Kaladin Shadowheart’s POV

“So, this is Flumare?” I asked no one in particular.

Flumare was known as the City of Rivers, and now I understood why that was the case. The city was built along the coast and had dozens upon dozens of rivers snaking through city streets, under bridges, and walkways, only to eventually spill out into the ocean.

Some of these rivers were clearly man-made as they initially diverted from the more immense water sources for the city. Regardless, none of it looked haphazard, and it somehow managed to look natural, as if all of these flowing rivers were created by nature. The architect of this city took a completely different route than those in the capital. Even the buildings were constructed differently, mostly being made of gray timber instead of stone.

The capital of Luminar radiated majesty and beauty. For the most part, every district and building had a purpose in the grand scheme of appearance. Yet here in Flumare, that feeling of opulence didn’t manifest. Instead, Flumare was more…natural in a way. It was the difference between admiring a beautiful landscape crafted through thousands of years worth of nature’s plans and a grand building constructed by the hands of man.

“It’s pretty,” Sylvia mused to herself.

Pretty would be an apt depiction of this city.

“Pretty damn cold,” Padraic grumbled as he rubbed his hands together.

That was also true. Being close to the ocean, the smell of salt wafted on the breeze and blanketed the entire city. It was a pleasant smell, but the wind was indeed cold. We may be in spring now, but this region still had a while until it warmed up. There were still ice chunks, albeit small ones floating in the rivers.

Mila, Dallin, and Rosemary were just ahead of us, talking amongst each other and taking in the new sites. The city was somewhat active and boasted the third-largest population in Luminar, yet it didn’t feel too crowded. Perhaps since the city was spread so far, it gave the illusion of being smaller than it really was.

It also helped that we were in a district that was clearly more geared toward the nobility. Those walking around all wore kind smiles and fancy clothes as they passed us by. That was until they rubbernecked upon seeing either Sylvia or myself. I had already been stopped by two people who wanted to thank me for…just being myself, I suppose.

Thankfully those who stopped us were few and far between. Most of the citizens here seemed far more relaxed than those in the capital and were just content watching from afar as they whispered amongst themselves. If things became too hectic and people swarmed us, we may have had to take carriages to between locations which would be annoying as we would miss out on all the sights.

We decided to walk into the city for a reason, after all.

I looked over my shoulder, and my parents just walked behind us in silence. Both of them smiled fondly as they watched the kids mess around, and when I turned back around, Mila was leaning over the edge of a stone wall and looking into a small stream.

Her eyes were wide as she focused intently on whatever was in the water. It only took a glance to see that she was watching a giant pink fish swimming underneath the thin layer of ice.

“Mila, what are—”

Sylvia’s sentence was cut short as we watched Mila tense and prime her arm to shoot out. We didn’t even get a chance to tell her to stop, not that I would have. Instead, her hand moved quickly, and with a splash, she plunged her arm into the icy water and pulled the fish out. A smile spread across her face, but her excitement waned just as quickly as she snatched the fish.

The slimy fish squirmed around in her grip, and Mila squealed as she let go of it in a panic. Rosemary naturally screamed as well as the fish grazed her arm on the way down. The helpless fish flopped on the ground helplessly, but Dallin, whether out of pity or just quick thinking, grabbed the fish and tossed it back into the stream.

“Mila! What are you doing? You can’t just…grab a fish?” Sylvia spouted out in shock. “That’s definitely illegal or something, right?” she asked, looking at me.

“How am I supposed to know? I don’t think fishing of any type would be illegal in a city on the coast,” I said with a shrug.

“I—that is true…” Sylvia admitted. “But why don’t you seem more surprised? Shouldn’t we tell her not to do that?”

I shrugged again. “I don’t mind it. Look, they seem to be having fun, so that’s all that matters, right?”

Cerila signed quickly.

Sylvia let out a sigh of exasperation. “I need to remember that sometimes all of you are just weird…”

Are we weird? Maybe fishing by hand in the middle of a city is weird? Either way…

Rosemary had a disgusted expression on her face as she wiped her slimy arm off and onto her jacket while Mila used her pants. Dallin just smiled wryly as my parents giggled to themselves behind us.

Honestly, I didn’t believe that it was a big deal. It was just kids being kids, as far as I was concerned. It’s not like they did something heinous or made a mess of their surroundings—just some split water on a stone road and a scared fish.

But…others may find it annoying…

If we had garnered attention before, now everyone in the district was aware of our presence. I’m sure two little girls screaming in the middle of the day attached a lot of unnecessary and unwanted attention.

“We should leave…” I suggested.

—

“Welcome to our villa,” Lauren said proudly as she greeted us at the gate.

Somehow, someway, the royal family’s villa seemed gaudy to an extreme level. It was constructed out of the usual dark marble, and it was even trimmed in silver. The balcony hanging off the front of the building was large and supported by grand pillars.

The grounds were that of three or four of the surrounding villas combined, and the garden was lavish and well-maintained sporting plenty of greenery despite the chilly weather. Not to mention it was three stories big, while the others were only one or two at most.

The building stuck out, and to be frank, it did not do so in a positive way. The villa did not mesh well with the surroundings or the city of Flumare. I couldn't be sure whether it was a statement made by the previous imperial family of Brax or just how it looked. It felt like all the other villas in this gated community were vacation homes while this was...a…mmm…an art piece?

Of course, that’s just my personal opinion. I’m sure it’s only natural that the royal family lives in the best place at all times, even if it’s only for a vacation.

“Thank you for allowing us to stay here and for even greeting us personally, Princess,” my father said with a slight bow.

Lauren just smiled at him. “There’s nothing to be thankful for, Father, and there is no need to bow before me in private. I couldn’t have my friends stay in some group hotel or inn that the school brought up at the last minute, now can I? Everyone else is already settled in. Our attendants will guide you to your rooms.”

…

“Well, either way, we are thankful—” Dad trailed off slowly. His expression morphed a few times and eventually settled on a confused grin.

“Is something the matter?” Lauren asked coyly.

“No…it’s just…I thought I heard something else. I must be tired from traveling, sorry,” Dad said with an awkward chuckle as he scratched the back of his head.

“You didn’t mishear anything, Father.”

“What?”

“Oh my…” Mom said with a surprised gasp as she covered her mouth.

Lauren just smiled, and Padraic chuckled to himself. “I really do like her…she’s a brave one.”

Cerila, despite not being able to hear a single word that was spoken, smacked Padraic in the back of the head. All I could do was sigh and lightly tug on Sylvia’s sleeve to stop her from ripping Lauren’s head off.

I walked forward and gave Lauren a quick flick to her forehead. My parents gasped in surprise for an entirely different reason. Lauren just looked at me with a flushed face in bewilderment.

“Now’s not the time to be messing around. It’s been a long week, and we arrived late.”

Lauren pouted at me and rolled her eyes as she started walking to the villa. “You’re no fun…and I wasn’t messing around. I was being serious…humph…this is what I get for extending kindness.”

Before we even reached the door, an attendant for everyone one of us was already outside and awaiting our arrival. Since Lin had ridden to the villa upon our arrival, our luggage and everything had already been dropped off.

“Sorry, Sylvia, no Vampires allowed in the villa,” Lauren said half-heartedly, more as a joke than anything.

Sylvia, not even seemingly bothered by the comment, looked at the attendant in front of her, who had paled upon seeing her eyes. Sylvia shrugged and looked Lauren dead in the eyes.

“That’s fine. I’ll just raid your home in the night and turn you into a Vampire.”

Lauren was wearing a crooked and strained smile. Her eyes went wide. “C—can…you…really do that?”

Sylvia can, in fact, not do that.

Sylvia rolled her shoulders and shrugged with a pensive look. “Maybe if I tried hard enough? We can always find out, right?”

Lauren stood straight and paled slightly at the uncertainty of Sylvia’s remark. Sylvia just giggled to herself and patted her on the shoulder as she motioned for her attendant to lead her into the home.

Sylvia being an ancient Vampire, was indeed a unique existence. But she had told me a long time ago that she can not turn people into Vampires. Vampires are born, not artificially created.

All I could do was smile wryly and follow my attendant as well. The royal villa was as gaudy on the inside as it was on the outside.

And I still had an event to get prepared for.

—

Cerila asked me.

The lord of Flumare had just finished gathering us in the main hall and ended his welcoming speech with the usual fanfare. At first glance, he appeared to be a gentleman, but I had never met him before and knew next to nothing about the man. If anything I was grateful that his speech was short and to the point. That was something I could support. Sylvia was lucky that she got caught out getting food on the other side. Or maybe she was unlucky?

And the event itself was a sort of pre-tournament gathering. Everyone in attendance was either competing or a member of one of the staff of the three gathering schools. This meant that the lord's entire mansion was filled with a bunch of kids, either younger or older than me. It was hardly the kind of environment I wanted to be in on a good day, let alone after a week of constant travel.

I signed back.

Cerila shook her head with a grin.

That is very true.

I couldn’t help but grin back.

Cerila giggled to herself, and I straightened my back and sighed quietly to myself. Since we had just arrived, nobody had gotten a chance to talk to anyone which meant I had yet to be approached. But now that the formalities were finished, the wave of people coming to meet me would begin. And it was only natural that the one that started was the head of all this.

An older gentleman with light brown hair slicked back and wearing an elegant silver suit walked toward us. His warm blue eyes gazed at me, and he was flanked by a young girl around the age of ten and an even younger boy who wore similar clothing. Both the children had a striking common appearance to the gentleman to the point where it made me wonder if they had been cloned. Those two clearly took after their father.

“I imagine you have heard this greeting a million times, so I will keep it short. However, since it’s also our first time meeting face to face, I would like to simply welcome you to our city and wish you good luck at this year’s tournament, Sir Dragonslayer,” Lord Marinos said with a short bow.

I returned the bow. “The honor is mine. Thank you for hosting the event on such short notice.”

Lord Marinos smiled and gave a hollow laugh. “It was what Her Majesty desired. I’m just a humble servant.”

I’m sure that even the lord of this city was notified at the last minute. In the long run, having the tournament here will be a great boon for the economy and the city. But in the short term, it must be nothing short of a migraine to deal with.

“I apologize. I haven’t properly introduced my family. This is my eldest daughter Cordelia and my youngest son Caspian. I apologize that my wife could not meet you in person. She is currently busy with the affairs of running the tournament even tonight,” Lord Marinos explained.

The son bowed to me while his daughter curtsied. I returned their greeting with a nod. Lord Marinos nodded in approval and raised an eyebrow at Cerila.

“And who might this beautiful woman be?”

Cerila must have read his lips, and in an instant, a black stone tablet appeared in her hand from thin air. The writing was already preserved and glowed faintly with blue light. All three of the Marinos tilted their heads slightly in the same way and read the displayed words.

“Cerila…well, that’s…mhm…I see,” Lord Marinos mumbled as he pinched the hair on his mustache. But he smiled nonetheless. “Well, I wish you luck in your preliminaries tomorrow, Cerila, and it was nice to meet you.”

The lord’s children greeted Cerila as well, and with that, Lord Marinos left as quickly as he came to greet other contestants and staff. I was appreciative of his quick and kind greeting. I couldn't be sure whether he did that because he was simply busy or because he was a like minded person. But after our brief conversation, I had a favorable opinion of the lord of Flumare.

But now…he had unleashed the floodgates.

I held down another sigh and turned to the approaching footsteps, but I couldn’t help but be surprised. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this person, many years have passed, and the added puberty changed him even more. But his general appearance remained the same.

He had shoulder-length wavy blonde hair and kind green eyes. He wore the burnt orange uniform of Sandervile’s Academy and stood right before me. Back in the day, he was far taller than me, but now we were at equal height.

“Rosom Dun…” I said, confirming his name.

This guy…he should hate my guts, considering I poisoned him with a stamina-draining mixture and left him for dead in the woods after slaughtering the entourage that guided us. I even knocked him out after he stood up to me. To this day, I’m not sure if it was because he was brave or was just afraid.

Maybe both.

“Voker. Or should I call you Sir Dragonslayer now?” Rosom said with a kind yet deep voice.

“Kaladin will do.”

Rosom Dun stood there and looked me up and down. “You’ve changed a lot.”

“So have you.”

Rosom chuckled and shook his head with a wry grin. “Well, it seems some parts of you have changed while others have not.”

Rosom and I continued to stare at each other for a while awkwardly. We weren’t exactly friends before, and after everything I did, we couldn’t be anything further from even acquaintances. Even so, I don’t regret anything I did that day or during my time at Sandervile. And I wouldn’t apologize to him for it either.

I always thought that Rosom had an alternative motive whenever he treated me well or when he protected me from Dillian and his band of thugs. I was always curious to know if Rosom was a good, honorable man like he appeared to be. Or if he was a traditional, scheming noble.

But the man before me…he’s changed a lot. He seems sad or maybe just despondent.

“Have you been well, Rosom?” I asked him.

His eyes went wide, and he couldn’t help but be surprised at my concern. The truth was, I didn’t hate Rosom. I never did. He didn’t make my life better or worse in any way. I was just indifferent to him and his existence. Even so, that didn’t mean I wished him harm or for him to suffer.

“I—I’ve been okay,” he said with a quick shake of the head.

If I’ve learned anything, that means he isn’t doing well at all. I think I’ve said the same thing a few hundred times with that same expression.

“I see…” I replied to him, unsure of what to say to him. Cerila nudged me from the side, and I figured I would fill the awkward silence with at least an introduction. “Rosom, this is Cerila.”

Cerila smiled at him and dipped her head. Rosom, out of all things, blushed like an idiot and awkwardly waved at her.

This guy…I understand she is beautiful, but can you at least hold it in? I thought you were a nobleman of Sandervile…

Rosom’s eyes darted to me, and I watched a bead of sweat roll down his face. “Ah—it’s—”

“Rosom? It seems you found him before I did. What a shame,” a soft voice called out. “It’s been a while, Kaladin.”

I returned her smile. “Adria…it’s good to see that you are well.”

“Why are you being so formal with me? We are friends, and this isn’t that kind of event. Come here,” she said as she extended her arms.

I hugged her back more out of surprise than I wanted. I hadn’t expected for her to just walk up and hug me, but…it felt nice.

She also smells like flowers…huh.

Rosom paled slightly as he watched us hug. He was more than confused at the fact that the slave master was embracing a runaway slave that escaped violently. But just like how I didn’t hate Rosom, I didn’t hate Adria. We were friends, or that’s what I hoped.

I felt someone stand close enough behind me enough that I could feel their presence. When I turned my head slightly, I found Cerila watching me with a blank expression. It was…sort of terrifying to see her look at me that way.

But Adria, none the wiser or not caring even the slightest bit, released me and immediately hugged Cerila. It was their first meeting, and I had never told Adria about Cerila. There was no way she should have known who she was. Even so…

Cerila’s face turned red, and she looked at me with worried and concerned eyes. From her point of view, it probably seemed like a random person from the country I was enslaved to just hugged me and then hugged her.

Adria let go of Cerila and looked up at her with a wide, gentle smile. “You must be Cerila, right? You’re so tall and pretty…almost like a painting come to life…”

Did she…do research on my family or something?

Cerila, clearly embarrassed by the comment, just nodded her head meekly. Cerila asked me.

Cerila furrowed her brows and narrowed her eyes. But before she could get angry, I shook my head. I warned.

Cerila nodded reluctantly, and her black tablet appeared out of thin air once more. She cleared whatever writing was on it, and Adria and Rosom looked on with curious eyes as Cerila tapped away with practiced fingers. I just watched from the side with a smile.

This entire scenario was hard to imagine. If someone had asked me a few years ago if I would be standing in a foreign country as a knight that killed a Dragon with my previous slave master and my childhood friend, whom I thought was dead, I would have told them they were insane.

As I watched Cerila and Adria talk to each other using the tablet, I suddenly got a weird feeling in my gut. It was…unexplainable. I scanned the room, yet I didn’t see anything out of place. Varnir and Lin were talking amongst each other in the corner. I couldn’t see Tsarra either. I even managed to spot Malachi smiling with his sunglasses on as he talked to a few important-looking people from Sandervile.

Lauren and Ren were talking to Lord Marinos and his children. A few people cornered Sylvia, a look of contempt making it very obvious she did not want to be talking to them. However, she sadly had a duty as the President of the Dragonheart Foundation, and she couldn’t turn people away as easily as before.

But still…what was that feeling? It felt like somebody was watching me.

“Adria, where’s Tristan? I haven’t seen him, and he should definitely be here,” I said, wondering if that was the case.

Adria trailed off with her conversation and gave me an apologetic smile. “Tris is…well…Tristan will be competing, so you can see him then. He…uh wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t attend tonight’s gathering.”

Rosom raised an eyebrow at that, and I didn’t miss his momentary lapse of surprise. Was it because Tristan was sick or because of something else? I couldn’t be certain.

“I see. Well, wish him well for me. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten a chance to see him yet.”

Adria smiled kindly, if a bit awkward, and nodded. “Yes, of course.”

Huh, did I ask something I shouldn’t have? And why did I think Tristan was responsible for that intense gaze? No…it was someone else.

“I’m going to use the restroom.”