Page 30 of Quest for her Knights (The Lost Souls of Dyconia #5)

Jeramiah decides to take me inside to play a game of checkers.

He’s a little flirty and is nice enough company for an hour, but I don’t feel anything.

There’s no spark there, at least not on my end.

But so far, if I had to pick between all lords I’ve met, these guys would be the clear winners, for numerous reasons.

That doesn’t mean it’s a good choice, at least not in my books.

When I arrived in this realm, the thought of parading around Dyconia, searching for a group of husbands sounded fun, but the reality leaves a lot to be desired for. If only I weren’t forced to marry noblemen, things would be so much easier.

“Princess Elora?” I glance up and realize Rowan’s been standing in front of me, trying to get my attention, and by the sounds of it, that wasn’t the first time he called my name .

“Oh, hi. Sorry, I was distracted for a moment, what did you say?”

“I asked if I could show you something, up in the tower.”

“Sure,” I say, getting to my feet and twisting my torso to stretch out my back. “Lead the way,” I tell him, gesturing to the door. He frowns for a moment but that look quickly changes into a small smile as he moves to the exit.

Jeremiah kisses my hand goodbye and exits out the other door.

I glance behind me and see Arrow and Ranger following behind. Arrow replaced Blaze and Draven while we were playing checkers and I gave him a little wave now I’m not being watched.

He smiles and winks at me and I bite my lip to stop the huge grin from covering my face.

Gah! Why does something as small as a wink make my heart flutter?

I try to pay attention to where I’m stepping as we start ascending a spiraling set of stairs. This must be a tower of sorts. I didn’t even realize this place had one when I saw it from the outside.

After two minutes I start huffing and puffing from the exertion. I stop for a minute and lean a hand on the wall as I ask, “No elevator, huh?”

“Elevator?” Rowan asks, coming back down a few steps to find me completely out of breath .

“Never mind,” I shake my head, remembering there is no electricity here, so there would be no elevators. “I just need a minute.”

He moves down to the same step as me. “Allow me.” He sweeps me off my feet and into his arms as I squeal in fear. The last thing I want is for him to fall down the steps while holding me. “I’ve got you, hold on.”

He marches up the steps and makes it look easy, which I know it can’t be. I should be impressed. Instead I keep glancing over his shoulder at Arrow and Ranger’s frowning faces, wondering what they’re thinking.

When we finally make it to the top, he sets me down and leads me to a large window.

“This is what I wanted to show you.”

I glance outside and from this height you can see for miles. Homes, farmland, and some forested area cover everywhere I can see.

“Wow, that’s quite the view.”

“Everything you see here, we help to take care of.”

“Really?” I ask, not really knowing how things work in this world yet.

“Oh, yes.” He nods enthusiastically. “If anyone is having a problem, they come see us and we help them as best we can.”

“What kind of problems?” Do they act like police? Or more like mayors ?

“If someone is having a problem with their neighbor, we can help mediate. Or if there’s an ogre or wild animal wreaking havoc, we’ll make sure it’s dealt with.”

“You fight ogres?” I ask in surprise. I didn’t realize they were warriors. Maybe that’s not the correct term… swordsmen, perhaps?

His eyes dart to the other side of the room as his voice lowers. “We make sure they’re taken care of.” I turn to see he’s looking at Arrow and Ranger. Didn’t they tell me that was part of the knights’ job? They get called around Dyconia to deal with criminals and unruly beasts?

I decide not to question him about it, knowing that if I ask Blaze later, he’ll tell me the truth.

Rowan continues telling me how they help the locals, and I start to get the feeling he’s boasting to try and impress me. I just nod along until he’s finished, and eventually we make our way to lunch.

I hate eating without the knights. I get that I’m supposed to be a princess and I shouldn’t be eating with them, but we always eat together on the road. Besides, it makes me feel like I’m putting myself above them, and that irritates me.

By the time we’re finishing, I decide I need a little bit of space from the lords to decompress and excuse myself from the room.

It’s still Arrow and Ranger with me as the three of us head toward the back door.

“You doing okay?” Arrow asks, moving up to walk beside me .

“Yeah, I just need a break.”

He nods, and it’s Ranger who speaks next. “You did good today.”

I glance back at him in surprise. “Really?”

He nods. “Yes, you were kind and engaging with them, and you acted like a princess… for once.” His lip twitches at the end, and I turn back around to watch where I’m walking as I internally jump for joy.

Getting praise from Ranger is like being bathed in sunlight.

You forget how good it feels until you step outside and the sun hits your face again.

Arrow pushes the door open and I step outside, taking a deep breath of air. The smell reminds me of the emberroot I picked for Blaze. I slide my hand into my pocket but stop short when I realize it’s empty.

“Oh, shoot,” I mumble, quickly checking my other pocket, but I remember now. I took it out when I sat down to play checkers with Jeremiah because I didn’t want it to get squashed. I must have left it in there.

“What’s wrong?” Arrow asks as he and Ranger stop in front of me.

“I forgot something, I left it in the parlor. I’ll be right back!”

“As if we’ll let you go alone,” Arrow says with a laugh from behind me as I head back inside.

“I’ve got her. You can let the other two know we’ll be back in a few minutes so they don’t have to come switch with us,” Ranger says .

I walk quickly toward the parlor with Ranger on my heels. When we get close, the sound of Jeremiah’s voice has me stopping just short of the doorway.

“...and those sleeves?” He lets out a laugh. “What was she thinking? They look ridiculous.”

My stomach drops.

“Don’t worry,” Edwin tells him. “When we’re married to her, we’ll make sure she’s dressed appropriately.”

I take a small step back, bumping into a large body. Ranger’s arm wraps around my shoulders, holding me against him in support. I know I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but since Ranger isn’t pulling me away, I feel like I need to hear more. Is that the worst of it? Does Rowan feel the same way?

“You should have seen the way she got excited over some emberroot,” Edwin continues. “I showed her all the rare apples and a damned weed is what caught her attention?”

“She’s fucking weird,” Jeremiah says.

I squeeze my eyes shut. I hate that word. Strange, weird, people were always labeling me one or the other when I didn’t meet their expectations of how I should act or dress.

“At least she’s decent to look at,” Rowan adds.

“Yeah, if it wasn’t for those damn knights, I think I could get her in bed with me pretty quickly,” Jeremiah says. I cover my mouth to stay silent as Ranger’s arm tightens around me. I can tell from his body language alone that he’s not happy with what was just said. Neither am I .

“You’re right,” Rowan agrees. “And I think as soon as she sleeps with us and sees firsthand how good we can make her feel, she’ll agree to marry us.”

“We need a plan,” Edwin adds. “A way to distract the knights later so Jeremiah can whisk her away.”

“She’s weird, so she’s probably into some pretty strange stuff in bed. You’ll have to figure that out,” Rowan says.

I can’t take it anymore. I pull away from Ranger’s embrace and walk into the room. Three sets of wide eyes stare at me in surprise.

“Princess—” Rowan starts, but I cut him off as I reach down and grab the emberroot off the table and shove it in my pocket.

“I just came to grab my weeds .”

They’re silent as I pivot and march back out of the room, Ranger right beside me the whole time.

We’re both silent as we keep a brisk pace down the hall, and when I finally step outside, I can’t hold it in any longer. A sob bursts from me, and both hands come up to hide my face. Ranger’s arms surround me as he hugs me to his chest.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, I’ve got you,” he whispers, rubbing my back as he holds me close. After a few more seconds, he lifts me up, and my shortened dress allows my legs to wrap around his waist as I cling to his shoulders and cry into his neck.

I feel like such a mess. I hate crying, especially over something so stupid like what these guys think of me, but I can’t help it. I feel Ranger moving and assume he’s carrying me back to the guest house we’re staying in.

“I’m so proud of you, baby.” My chest tightens with joy at his words. “Keeping your composure until you got outside, it’s just how a princess would act.”

My excitement drops. I don’t want to be a princess. It’s what got me into this mess to begin with. I want to be free to make my own choices, to be my own person. I hear a door open right before the others' voices surround us.

“What happened?”

“Is she okay?”

“Who do I have to kill?”

That last voice was Draven’s, and it was startling enough for me to lift my head and look at him in surprise.

“You’d kill someone because I’m upset?”

He shrugs as he takes in my tear-stained cheeks and red eyes. “Yes.”

Why is the thought of someone killing for me such a turn-on?

I’m so messed up.

“What happened?” Arrow asks again as I unhook my legs and let Ranger place me on my feet.

Blaze passes me a glass of water, and I sit on the couch, taking small sips as Ranger answers for me.

“We overheard the lords saying some completely unacceptable things about Elora. ”

“Shit,” Arrow mumbles as his pitying eyes meet mine. I quickly look down at my glass of water, feeling miserable and sorry for myself. I didn’t want anyone to pity me, for anything, but this feels like a particularly hard blow.