Elias could taste the lie in the air he breathed.
“Thank you for such a… generous offer, Your Highness. But I do not plan to remain in this kingdom for long, so I will have to decline.” Elias bowed his head, dropping his gaze to the floor in what he hoped she would take as deference.
“And what about your friend?”
Elias’ head snapped up to look at her again in panic.
“My friend?” he practically squeaked.
“Yes. I was reliably informed that there were at least two elves here. Maybe your friend would be interested in my offer.”
Dread sat heavily in Elias’ stomach, knowing in his gut that this was all a farce, all a trap.
Elias didn’t even hear the door open, but suddenly Henrik appeared at his side, hands shaking, and Elias wanted to scream at him for showing his face to the Queen.
“Th-thank you, but when we leave this kingdom, we will leave together. S-so, I must also decline,” Henrik said.
Johan had moved closer, too, his large frame a fraction away from being pressed into Elias’ side.
“I see,” the Queen said through clenched teeth. Even her footmen glanced worriedly at each other. They were all frozen in time, waiting in suspense for her next move.
“I suppose I shall not impose on you for any longer.”
That couldn’t be it, could it?
Without another word, she and her men emptied out of the shop, leaving an air of dread in their wake.
The three of them remained in stunned silence until her carriage was long gone and folk had begun returning to the main street.
“This isn’t over, is it?” Henrik asked.
Both Elias and Johan shook their heads.This was definitely not over.
Sixteen
Johan
T
he following week was a weird combination of welcome touches, full hearts, and worried looks over their shoulders every minute of the day, waiting to see if the Queen would return.
Unable to shake the mental image of the Queen’s men storming into his shop and snatching the elves from right under his nose while Johan watched on helplessly, he’d insisted that he spend the majority of the day minding the shop while they remained busy in the workshop, keeping them away from prying eyes as much as possible.
He was taking a look at what stock he had and marking it down on some parchment when the front door jingled.
It was late afternoon, and the sun was already low, casting the sky in a haze of pinks and oranges.
Johan stood to attention when he recognised the woman. She was the wife of the Queen’s ambassador in Hallin, their neighbouring kingdom.
“Good evening,” she said, her eyes darting around the room nervously.
Johan dipped his chin to greet her in response.
She went over to the window display and picked up the nearest pair of shoes before bringing them over to the counter.
Much like her previous visit, the ambassador’s wife stood out in her refined clothing, although Johan secretly thought that Elias and Henrik could both make finer clothes still.
“There will be people watching your shop right now,” she murmured. “It needs to appear that I am purchasing some shoes from you.”
