Chapter 23

• “We should have been there early.” Trendan adjusted his cuff.
• “I like being fashionably late.” Bastian smoothed his hand over his suit and adjusted the dark purple sash that was embroidered with the emblem that told everyone he was part of the royal family. Like anyone there wouldn’t know who they were. It wasn’t as if they lived a short human life span and their appearance changed. It could, his oldest brother proved that without a doubt. Bastian didn’t remember the details because he hadn’t been of an age where such things concerned him, but at some point, his eldest brother had stopped taking the elixir and allowed his body to age as a human would. In hindsight, that meant at some point Elyas hadn’t been all for the way of life here in Solrelm. He wished he’d been old enough to get to know and remember that version of Elyas because the rigid, uptight one was no fun at all.
• They both stopped outside Liri’s door and stood there. It opened and her guard Riaz came out. He was grinning, which told them Aliria had probably just been vocalizing how much she loathed this tradition—again. Bastian was just pleased he remembered her guard’s name for once.