Of Kisses & Quests

Chapter One

About Twelve Years Ago

The carriage soared

across the glitter-filled night sky as Ryn Larkenwood, his feet bouncing back and forth against the lower part of the seat, continued scratching his arms.

“Ryn, stop fidgeting,” his mother said.

“But this jacket is itchy.”

“Reed’s suit is exactly the same as yours, and he isn’t fidgeting.”

Ryn looked across the carriage at his older brother. Reed’s eyes widened. He glanced at Mom, then back at Ryn, before grinning and scratching his arm. Ryn covered his mouth to smother his laughter.

Mom sighed. “That wasn’t your cue to start misbehaving, Reed.”

Dad looked away from the window and put his stern face on. “Have you two forgotten where we’re going?”

“A party?” Ryn said.

“At a Guild Councilor’s house?” Reed added.

“Correct. An important Guild Councilor. So you need to look good when we get there. After you’ve been introduced, you can take the jackets off.”

“Can we eat there?” Ryn asked.

“Of course you can eat,” Mom said. “We don’t expect you to go hungry.”

“He means the grown-up food,” Reed explained. “On the floating trays.” He looked at Ryn, who nodded in return. The two of them had been allowed to attend a Guild event several months earlier, and Mom had told them not to touch any of the tasty treats floating past them on levitating trays.

“Oh, well I don’t know about that,” Mom said. “They’ll probably have a separate table for children to eat at while the adults mingle.”

“Can we explore?” Ryn asked.

“Probably not,” Dad said.

“What if we’re quiet?”

Dad raised an eyebrow. “When are the two of you ever quiet when you’re playing?”

Ryn lifted his shoulders and gave his father a wide grin. “Never?”

“Exactly,” Dad said, but Ryn could see he was trying to hide a smile.

A lurch in the region of Ryn’s stomach told him the carriage had begun to descend. “Ooh, we’re almost there!” He slid off the seat and pressed his face to the window. Reed joined him a second later, already pointing at something below.

“Boys, please.” Mom leaned forward and tugged Ryn back onto the seat beside her, while Dad did the same with Reed on the other side of the carriage. “What did I say about keeping the windows clean? We need to return the carriage to the Guild in the same condition it was in when we picked it up.”

“Don’t worry, Mom,” Reed said. “We didn’t breathe on the glass. It’s still clean.”

As the carriage continued its descent, Mom gave them further instructions on how to behave themselves. It was all stuff Ryn had heard before, but clearly Mom thought he and Reed needed a reminder.

After they’d landed and climbed out of the carriage, they joined the other Guild members and their families on the paved pathway leading to the front door. Short lollipop-shaped trees lined the pathway on either side, decorated with tiny blue lights. Ryn held onto Mom’s hand while trying to see past the other guests. It was nothing like his home, which was hidden inside a tree by glamour magic. This home was large and out in the open. He could see windows and balconies and vines creeping up the walls.

Just as Ryn was starting to get bored shuffling along the path, they reached the entrance. Mom and Dad greeted the hostess, and then he and Reed were introduced. They shook the woman’s hand, smiled politely, and said, “Good evening, Councilor Valentia,” just as they’d been taught. Finally, after moving beyond the front door, Mom allowed them to remove their jackets. As Ryn tugged his arms free, he looked around for Violet. Eventually he spotted her, clinging to her dad’s side while he spoke with a bald man. She wore a pink dress with puffed sleeves and some kind of sparkly clip to hold her hair back, which was strange since she didn’t normally wear dresses or put pretty things in her hair.

When Vi saw him and Reed, she smiled, waved, and ran toward them. “You guys missed the funniest thing.” Her eyes sparkled with delight. “A lady had this long feather on her head, and it was so tall it touched one of the floating candles up there, and it caught alight! And then someone pushed her into the fountain!” She bounced up and down as she giggled. “Dad kept telling me to stop laughing, but I couldn’t.”

“Where did she go?” Reed asked, looking around as his smile grew.

“I don’t know. Maybe one of the other rooms.”

“What’s outside?” Ryn asked. He tried to see between the guests to the other side of the room.

Vi shrugged. “Dad said I had to stay with him. But there were these two other kids here, and one was saying there are secret passages between the rooms upstairs.”

“No way.” Reed’s eyes widened. “That’s so cool.”

“Maybe if there’s three of us now, we can go play,” Ryn said. “Ask your dad, Vi. And I’ll ask Mom.” He ran to Mom’s side and tugged her hand, but she continued chatting and laughing with Councilor Valentia. He waited a few moments, then tugged again.

Finally, she looked down at him with a frown. “Ryn, I’m trying to have a conversation, and it’s rude when you interrupt.”

“I’m sorry.” He tried to look suitably contrite. “But can we go play? Please?”

“I don’t think so. I’m sure Councilor Valentia doesn’t want you roaming around her house.”

“Please, Mom,” Reed said, joining Ryn. “I promise we’ll be good.”

“Oh, it’s completely fine,” Councilor Valentia said. “They can go wherever they want.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, of course. Let them have fun.” She beamed down at Reed. “Grown-up conversations are so boring, aren’t they?”

He smiled back her and nodded. “Thank you, Councilor Valentia,” he said politely.

The two of them ran back to Vi, Ryn feeling a twinge of irritation that Reed had once again so easily talked his way into getting something. But the feeling passed quickly. Ryn had never been able to stay mad at his brother for long.

“Garden or upstairs?” Reed asked.

Vi chewed her lip, then said, “I vote upstairs.”

“Yeah,” Ryn said. “Let’s look for the secret passages.”

They headed for the stairs, but Vi stopped a moment later. “Oh wow.” She swung around. “Did you see that? The tray with the mini chocolate castles?”

“Yeah, those look amazing,” Reed said, following her gaze.

Vi sighed. “I wish we could try them.”

“We could,” Ryn said, “if we just sneak some off the tray when no one’s looking.”

Vi’s eyes widened. “What if we get in trouble?”

“And what about the secret passages?” Reed asked. “Secret passages are better than chocolate.”

Vi pursed her lips, her brow creasing as she frowned. Ryn didn’t think she agreed that secret passages were better than chocolate, but she shrugged and said, “Okay. Let’s look for them.”

Together they climbed the stairs, whispering about the treasures that might be hidden inside these secret passages.

“Maybe we should split up,” Reed said when they reached the landing where an armchair, a bookcase, and a tall plant stood. One corridor led to the right and another to the left. “We’ll have a better chance of finding the passages if we’re searching in different places.”

“Okay,” Vi said, though her voice was hesitant. “Um, I’ll go with you,” she said to Reed.

Ryn was a little annoyed that he’d have to continue the search on his own, but he agreed that their odds of finding a secret passage were higher if they split up. “Okay. I’ll go this way.” He turned left and walked along the corridor, patting the walls as he went. He looked into the rooms that were open, searching for lines on the walls that might indicate a disguised door. But he found nothing exciting.

At the end of the corridor, a half-open door led to an extension of the party downstairs. It was a large room with a railing that looked over the hall below. Adults lounged in armchairs or stood in small groups, drinking colorful drinks and laughing, or leaning over the railing and waving politely at people below. Ryn was about to turn back when he saw a tray with tiny chocolate castles floating toward the other side of the room. He looked around, noting that no one was paying attention to him, then began walking. Not too quickly, as if he were running away from something, and not too slowly, as if he were trying to be sneaky. He simply walked.

When he reached the tray, he didn’t look around. He knew he would appear guilty if he did that. He reached up with both hands, grabbed two chocolate castles, and walked back across the room without making eye contact with anyone.

When he’d returned to the safety of the corridor, he couldn’t help laughing at his success. He put one castle in his mouth, then hurried back along the corridor as he chewed it. His hand was warm, and he didn’t want the second chocolate to melt. He crossed the landing and entered the other corridor just as a voice spoke behind him.

“Ryn, where did you go?” Vi whispered loudly. He turned and found her at the top of the stairs. “I was looking for you. We found one. A door to a secret passage.”

“Look what

I

found,” Ryn said, holding out the chocolate delicacy.

“Ah, you got one!” she exclaimed, running over to him. “Did you get in trouble?”

He shook his head, smiling proudly. “Nope. No one saw me. Here, it’s for you.” He placed the castle on her outstretched palm.

“Wow. Thank you.” She grinned at him, and he wasn’t quite sure why he wanted to do what he was about to do, but it felt like the right moment. So he leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth. It was a quick kiss, and then he stepped back, looking at her startled expression. She blinked. Then she swished her skirt from side to side, smiled shyly, and said, “Thank you for the castle.” With that, she turned and ran away.