"IT'S A LITTLE loud in here," Eoin said to her. His expression was calm and kind, but a sense of nervousness seemed to emanate from him in waves. "Would you like to go for a walk outside?"

Ravenna hesitated. "Of course," she said, trying to suppress a frown.

Eoin gestured for her to move first. The tavern had thawed —the humans no longer watched them intently. Instead, they focused on their drinks, their music, and their conversations. It was loud. Very loud. And hard to focus. She eased through the crowds, toward the door.

The crisp night air nipped at her cheeks as she stepped outside. She glanced around, at the Imperial soldiers that patrolled the streets, and shivered.

A red cloak appeared on her shoulders. "I'm sorry," Eoin muttered. "I didn't realize that it had become so cold outside."

She blinked. Her fingers pulled at the heavy material. It was warm, and thick. Almost velvety in texture. And it smelled. The smell wasn't totally awful —it was mostly just a rich, earthy scent. Certain movements, however, sent faint wafts of blood and sweat toward Ravenna's nose. She glanced up at Eoin. His armor glimmered in the moonlight. It looked vaguely naked without the Blood Knight cloak draped behind it.

Ravenna was absolutely certain that Vyses would go insane if he saw the way that she looked right now.

"I did not realize that you were a prince," she said, her voice quiet. Her gaze remained focused on the stoned street beneath her feet.

Eoin didn't answer at first. She peeked at him from the corner of her eyes and noticed that his gaze had shifted to the stars. His almost stoic expression was marred with hints of worry. "I know," he told her. "It was one of the reasons why I found you fascinating."

Her jaw clenched tightly.

He sighed. "To find someone that hasn't been touched by your reputation, your fame —it's quite a rarity. You met my gaze evenly, with no fear of repercussion. Even my own knights, my soldiers won't do that." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I find it refreshing."

"Why wouldn't they look you in the eye?" she asked him honestly, her brows puckered with confusion. "Mother taught me that it was quite rude not to."

That made him laugh —genuinely laugh. He stopped walking for a moment and clutched at his stomach. Ravenna paused beside him, a scowl on her face. Several Imperial guards glanced their way, confused.

"You are phenomenal," he said, once he could catch his breath. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I must be blunt with you. You have no idea about the social graces of society, at least when royalty is concerned."

"I've never had to know," she answered curtly. "The town that I was raised in was located far away from the Capitol. Too far to travel to."

"That explains why you didn't recognize me," Eoin concluded. "I'd bet all the coins in my pocket that you rarely ever saw my face, if at all."

Ravenna met his gaze, her expression sly. "You'd really bet all the coins in your pocket?" she challenged.

Eoin blinked and then grinned. "Sure."

Her smile grew. "How many times would you bet that I saw your face as a child? Whether it be on royal announcements or decrees —anything."

"At least once or twice. Before my mother passed, she sent birthday announcements at least once a year. It always included a royal portrait, which I strongly disliked sitting still for. It took hours and it was boring."

She held her hand out. "Pay up, Princey. You're wrong."

His eyes narrowed playfully. "Really? I am?"

"I never saw your face," she told him honestly. "I'm sure your supposed birthday announcements exist, but they never made it to my town. I had only ever heard your name spoken once."

"And how do I know that you're telling the truth?" he asked. His right hand disappeared into his pocket.

Ravenna scoffed. "Do I look like the type of girl that would lie to you?"

That made him chuckle. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and dropped three coins into her waiting palm. "You're right. Jokes on you though, as I only have a few coins in my pocket."

"Ha ha," she said, unamused.

"I'm serious," he said through another round of laughter. "That's all that I have. My steward is the one that protects my personal finances."

She pouted but slipped the coins into her coin purse nonetheless.

They continued walking through part of the city that even Ravenna didn't recognize. There weren't as many people around —only the new human guards, which made her very nervous. She pulled Eoin's cloak tighter around herself and took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"I have to admit," she said to break the silence that had fallen between them. "I'm surprised that you are a Blood Knight. Aren't you the only heir to the throne?"

Eoin made a face. "My father was strongly against it, as were his council. However, there was little that could be done to prevent it. Right before the uprisings started, my father had granted me the ability to fully control our kingdom's army. At the time, we hadn't been at war in decades and he saw no need for it to...disrupt his leisure time."

Ravenna made a face at that.

A small part of her was genuinely shocked. It was strange to think that Eoin was now the highest ranking military official in the kingdom —all of the awful Imperial soldiers and guards reported to him, the Crown Prince. It had never been done before. Throughout all recorded history, the only person that had complete control over the military was the current king. Not a heir.

So many opportunities had just blossomed before her.

Eoin obviously liked her. He was being incredibly open with her. The things that he was telling her were probably not meant for commoners to hear. Not to mention, he was obviously being flirtatious. It wouldn't be hard to get close to him —to get him to trust her, and her opinion.

"You must care greatly for the kingdom then," she commented. She reached up and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. A small smile toyed across her lips.

He smiled. "I do. It's my heart, my soul. I was born and raised to serve this kingdom as a king."

Ravenna giggled. "That's very admirable, your highness."

Eoin shook his head. "Uh-uh. Don't you start that. You have my permission to call me by my name. It's weird to hear that come out of your mouth."

"Whatever you say, Princey."

hey friends!

Can you believe it? We have officially hit ONE HUNDRED chapters on Wattpad!!! 

I'm honestly still in a state of disbelief. It's really exciting because this also means that the word count for this story is AT LEAST 100,000! I will admit that I don't know the exact number. I keep each chapter in a separate document so it's easier to organize/post. But I do know that the word count for most of the chapters ranges between 1000-1500 words. There are a few that are longer and (as we have seen in the last few chapters) a very small amount that are shorter. But I'm like 97% certain that the extra on other chapters has made up for the shorter chapters, aha. 

All of this also means that this is officially the longest book that I've ever written!!!

I know that one hundred chapters is a lot --especially since we still have quite a bit to go before this book can be marked as complete. I will say that this book is actually quite average in word-count size compared to Young Adult/New Adult Fantasy novels. And I'm sure that once I finish this first draft, any newer drafts will be trimmed down. But until then...

Maybe this book will hit 200 chapters! 😂

Don't hold me to that. But it could very well happen. I don't plan to stop writing chapters for this book until I reach the end of Ravenna's story. It wouldn't make sense for me to stop in the middle and try to make another book of it. 

Thank you so much for your continued support for this book. I really can't thank you all enough for taking the time to read this and to follow Ravenna's story. I'm so excited for you to see what the rest of this book has in store!!! ❤

I love you all so much!!!

ash ❤

p.s. I'm sorry about the lateness of this chapter! We have been celebrating one of my brother's birthdays this week and I'm celebrating my best friend's next week. Things have been crazy y'all.