The reunion with an angry and hungry vampire was as pleasant as one would imagine. Neither Freya nor Qadir said any word, simply ignoring each other's presence, leaving Leander to do the talking, which didn't happen often. Twice he ordered a break, once he asked Qadir about his well-being, and after an unpleasant answer from the younger vampire, he stayed silent till the lights of Nyamene brightened their path. Freya gasped, admiring the beauty of the city from afar.
"It's even prettier up close." That was the first time Leander said something directly to her. She didn't blame him, being in his place, she would also avoid triggering Qadir's impossible performance at all costs. Reaching the city meant he would finally feed properly, which was good for his behavior's improvement, but at the same time—disastrous, meaning that some of her father's people, of her people had to become donors for his benefit. She hoped Leander knew what he was doing.
The rest of the way went smoothly, allowing them to arrive at the city when the sky was still dark and filled with stars. The city was indeed, so very pretty. Strangely for a port, it didn't smell bad. The air was strewn with the smell of the sea, yes, but for her, it appeared as pleasant as the smell of her beloved forest. She couldn't wait to see the deep waters. It would be her first time and she was impatient.
"The inn we're about to stay in is settled near the shore. If you're lucky, your room would have windows in that direction." The Prince leaned toward her. She gave him a smile filled with gratefulness. He seemed to understand her needs almost better than she did already.
"Could I go and see myself?"
He frowned. "You're not our prisoner, Princess."
She held his stare. Maybe she wasn't but she had intertwined her fate with these people. The gilded cage was a cage nevertheless.
"Of course not," she murmured, not fully convinced.
Medium-sized houses colored with many paints surrounded them, making Freya feel like they were competing in the most colorful city competition. That was good, though. It made it look full of life in the company of many lights and greenery. There was a green zone in front of every building, dividing them from the ugliness of the streets. Some got to have trees, some just shrubs but it was green and it was pretty. Freya was used to the capital looking like that but thought the cities like Nyamene—being the port cities—would look worse, ugly even. That view surprised her though. She felt proud all of a sudden because she got a hunch that was her father's doing. Leander even stated at some point something about him not getting this whole greenery idea.
Freya hadn't really thought about it earlier, but now she wondered what was her father's reason for such love for nature. It was surely not a popular course for a king to care about stuff like that. Maybe a long-time peace did that to people?
They arrived at the inn soon after. It was in front of the shore, as a matter of fact, but the shore was full of docked ships, and standing there she couldn't see the sea in their full glory. Maybe she'd be lucky and get the room on the higher floors. The building was tall enough to allow her the view.
They passed the reins to the stable boy, taking only these bags that would suit them for the change of clothes. Freya took her bag and followed Leander's firm steps—Qadir behind her. The Prince approached the front desk and exchanged a few words with the woman sitting there. She looked like talking with the vampire gave her many pleasure, shifting on her chair and leaning toward him. She even took a strand of her hair and started to curl it on her finger.
Freya watched with her mouth set straight. She didn't like the view. Bloody woman with her pretty smug face, thinking who knows what and flirting with the most handsome man she probably met in her life. Leander replied with a cute smile, making Freya wonder, which pair of eyes was she going to poke out first. That woman wasn't even that pretty.
Freya froze.
What on earth was going on with her? Fucking hell. She was a mess...
She didn't need to dwell on her new set of emotions though, because the next thing she saw was Leander's steady hand on her shoulder, pushing her lightly upstairs.
"Come, Princess, I'll show you to your room," he grinned, holding three keys in his other hand. One of them he tossed to Qadir, who caught it without any word and sprinted upstairs.
They started the ascend. Freya at the front, Leander smoothly followed, indicating the way where the corridors parted. The amount of steps told her pretty much everything she needed to know. He managed to book the rooms on the last floor, the highest one. She was smiling from ear to ear. Even the thought of that woman flirting with him wasn't going to break her high spirits. And even more... Why would that view trouble her exactly? That was still a big mystery to her.
Standing in front of the door, she waited for the Prince to open it, agitated.
"Come on Lee, what's taking you so long?" She burst at last, not controlling her impatience any longer.
He chuckled looking roguish as hell. "Teasing you is such a treat, dear Princess."
Freya scoffed sending him a freezing glance.
"All right, all right. There you go."
Finally, the door opened, revealing a cozy room. The room was definitely much, much prettier than the one at The Ruby Dagger, and this time she had it all for herself. What caught her attention though was a big spacious window from where she spotted docks and ships and what certainly should be the sea once the sun fully rose. That—the possibility of a spectacle awaiting, was the biggest gift anyone could offer her on this journey so far.
"It's perfect, Lee. Just perfect... Thank you." She threw her bag on the floor and walked to the window. Focusing on the decks, she didn't catch the Prince's look, who at this moment was utterly mesmerized. Not by the room, not by the window—by the woman herself.
"I'm glad you like it," he murmured, standing right behind her. "It got a hell of convincing from my part," he added with his casual tone.
Freya turned frowning. "I could see that."
One corner of his mouth rose creating a very cunning smirk. "What's with the frowning?"
Freya gathered herself quickly with a blush. "Nothing."
Leander didn't look convinced but luckily for her, he let it be. "I'm going with Qadir to supervise him on feeding while it's still dark." Freya's face must have shown him her every worry because he quickly added, "Don't worry, Frey. Nobody's going to die tonight. I promise."
"Don't let me down, Lee. This trust between us... It's a fragile little thing." Her voice was not much above a whisper. The truth was—she was scared. If that was her who was bitten, she wouldn't care, but with others she wasn't so careless. She probably cared much more than she was supposed to, but she couldn't fight it. Being close to the common people taught her no life was more precious than the other and she ached to know that because of her, some of these lives were in danger. Supervised danger, but in danger nevertheless.
"I won't." He smiled briefly and took off, closing the door behind him.
Watching his disappearing figure, Freya couldn't believe her life to changed this much in such a short period of time. Her putting her trust in a vampire... Ugh... even more! Her learning about their existence in the first place! Pure madness...
Being already on the third day of their journey, Freya started to feel homesick. She missed her siblings, curious about how were they coping with her being gone. The certainty that her stepmother wasn't supporting them through this was painful. Freya knew she loved her children, but her disdain toward her husband's firstborn daughter was definitely something she wasn't able to brave out. Freya trusted her father, though. The king promised her to keep an eye on Eloise's and Emmett's behavior and react if either of them acted on their longing. It's not that this was the first time of her being outside the palace. But it was the first time she wasn't going back in the near future.
She hoped that they weren't being mischievous. As for Emmett, she was quite calm, but with her little rascal of a sister... She couldn't put it past her to jump on a horse and simply try to follow Freya's companionship. Her sister was, after all, so very similar to Freya at her age. And Freya was quite a handful.
She missed Giselle, longing for her maid's sharp demeanor and very skillful hands. Although Freya could take care of herself, she simply enjoyed sharing these moments with her friend. Picking dresses, styling hair, gossiping about other royals and palace stuff... She didn't regret her decision about not taking the woman with herself though. Even if she had to depart without saying goodbye, she knew her decision was right.
Freya turned so she could now watch the docks. Not much longer till the sunrise... She could order a bath and clean herself before the show began.
What could be more perfect at that peculiar moment?