Page 63 of A Yulean Sister’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped

As we walked, I noticed an influx of people. It was getting close to dinner time, so it made sense more people were milling about.

“Come one, come all!” a loud voice shouted from just ahead. “The Show of Light is tonight, and you won’t want to miss it! Acrobats, fire eaters, and of course, a light show you’re sure to never forget!”

Most people ignored him, just brushing past, Shadowhart and Bramwell being two of them. But I had stopped just long enough for him to spot me. He was a bit off in the crowd, but it felt like he was suddenly in front of me, as if he had teleported there.

A paper was suddenly right in my face. “Care to join us tonight?” he asked. “It’s sure to be a magical time.”

I took the invite, a painted image of someone in a floating hoop with fireworks shooting off behind the pretty font that read “The Show of Lights.”

“What are you doing?” Shadowhart snapped, jolting me from my perusal.

When I glanced up, the man was gone, back to his spot, calling out about the show, as if he’d never appeared in front of me at all.

I held the paper out. “The show,” I said. “It looks fun, we should go.”

He looked at it briefly, before dismissing it entirely and starting to slither again. “No.”

Annoyance flared, like the sparks of a match that didn’t quite light on the first strike.

“You don’t even know what it is.”

“A distraction,” he said, continuing to walk. “And I need to be back for Connie to go out later.”

“Fine, I’ll go by myself,” I said.

“No, you won’t.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.”

“When you’re on my ship, I can.”

I reeled back as if he hit me. “I’m not your prisoner.”

His exasperated sigh reminded me of the ones I was used to getting from Sybil when she would catch me coming back late. “No, you aren’t, but I am trying to return you home all in one piece.”

Bramwell walked in step with us, but was purposefully keeping his attention elsewhere, not wanting to get in the middle of it.

That reminded me of Sorcha.

“I’ve been out before. I don’t need you to worry about me.”

“This isn’t the same as your lavish balls you love so much. This is the port, the crowds are more dangerous, and you would have no idea anything was wrong until you were kidnapped for real, or worse. I said you’re not going, and that’s the end of it.”

If a gaze could set someone ablaze, Shadowhart would be ash. I didn’t continue to argue. I knew he saw me the same way everyone else did. A princess worth nothing but her looks.

I walked faster than either of them, eager to get back to the ship and get this whole trip over with.

Chapter 21

Sage

Shadowhart didn’t talk to me the entire walk back, nor did he try to speak to me when I went straight to my room, slamming my door for good measure. I was so mad not even the ocean hanging below the planks made me pause. Who was he to tell me what I could and couldn’t do? I was an adult, one who had plenty more experience than he gave me credit for.

I stood over the desk and uncrumpled the flyer I’d crushed in my hands. Being told what to do and what not to do all the time was getting really old, really fast.

With my mind set, I went to the closet for something to wear. But everything I had was so… bright. Which I normally liked, but they turned me into a beacon when I was trying to be sneaky. Maybe I should go find Shadowhart and ask for my bags. But then he might ask me why, and I didn’t have an explanation for him.

There was a soft knock on my door. Anne was there when I opened, the exact bags I wanted in her hands. Though I was still aggravated about what happened the other day, she was doing me a favor right now whether she knew or not.