"Two coulnas it is then." He smiled back.
Ella stood close by Killian as he ordered the drink. A warm feeling was coming over her. She still held his hand, and, leaning, she snuggled into his body. He looked over at her and smiled.
"Lord of the Sun, you have an eye for a good tavern."
Killian placed his arm around her. Ella tensed a little, and then relaxed. There was no one to go home to, no one to worry about her — why shouldn’t she enjoy herself?
Killian paid the barman and turned to face her. The drinks were left on the bar, untouched. Ella tilted her head back, her lips parted.
He took the offer, leaned in, and kissed her.
Ella felt languid in his arms, her weight supported. He held her close as he kissed her, not insistently, but gently.
She broke off the kiss. "I love this tune! Do you know it?"
"No." He smiled.
"Come and dance. Come on!"
Ella dragged him onto the dance floor and soon he held her in his arms, twirling her. Killian’s steps were foreign, but he was sure on his feet. She was deft enough to move with him.
Ella caught the eyes of some faces from her classes. The girls looked on in envy at the charming man who danced with such grace. The young men frowned.
Ella didn’t care. She was lost in the moment.
~
ELLA and Killian stayed at The Prey Turned Hunter until well after midnight, dancing and laughing. They didn’t kiss again. Ella was content to merely be close to someone, to be young and happy, just like the others. She frequently ran her fingers over the nape of Killian’s neck, feeling his red locks in her fingers. He often kept an arm around her waist, gently feeling the pressure of her body against him, the curve of her hip.
Finally they tumbled out onto the street, leaving the warm glow of the music hall behind them. Looking around, Ella realised they were among the last people out in the Woltenplats. Many of the public houses had closed, their doors shut and nightlamps deactivated. Only a few hangers-on stayed in The Prey Turned Hunter, eking the last few moments’ pleasure out of the night.
Ella was unprepared for the late night chill. It was freezing, and her breath came out in a cloud of vapour. She shivered.
Suddenly she realised how little she knew about this man. He knew so much about her.
"I should be going now," she said.
Apparently sensing the change in mood, Killian made no protest. Ella turned away and took a step, before turning back to face him.
"I had… I had a wonderful time."
"I am glad. I did too." His smile was broad.
On impulse Ella dashed up to him and brushed her lips against his, before walking into the night.
20
While I looked on, the Petryan High Lord had his elementalists create a wall of fire. It was like nothing so much as a waterfall, but constructed of bright red flame. He then proceeded to entertain himself by forcing villagers to run through the searing barrier, so hot that I felt it from a great distance away. I can still hear their screams now.
— Toro Marossa, ‘Explorations’, Page 106, 423 Y.E.
MIRO pulled his green cloak around him. It was unbearably cold, getting worse as they entered Halrana lands and drew closer to their destination.
It had been a week since they’d crossed the great Bridge of Sutanesta, leaving Altura behind them and entering Halrana lands. Miro had heard descriptions of the bridge but had never seen it. They said it was as ancient as the Sentinel in the great harbour at Seranthia. They said there was no force that could lift such massive stones.
The column moved ponderously along the road, a long unbroken line of officers, nobles, soldiers, administrators, porters, hunters, cooks, tinkers, smiths, carpenters, masons and assorted camp followers. Stretching as far as the eye could see in either direction, like a rope lined along a curving line to determine its length, it wended its way through villages, over hills and around forests. But their path was climbing, always climbing, as they headed for the high ground of the Ring Forts.
A group of enchanters mingled with the lords, ready to counter the tricks of the enemy’s lore and come up with some tricks of their own. Miro wondered how hard it would be to keep them safe, and if Ella would be sent to the front as their numbers dwindled.
Miro had been grouped with the bladesingers, but at the back, with the other untried and untested recruits. He occasionally noticed the awed glances of the regular soldiers; they didn’t realise the distinction between his raj hada lined with blue, and the blood-red-against-green of a true bladesinger.