CHAPTER 71 Dazzled the Eyes

CHAPTER 71

Dazzled the Eyes

Rufus

I’d admit I wasn’t ready to go meet Bronwynn’s family.

Having dinner with a household of assassins wasn’t the problem, no. It was that I was going to a household of assassins, and I had a nebulous relationship with their daughter. Because whatever we were had changed since yesterday … I hoped. If she was going to bring me back to her room and pet me all night, I could reason we were something more than we’d been the day before.

She’d accepted my invitation to the Summer Masquerade. I’d like to think it was obvious we were dating, but as someone who dealt in marriage counseling, a position without a label wasn’t kind or respectful to either party.

It would be nice to take our time traveling to her family home and talk. Of course, I wasn’t expecting this type of delay.

Donna the murder horse was covered head to foot in glitter, rainbows, and bow ties.

She looked like she’d walked out of a princess tea party hosted by four-year-olds at a Pixie Prim childcare center. The only pixie I’d gotten to know that well, Ross, was just as pink and sparkly.

Donna shook herself and then stood straighter, her majestic tail whipping from the bum wiggle. Her hair dropped sparkles like the drunk fairy godmother I’d met at Princess Tamara’s sixth birthday party; she was Their Royal Highness Rowen’s youngest, and eighteen now.

The mare stamped one hoof in the dirt and glitter of her stall.

Bronwynn placed her hands on her hips, standing her ground.

“What do you mean you want to keep it?!” she exclaimed. “You want to travel across the continent inconspicuously dressed like a rainbow? How did this even happen? ”

Donna looked at her neighbor in the stall next door. Inside, a black horse with shimmering purple wings stuck her head up over the ledge and blew out her nose. Donna leaned toward her friend, and the movement brought her flank into a beam of morning light that dazzled the eyes.

“Cassandra! I should have known!” Bronwynn slapped her forehead.

Again, I wasn’t in a hurry to visit Bronwynn’s family home before my actual meeting, especially since we hadn’t had a sober talk between the two of us … but I knew my bard had wished for an early start. I couldn’t imagine washing all of that off was going to take a short period of time.

“What’s happening?” I asked Bronwynn for clarity. Usually hearing only one side of the conversation wasn’t this confusing.

“My horse,” Bronwynn scoffed, “gambled away the last of your gift oats and got herself enchanted with a rainbow mane by Cassandra Moon here.” The bard jutted a thumb at the black horse, who looked all together very pleased with herself.

“And she doesn’t want to change back?” I confirmed. After a quick glance, I spotted our wagon at the end of the hallway, in a small alley behind the stable. At this point, a stable hand noticed us and slithered up the hallway to come and help.

Bronwynn slumped. “She’s lost a bet. Of course she’ll have to keep the coat until the spell wears off. Still … it’s so shiny .”

I reached out and placed a palm on the bard’s shoulder just in time for the help to arrive.

“Hello, Minstrel Bronwynn!” The naga woman was wringing her hands in front of her chest. “I’m sorry about the mess. We caught the horses playing cards this morning, and we have no idea when the changes happened.”

My hand slipped from Bronwynn’s shoulder.

“ Cards? ” the words slipped out of my mouth, incredulous.

“I haven’t seen Cassandra’s partner yet today”—the naga bowed low—“but as this happened at our inn, we are willing to try and undo the spell—”

“We’ll be fine.” Bronwynn waved off the stable hand. “I understand there wasn’t any ill intention, and Donna doesn’t seem to mind. Do you know how long it will last, exactly?”

“Ten hours, give or take.” the naga said with enough confidence I realized this probably wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. It wasn’t my place to interrupt, so I simply stood in support beside my bard. “The spell lasts half a day, and I caught them two hours ago … though I’m not sure how long they’d been playing.”

Donna leaned down and sniffed the latch on the stall door she’d been staying in. Suddenly, the latch was loose, and the door swung open, releasing the mare. She sent a fond farewell, or what I imagined was a fond farewell, to the black horse who’d caused all the mischief, and then walked over to us .

“I’ll bring up the wagon.” The naga nodded, as if horses magically opening their stalls were the norm around here, and slithered off to the back of the stable.

Bronwynn reached out and gripped her horse’s head, rubbing her hand on the mare’s long nose and marveling at the copious amounts of glitter that fell as she did so. Or at least, I marveled.

“I can’t bring you anywhere ,” Bronwynn mumbled, and then set about grabbing Donna’s equipment and dressing the mare. A saddle, even though Donna barely needed it while she was pulling a wagon, and some things to help hitch her to said wagon. Bronwynn would know better than I about preparing a horse and wagon, so I grabbed our bags and brought them to load into the back.

We were set and ready to head to Vitol, the capital city overlooked by the Emerald Palace.

Within a few hours, we would be standing at Bronwynn’s family home and … I decided it was probably time to have that important conversation with my bard.