know what we read in the newspapers was bad, but I didn’t think it would cause such a mood shift. Emera and I haven’t had a moment alone since that day. Silas has been giving them both a wide berth, which was weird. Rosewyn and Silas had been close until now, but he has spent his whole time with his nose in a book. Something happened between Rosewyn and Silas, but they actively avoid each other.

I thought making it to port and showing the girls around would lift everyone’s spirits. Cyran was a unique city that surrounded both sides of the Perin River. It was a city built in a gorge carved by the river. There was a natural land bridge above the city that connected the two sides. Every building was made from the natural sandstone of the gorge with terracotta roofs. Each building had its own carved pattern to represent the family or the place of business on the outside. Smaller wooden boats were the preferred travel method here, so I rented one to ferry us around. Emera smiled a little. Rosewyn was emotionless the whole way. Silas glanced up from his book every once in a while. It was a mess.

Instead of an inn, Silas rented us a small villa on the edge of town. Word of his appearance in the city had spread like wildfire by dinner time. Our little villa had its boat to use to get around, but I got the feeling no one wanted to go anywhere right now. The furniture in the villa was classic and homey. I preferred a place like this to the huge castle waiting for us in Desfyra. Queen Amory has been writing to Silas daily. An investigation into N’ila was already underway. We had rescued enough victims to fast-track the investigation. Unfortunately, Mylor Aniya has been back at court since the tragedy of N’ila and has requested Queen Amory summon us home. He has questions about our involvement with the dragon rampage two or three months ago now. Time flies by when you are traveling.

Emera emerged from her room on the second floor and slid down the railing of the stairs with a small giggle. I returned her smile with my own as I greeted her from my seat at the table in the kitchen. Her choice of clothes today was something new. She wore a green dress that reached her feet, a gold band on her arm, and a matching gold pin in her hair. I was used to her brown tunic and black skirt styled in her silver light armor. My cheeks reddened at her beauty. She seemed better after a night’s rest, which made me relax a bit. The tension around our group has been on the rise lately. Emera still hasn’t answered me whether she will let me court her or not, which has been frustrating. I have been in suspense for a long time now, and it’s starting to hurt that she hasn’t answered me.

“Why are you brooding, brute?” Emera teased as she sat next to me with her yachi bread.

I guess my emotions were showing. “It’s…shit. Emera, I-”

A door from the second floor swung open, destroying my hope in a flash. Rosewyn leaped from the second floor, landing in the kitchen with a bang. She had her hair tucked into a bun that looked almost as big as her head. Instead of her usual black, leather armor and combat-ready clothes, she wore a white, loose button-up shirt with a dark blue skirt. In the two months that we have spent together, this is the first time that I have seen them dress casually.

“I think you made the brute speechless, Ro,” Emera commented. Her tone sounded more sarcastic than playful though, which didn’t bode well for me.

“I am not speechless,” I retorted. “You both just look different.”

The two girls looked at each other from across the kitchen and laughed. “A change of clothes has this much effect on you, Braxton?” Rosewyn teased. “Ema, you better be prepared, the brute might try to hug you because you look so cute today.”

“Hey!”

“Don’t be so hard on the orc, Ro. We broke his brain from our beauty.” Emera giggled.

Just then, a grumpy-looking Silas appeared in the kitchen, mumbling under his breath. Silas was dressed down from his usual attire. He was in a simple black button-down shirt and casual blue pants, which were tucked into his brown boots. His hair was in a low ponytail, and his sleeves were rolled up. It was like the three of them thought we were on vacation or something.

“Rosewyn, we need to head to the library this morning,” Silas said, stiffly. He grabbed the last piece of yachi bread and gulped it down. “There might be more on Ramire Bishop’s teacher. He was originally from this area.”

“As fun as that sounds, Prince Halestone,” Rosewyn replied with pure sarcasm. “I am off to the local market. We info on this ‘Captain Boom’ guy hence my none threatening attire.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Silas chided her quietly. “Can’t argue with that can I…” He grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

“You should go with him, Rosewyn,” I suggested. “He’s the prince of this nation, and he requires a bodyguard. Emera and I will gather intel.”

Rosewyn glared at me like I was the worst person in the world. “Then why don’t you go, Mr. Bodyguard?”

“He will attract more attention if I am with him. I look like a bodyguard. You don’t.” I answered her challenge with logic besides I wanted some time with Emera today.

“Fine. I’ll go today, but tomorrow one of you will attend the prince instead.” Her anger concerned me. What happened between those two?

“Sure,” I agreed.

Emera stayed quiet the whole time allowing me to settle details with Rosewyn. She huffed as finished clearing away her breakfast to chase after the ‘bratty’ prince as she called him. Weren’t they thick as thieves a few days ago? It feels like we are all keeping secrets from each other, which ends in ruin for most friendships. I didn’t want that for the four of us. We would need to have a chat soon to clear the air.

Emera cleaned up the table without saying a word, which worried me. “Is everything okay, Emera?”

“I don’t know, brute. You just forced those two together and delayed our mission here in Cyran. You tell me. Is everything okay?” Her tone was cold. I guess I deserve that.

“No, I ain’t ok, Emera,” I grunted. “Why would I be?” I kept the volume of my voice down, but the ache of hanging in suspense over her was spilling out. “It feels like you’re crushing me with your silence.”

She froze in her spot in the kitchen. I stood up from the table to meet her in the kitchen. Her face was sad, which meant I was probably going to get my heart broken. Her back was to me as towered over her small frame. I am not sure when my infatuation with her became something so strong. Her tail coiled around my wrist to keep me close. Was it the love I was feeling? I wasn’t sure. My life was on the battlefield until a few years ago when Silas took me on as his bodyguard. I never had a chance to stop and feel anything like this until now.

Standing right behind her, I ran my knuckles down her back. Her green dress was thin, allowing me to feel her skin end and her soft fur began. She leaned into my touch, inviting me closer. My left slid down her side to her hip, so I could get a good grip on her. She smelt like the sweet yachi bread from breakfast. Looking down at her, we had about a two-foot height difference that I wanted to close, but I needed an answer first before I gave in and kissed her.

I leaned down to whisper in her fluffy ear. “Emera put me out of my misery, please,” I begged. “Let me court you.”

Her ears tucked themselves behind her and her tail uncoiled from my wrist as she turned around to look at me. Those beautiful green eyes were holding me captive in my spot. “Braxton,” her voice sounded broken. “Could we do this? We have dedicated our lives to Silas and Rosewyn in different ways, and for now, both paths intertwine.”

I lifted her to the counter, so we were eye level with each other. She didn’t seem to mind as she gazed at me for what seemed like long. Damn it. My heart was beginning to hope even though her words sounded like they were about to crush me like a boulder dropping on a stone. My heart raced as she tried to find the answers to our problem. But, it wasn’t a problem, was it?

“We can. I can go anywhere, Emera. Silas told me as much back in Kanna. I think he knows something is happening between us.”

“He said that?” Her longing turned into a panicked expression.

“He did,” I confirmed. “He doesn’t want to stand in our way, Emera. I can follow you and Rosewyn anywhere if you choose it.”

“So, you just want to ignore the laws set forth by the Gleaca Council?” Emera questioned.

The Gleaca Council didn’t matter now that we were with Rosewyn. “Aren’t we doing that already? Your best friend is a hybrid. What’s one more courtship law broken when we are aiding the product of a broken courtship law?”

Emera suddenly burst into tears, and I was more confused than ever. So, I did what any confused man should do and hugged her. I wanted this, but it had to be her choice. She needed to pick me like I was picking her, or there was no point in going any further. We could fall apart three days from now, and I would be okay with that if she just picked me now. I held her as closely as I could at that moment. For this one second, I could pretend she wanted me like I wanted her.

My arms went slack to give her room to breathe. Her face had been buried in my chest. She sucked in a breath and looked up at me with a smile. “I think they both know about us, Braxton. Ro reminded me that I am free to go anywhere I want while we were shopping yesterday.”

“Is that a good thing?” I asked, running my fingers through her fur on her head.

“Yes,” She nodded. “Yes, you can ‘court’ me or whatever orcs do. I only know what adventurers do since I was raised by them.”

That was curious. Emera was raised by adventurers. Were her parents adventurers too? “How do adventurers start a relationship?”

“Well, people die easily in that line of work, so they go all in right away, or they enjoy every experience offered to them for as long as they can.” Her cheeks were beat red from her words.

“They mate so casually!” I exclaimed. My cheeks were surely burning. “I thought that shit only happened on the damn battlefield.”

Emera began to laugh hysterically at me. “They go to battle every day, brute. Their life could end any minute.”

“What about beast folk? How do they court each other?” I was hopeful her own culture was more committed than the adventurers who raised her.

“If you don’t like what adventurers do, then I doubt you like what beast folk do. They don’t get married or anything. They mark one another by biting each other when they pick someone to mate with. It’s permanent if you are meant to be. If the mark disappears though, then you aren’t meant for each other. Someone I knew ended up unmated after a few years together.” Emera explained.

They bite each other. Damn, beast folk magic was complex. Would Emera bite me one day? “Beast folk are complicated. What happens with mixed races? Do they still bite each other?”

Emera’s tail bounced with each giggle. “I don’t know. Maybe Rosewyn knows? Her parents were mixed.”

“Well, now that we’re courting. We will have to tell them about it.” I leaned back against the counter next to Emera as her feet dangled off the kitchen counter.

“Yeah, let’s tell them tonight over drinks. I think I might need something to get me through Ro’s lecture.” She laid her head on my shoulder.

“Are you old enough to drink?” I wondered.

Emera’s grin soured a bit. “What’s the drinking age in Desfyra?”

“Nineteen.”

“Then, yes, brute. I can drink.” She smiled slyly.