Page 29 of Glass Hearts

“On second thought, that face is too beautiful to cover up. Take it off immediately.” She swats at my shoulder as she laughs.

“Maybe you can take it off me when we get back?” She winks. My poor boner will not be subsiding anytime soon. It’s a lovely torture.

We get to the outskirts of Harsekeep as Wallace slows down the carriage. I frantically get out so I can bow and offer her my hand to dismount, like a true gentleman. She giggles as she gets out. Totally nailing this gentleman business.

“Okay, where to, Duchess?”

“Come with me!” She runs and laughs, gloriously still holding my hand. It’s this wildness in her that has me so enraptured.

She takes me to the market, the community instantly brightening as they see Arabella—or I suppose, The Shadow. I tense up a little as so many people approach us. But she continues to hold my hand, squeezing it as every new person comes by.

“Shadow! We haven’t seen you around for the last few evenings. And after seeing those princes chasing you, we were so worried.”

The other patrons don’t seem to notice me. Not that they could tell I am the prince with my hood up and face covered.

“I am perfectly fine, Marcos, nothing I couldn’t handle. How has the business been holding up?”

“Really good now that Craiger has stopped inflating the price of ingredients. Thank you, Shadow. Please take these for you and your friend.” He hugs Arabella and hands her and me a doughy pastry dessert dusted in what looks to be sugar and cinnamon.

“Take care, Marcos!” She waves, her other hand taking mine as we walk off to an open bench.

“You helped him, too?” Awkwardly lifting my bandana, I take a bite of the dessert. The warm pastry and flavours explode in my mouth. It is the best thing I have ever tasted. Well, besides my duchess. She giggles at my groan, also taking a sneaky bite before answering my question.

“Yes, about a month ago, the supplier Marcos uses for his business inflated all the prices of ingredients. Just for the people of Harsekeep, of course. So, I infiltrated his warehouse with thousands of my mouse friends. Well, Kip and Bert’s friends.

There is no way I could remember and ask a request of help from that many mice.

But I digress. Once I got into the warehouse, I held my arrow up towards his heart and informed him I had thousands of mice ready to be unleashed on his goods.

His ego and greed got the better of him, and he conceded to bringing his prices back down and offering rebates to those who had been affected.

I, of course, also requested his jewels and coins he had on hand.

” She chuckles and shakes her head, reminiscing.

“How could the supplier get away with that!?”

“Well, no offense, the crown has been quite unhelpful. My people have always brought it up to the council. Yet nothing ever comes of it. Do you guys even hear of these requests for investigation?”

“Fuck. Honestly, no. At most, they have told us there has been a bit of unrest in Harsekeep, but that’s it.”

An unfamiliar emotion, shame, fills me as I think about all that we may have missed in allowing the council to run things.

She nods, “That doesn’t surprise me. Almost makes me wonder if the council is also being paid off by these rich fucks too. But let’s not get into that. Would rather not spoil our lovely evening.”

“I do want us to talk about this soon, maybe with all my brothers in the room. I think they would like to hear it. But I agree—I want to focus on you. I am curious; where did you learn how to shoot a bow and arrow?” She snorts at my question, and I raise a pierced eyebrow.

“Honestly… I have never actually used it.” We both laugh as I almost choke on my pastry in shock.

“What? Why?!”

“Valak, a friend of mine, gave it to me. Apparently, it belonged to ‘The Great Art Thief of Endor.’ I always looked up to that guy. He successfully managed to steal and sell numerous art pieces. He gave to the poor. While I was struggling with my stepfamily’s abuse, he served as an inspiration.

Valak told me about him, and when I was younger, my father would tell marvelous stories of the morally grey hero.

Nobody knows what happened to him. Valak says he must have retired or moved on.

Oliver had given him the set, and in turn, he gave it to me.

Just so I looked a little more threatening when stealing.

” She laughs. “I actually tried to practice once, and I almost accidentally shot Petra, my crow familiar and friend.”

“Maybe Sylas can teach you; he knows a lot about pretty much all weapons. I would offer, but I know about as much as you. I prefer knife play.” I wiggle my eyebrows at her as she blushes, that cute pink hue peeking out from under her bandana.

How I wish I could see her beautiful face in all its glory right now.

We finish our pastries and throw the empty wrappers into the bins. I can see why Arabella loves the area. Though it is a bit crowded and falling into disrepair, the community seems to shine. How we hadn’t noticed prior, I am unsure.

We continue to peruse the market. Talking and flirting. Occasionally being stopped by another admirer of The Shadow. Honestly, I can’t blame them. The more and more I hear of her work, the more deeply I fall in love.

“Come, I want to show you my favourite spot.”

She leads me up an old stone building that seems to have once been a church, which now houses a brothel. Instead of going inside, we head to the side of the building, where a ladder hangs with access to the roof.

“A brothel, Duchess? You can have me for free.”

She rolls her eyes but laughs all the same and starts climbing the ladder. I take a moment to appreciate that stunning ass as she climbs up.

“Stop staring at my ass, Gray, and start climbing.” Busted.

Once we get to the top, I am left speechless.

The town glitters with lights and buzzing people all around.

The castle shines in the distance with the moonlight.

But it’s the view of my duchess, looking at her city, that has my heart beating rapidly into my chest. She takes off the bandana, her loose strands of hair blowing in the wind; and when she looks back at me with a smile, I know I can never let her go.

She ends up sitting on the ledge, feet dangling into the open air like she belongs there, fearless and free. When she pats the space beside her, it’s not a demand, just a quiet invitation. And somehow, that’s enough to get my feet moving again to sit next to her.

She leans into me without a word, resting her head on my shoulder like it’s where she was always meant to be. I wrap my arm around her, and something inside me exhales. Like my chest has been too tight for too long, and only now remembering how to soften.

We don’t have to say a thing. Just being here, beside her, feels like coming home.

“I wish this could all be real.” Arabella sighs, breaking the delicate silence.

“What do you mean, love?”

“You and I. That you weren’t a prince, or that I wasn’t just a servant. I am waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop.”

I turn to her. “Arabella, you are mine. Ours. We are going to confront the council. Not only about us, but about everything you said. You have the potential to be the best queen. Clearly, you have a connection to the people. You care. Which makes me fall for you even harder. To be honest, I never cared about being a king. It’s not something I had thought would happen.

But we could change Velora, make it even better, for citizens of every class.

That makes me now want to be a king. Especially with a lovely lady by my side. ”

“You never thought you would be a King? Why?”

“I take it you know little about my father, the Water King?” She shakes her head.

I pull her in tighter and blow out a heavy exhale before I continue.

“He is, to put it simply, a giant asshole. You would have targeted him long ago if he lived here. He was married and expecting with the gorgeous Queen Edith, Koi’s mother, when he came to the Fire Isles for the first time.

He decided to cheat on his pregnant wife with the princess of the Fire Isles, my mother.

She was slated to be the first ever queen since my grandfather and grandmother had no male heirs.

My mother kept me a secret. Koi was born, and he seemed focused on his new heir and never returned to my mother.

Until he showed up with a young Koi, almost the same age as me, unexpectedly at my mother’s coronation.

Of course, I was there, only ten. It was unmistakable that I was his son; I have always looked like the darker version of my brother.

” I blow out a breath, not wanting to continue my sob story.

Arabella must feel the tension emanating from my body. She turns to hug me. Looking into my eyes, asking me without words to continue. I squeeze her back.

“Of course, he didn’t take well to my mother hiding my birth.

The Water King was furious, threatening war if she didn’t hand me over to him.

It broke my mother’s heart to watch me go.

Well, it broke both of our hearts. So, I had to move to the Water Isle.

It turns out he didn’t want me because I was his son.

He knew I could be a pawn for him to take over the Fire Isles, since I am of both bloodlines.

He then resented me more once his wife, the queen, pulled away from him after learning of his affair.

So, he took out his anger on me. I lived most of my life in the dark basement of the Water Isle’s castle.

I would get one meal a day, and that was only after I received a swift beating from either him or one of the guards.

Koi would come down every night to bring me more food, medical supplies, or really just to be there for me.

To keep me sane. But then after a year, my… my mother died.”