.ೃ࿐Burning Souls.ೃ࿐ [1]

10 - Os Alta and Baghra

Os Alta and Baghra

The arrival to Os Alta was something completely different in the eyes of Ekaterina Sokolov. Hundreds of armed men were waiting for them at the entrance of the city. The First Army was waiting for them, standing row after row, looking at the crowd that approached the city.

Ekaterina's body tensed. The blue elegant kefta she wore felt heavy on her shoulders and she pushed her hat further down her eyes, fearing that someone might recognize her Kerch soul. She sat on her white horse, riding behind Alina, while Lukas was next to her behind Nikolai.

A man rode towards them, his blonde hair was neatly pushed back. His weak chin was making him look older than he probably was, and he was radiating arrogance. Ekaterina recognized him as Vasily Lanstov, Nikolai's older brother and next in line for the Ravkan throne. She had met him a few times at the diplomatic parties her father made her attend, but he was too drunk to even remember anything about her.

Alina and Nikolai talked to the older prince while Lukas and Ekaterina sat on their horses, listening closely to the conversation. The woman rose her head, and it was enough for the arrogant prince to catch a glimpse of the integrity of her face. His eyes held no recognition of her, only arrogance and greed, and a smirk made its way into his face. He looked away before Nikolai or Alina could see, but Lukas' eyes were on him the whole time. His body tensed at the look on Vasily's face, and his hands tightened on the reins of his horse.

"You don't like him much, do you?" asked Ekaterina in a whisper as they entered the capital. Her head was tilted to the side, making Lukas catch a glimpse of the amused smile on her lips.

"is it that obvious?" he answered, his own small smile forming on his face. Ekaterina shook her head, but the smile did not disappear. They stood in silence after that as they arrived in front of the Grand Palace.

They abandoned their horses at the entrance of the Palace. Ekaterina adjusted her gloves and her hat. She smoothed any wrinkles of silk on her kefta and walked behind Alina. Tolya was at her left, Tamar close behind them. Lukas stood close to Ekaterina, close enough for their hands to touch slightly.

"Keep quiet and try to look penitent," said Nikolai, casting a side-eye to Ekaterina, "No comments or jokes, and please, dear Ekaterina, try not to look like you're on the verge of killing someone."

Lukas snorted, looking away from the young prince. She put a hand on his mouth to cover his amused expression but Nikolai had already seen it. "And you," he said, pointing to the dark-haired Tidemaker, "stay as low as you can. Leave if you have to. I know how some feel about you here. It might be a very bad idea to bring you with us."

The man looked down, a sorrowful look on his face. Nikolai had a satisfied expression when he turned around. They all started to walk, following Vasily through the Palace. The moment Nikolai turned away, the sorrowful look on Lukas's face was replaced with an amused smile.

"Stop laughing," shushed Ekaterina. Lukas's smile disappeared, but the amusement was still shining in his eyes. "This is not funny," she hissed, but she could not stop the corners of her mouth from rising.

The woman hissed when she felt something hit her calf. She turned around to look at Tolya, "what was that for?"

But before the man could answer back, Nikolai stopped. He turned around and looked at Alina before he turned towards Lukas and Ekaterina. He took a sharp breath, his eyes falling to the ground before he spoke.

"I think it's better if you two wouldn't enter with us," he said, looking at the Kerch woman and the Tidemaker next to her. They both frowned, looking at each other. Alina held a confused look too. But Nikolai's gaze was trained on Lukas. Ekaterina looked at the man next to her, seeing the expression in his eyes. He knew why the prince was asking this. Ekaterina on the other hand was very confused.