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Chapter 4 - Isla Is Sent Home

The whiskey was cheap, fiery, and entirely unlike the fine aged brandy the Duke kept locked away. Isla didn't care. The burn in her throat was a welcome distraction from the humiliation that still stung her cheeks. The more she drank the warmer her stomach began to feel and a haze took hold of her.

"So, the strongest they have," Alek mused, lifting his own mug—a simple tankard of ale—in a mocking salute. "A good match for your ego, I suspect."

Alek watch her swig back another drink . Isla's flushed cheeks was becoming a tall tale sign that she was reaching her limit. He reached over and took her remaining drink from her.

"I believe that's enough little lady"

Isla slammed her mug down on the bar. "You are insufferable! Do you simply enjoy baiting people, or is it a prerequisite for whatever low occupation you hold?"

Alek's two companions remained silent at a nearby table. The scarred giant, whom Isla hadn't heard utter a word, stared fixedly at the wall. The lean, quick-looking man with the smirk seemed to be watching her more than anything else, his expression shifting between disbelief and amusement at her brazen attitude.

Alek leaned closer, his amethyst eyes seeming to glow in the dim, smoky light. "My occupation is irrelevant to you, Lady Montgomery. I must admit you are quite an interesting individual. A young noblewoman alone in a tavern.Whah drove you to such a impulsive action"

The combination of his dismissive tone and the unexpected intimacy of his gaze broke Isla's resolve. The fury evaporated, replaced by self-pity. She grabbed the mug from Alek took a large gulp of the foul whiskey.

"It's about the Grand Duke Raymond Valance De Cristo," she whispered, the name tasting sacred on her tongue. "He is to marry my half-sister, Elspeth. Under Royal Decree."

Alek's expression didn't change, but his stillness intensified. He waited, his silence more powerful than any question.

"It's wrong," Isla continued, her voice rising with outrage. "I have loved him for years! I am meant to be his Duchess! I know every detail about him I could read about, hear about, everything. He is the greatest warrior in the Empire, second only to the Crown Prince! He needs a woman of fire and renown, not a dutiful mouse and one who cares not of the unseemly rumors that surround him"

She waited for sympathy, for rage on her behalf.

Alek simply tilted his head, his gaze brutally analytical. "Let me get this straight. The Emperor ordered a marriage. Your father, the Duke, chose the elder daughter. And you are here, sulking and risking your life, because you didn't get the powerful, rumored-to-be-murderous tyrant you pined for?"

"How can expect you and ruffian to understand, it is true love I know it is" Isla insisted, tears stinging her eyes again.

Alek gave a soft, chuckle . "True love you say? I must say that's the first I've heard anyone fan over the Grand Duke like that. Pray tell are you even ready to take on the duty as serious as one as the Grand Duchess?"

Alek looked at Isla, cheeks flushed, gown soiled, and taking risks as to ride unaccompanied to dangerous taverns.

"Seems like you have been making up a fairytale on your head. That's what spoiled people call things they haven't worked for. Newsflash, princess: in the real world, men like the Grand Duke don't look for a true love . They look for leverage. Your sister is probably viewed as compliant and politically useful. You, however, are a liability—a screaming, entitled liability."

Isla was stunned into silence. Her hands clenched. She looked over at the two companions, who now seemed to be purposefully staring into the bottom of their tankards to avoid witnessing the spectacle.

They wore the same quality of dark, heavy leather as Alek, but there was something about their posture, too upright for common ruffians, and their hands—deft, clean, and practiced—that hinted at skills beyond highway robbery.

It was then she looked back at Alek, the glow of the smoky lantern catching his eyes. Amethyst.

"Your eyes," she blurted out, interrupting her own defensive thoughts. "They're that odd purple-blue color. They're like the Emperor's late wife, Empress Solaria's line. That shade is supposed to be incredibly rare, practically royal."

Alek took a slow, deliberate sip of his ale, his face perfectly impassive.

"My grandmother was a talented dye-maker from the Eastern border. She specialized in rare pigments. A trick of the light, Lady Isla. Now, stop looking for fairytale signs"

He pushed off the bar, signaling his two companions, who immediately rose. "It's time to go home, little runaway."

Isla tried to protest. "I'm not leaving! I decide when I leave"

"No," Alek countered smoothly, dropping a few silver coins on the bar. "Tonight, you don't. Tonight, you learn that sometimes the smartest thing a clever girl can do is follow the lead of a dangerous man."

He took her arm—a touch that was firm and entirely non-negotiable—and guided her toward the door.

Once outside, the cool air cleared Isla's head enough to realize the gravity of her situation. She was miles from home, with a man she just insulted, who might or might not be a common thief, and his silent, menacing crew.

Alek helped her onto Flame's saddle. "Ride hard, but not reckless. Go straight home."

Isla stared down at him.

"You're just going to send me off just like that? You're not planning to ambush and rob me down the road are you?"

"No," he said, a ghost of a smirk touching his lips. "I have no desire to make an acquaintance with the Duke Montgomery tonight by robbing his reckless daughter. I'll settle for making sure you don't get yourself killed or worse."

Before she could form a question, before she could even thank him, Alek stepped back, pulling his hood up. He and his companions melted into the shadows of the Oakhaven market, becoming indistinguishable from the gloom as quickly as a striking snake vanishes into tall grass.

Isla spurred Flame, turning him toward the Montgomery estate, her mind reeling. The sting of Alek's words—"a screaming, entitled liability"—burned deeper than any whiskey.

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