The Vallas Varsity was truly a grand place. It was the first time Elena was visiting it, accompanied by Saray and Miros to attend a charity event that was meant to give more funds to scholarships for young talents. As the carriage entered the gates of the institution, she was already thinking about how good it would be to visit during a normal day with students attending their classes. Surely they would allow her to see the facilities of the law school or the medical school now that she was a Duchess… she’d ask Ivar later.
“Are you impressed, sister? You will really like the schools at Eir, then.”
“What about the academies you supervise, Miros? Do they compare to this?”
“Our academies are much better, of course.”
“Your Grace, Lord Miros. Princess, Duchess, it’s an ho
The palace’s library was full of all kinds of books, but Elena wasn’t informed about the condition of the library in the Alvor Palace. Besides, the journey to get there would take at least ten days, even if they stopped only during the night, that was what the knights had told her when she asked about their upcoming return to the northern region of Vallas. It was necessary to have something to entertain herself during that time, so she and Laila had their fun shopping in the big bookstores of the city.“The Fairy Queen’s Secret Lover.” The girl giggled as she read the title she had in her hands. “Your Grace, it sounds like this is interesting, but is it really okay to read this kind of thing if you’re going to share a carriage with the Duke?”“He won’t mind. Besides, I might read this even before we pa
Dragons lived much longer than humans, and this was just one of the many reasons why they never mate with different species. While one was barely becoming an adult, the other would have been born, lived and gone back to ashes all in the blink of an eye. Although dragons could take on a human form to socialize and establish contact with humans, and some temporary friendships could be formed through the course of their lives, dragons still preferred to be free in their original form.Shapeshifting was a gift given by the Emerald Heart, it had not been part of them from the beginning. It was only Ivar who managed to come to the world in different circumstances.He was born from parents that had been imprisoned in the human shells, long after they had been hiding, long after the last eggs were destroyed, a miracle on its own. He’d also been born the same way
On the fifth day, they stopped to change horses and get some proper rest in a nice town. Elena was just happy that she would sleep in a proper bed, have her hair washed, and eat something that wasn’t dried meat. The massage in her temples and shoulders was also an additional blessing. “To be honest, my lady, when I received your letter with the offer to go to the Duke’s estate, I became very worried about you. But I’m relieved, after seeing with my own eyes how he treats you.” It was a good thing that Mariela had finally joined her at last. There were many days left until they reached Alvor, and she would be a good company to Laila. Besides, now that she was going to a foreign place, the old familiarity and warm feelings from the person who’d been serving by her side for more than six years was something that gave her some assurance.
Not a monster, just not human. The Duke of Alba’s orders weren’t questioned, so the blue-skinned baby was taken back to the camp. Elena did not ask Ivar about the nature of the child until they left the child sleeping safely in Mariela’s arms. (She and Laila fed the baby and took care of him without question, even if the latter looked a bit afraid, making Elena proud of her people).“Do you know what he is, if not human? Is that perhaps the reason why he was abandoned?”Ivar nodded, “I believe the child is a mixed-race, half fairy.”He started unbuttoning his shirt and sat on the bed, looking completely nonchalant after a statement like that.“Fairy?”Did something like th
Elena did not see Ivar the next day either, while she was getting acquainted with all the servants and learned about everything there was to know about the city of Aurora, the most important trading market between Eir and Vallas even in times before the Empire.A trip to the heart of the city, its schools, academy, and orphanage was the first thing on her list. Getting to meet the noble families that lived nearby came second.If the nobles around the capital or down in the south had their apprehensions about the Alba family and Ivar in particular, then it was a well-known fact that the nobles in Alvor just hated him.This duchy was built over the destruction of many old names that used to rule in the north of Vallas, and even some southern
The cold fever didn’t go away until he woke up, well past noon the next day. The space on the right side of the bed was empty, any trace of Elena’s presence was long gone.“Who did this to you?”Few people had ever sounded so sincerely concerned about his well-being, and he almost felt guilty that he couldn’t be honest with her (which seemed like it would be a constant in this relationship).Putting on a shirt, and grabbing some clean clothes from the closet, Ivar walked out of the room and made a slow descent to the hot springs underneath the palace. On his way there, he asked Bolton about Elena’s whereabouts and learned that she’d gone outside with her personal maids and the baby, who apparently needed to spend long hours out
The man dressed in grey was a sorcerer, the one who brought the storm upon them. Elena sensed it as soon as she stepped out of the carriage, looking around their attackers and the situation they were in. “Your Grace, don’t…” Whatever Vicente wanted to ask of her, Elena didn’t hear him finish, because he passed on on her feet. She clenched her fist, trying to control her trembling. It wouldn't help if she let them see her fear at the moment. One of them grabbed her arm forcefully, and Elena tried in vain to push him away. “Who are you?” “You will have your answers soon enough.” The leader, a tall man with the most ordinary appearance, smirked as if he’d already won. “Sir, what do we do with the other girl in the carriage?
“I did say there was something I wanted to show you.” He whispered, brushing his lips against hers one last time before letting her go.She followed him with her gaze as he walked a few steps towards the bookshelf on the bookshelf closest to his desk, and opened it as if it was a normal door.“Is this supposed to be some kind of secret passage?”“Not really. It’s more like a convenient entrance to keep some areas of the palace for myself, but if someone came looking for a secret passage, it isn’t that difficult to find, don’t you think?”He stepped into what looked like a rather long staircase that descended in a spiral and kept one of his arms stretched towards her, an invitation for her to follow him to this u