Winter Sun: A Fantasy Romance (Warriors of the Five Realms Book 2) by Hollee Mands

Author:Hollee Mands [Mands, Hollee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780645141528
Published: 2021-11-29T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty

If there was one thing Evangeline detested about living in Castle Amereen, it was that she was unable to leave the premises on her own. Wedged between Torgerson Range and the Jachuanuan Seas, the castle was a fortress not easily accessible by physical roads. Without Declan or a battlemage to teleport her, she was literally confined within the castle’s walls.

She could ride, of course, but she was no seasoned rider. No stablemaster would allow her on anything but the gentlest mares, which were only good for cantering on even ground. Even if she managed to procure a gelding trained to navigate the steep slopes to the nearest settlement, no soldier would allow her past the drawbridge without her guard. And even then, there was no way she could pass the wards without her archmage sensing her departure.

No way, unless she exited via the portal of an Unseelie who had free access to the castle grounds.

Walking through the swirling shadows of Gabriel’s portal, Evangeline stepped into an alleyway compacted between grime-worn walls capped by lichen-kissed gables. The faint but pervasive scent of decaying food and rancid oil suggested they were in the rear of taverns and dining houses. Shyaree gave a silent gag and pinched her nose, yet she regarded everything from the emptied ale barrels and overflowing trash buckets to the grease-stained gutters with wide eyes.

“Could you not have opened your portal somewhere more palatable, Blacksage?” Alexander muttered. “I believe the Quarter is still two streets away.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes, which were currently the shade of the ocean. At Evangeline’s insistence, he’d humanized his appearance. “With the autumn bazaar in session, the Quarter is more crowded than a jail cell after a marshal raid. Every merchant willing to travel the distance will already be here, vying to make a last rush of coin before the winter drought.”

Alexander laughed. “Your portal would cause the crowds no major alarm. One look at that ugly, bloodthirsty countenance of yours would cause people to run screaming.”

Not the least offended, Gabriel shot the councilor a grin that would have flashed fangs had he not veiled them, too. “I wasn’t worried about causing unnecessary alarm. I was more worried for the women you’ll leave swooning with that pretty face of yours, golden boy.”

Alexander aimed a rude gesture at the fae. “I’ll take swooning women over screaming ones any day.”

Gabriel chuckled. “Oh, but I do enjoy screamers. Especially when they’re beneath me.”

“Well, no sane woman is coming close to either of you if you don’t watch where you’re headed,” Evangeline quipped. Amid their good-natured bicker, both men had attempted elbowing past the other, trampling into indeterminate foul-smelling puddles in the process.

Evangeline exchanged a smirk with Shyaree. Once, neither of these men would have exchanged such bawdy banter in her presence. The fact that they did now without fear of offending her sensibilities pleased her immensely.

The end of the alleyway revealed a busy street with shopfronts of brightly painted signs and polished glass windows. A harried mother sprinted

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