Page 294 of Lady of Starfire

She rolled her lips to hide her smile. “Of course. But since that is indeed the case, a personal guard seems silly.”

“Tava…”

She sighed again. “It would probably be better if Ezra was one of your guards instead. He could follow in his father’s footsteps, I suppose.”

“Why is that? I did not get the impression I was his favorite person, despite my relationship with his father.”

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks again. “Do you remember in the gardens in Avonleya when I told you I had only kissed one other?”

“What?” he demanded, taking a step towards her.

“We grew up together. He told you that when you learned of the rebel camps. We were friends. Balam was trying to arrange for something more before everything happened.”

Well, that explained a lot.

A noble being betrothed to a guard, even a royal guard was not common, but it would have kept Tava in the background. She would have been safe, and any children they may have had would have not been considered noble. He could see it all now. How thoroughly Balam had been trying to make sure the Middell heirs stayed safe and hidden away.

“He is a good man, Cal,” Tava continued, pulling him back to their conversation. “It would have been a fine match, but it would have never been this.”

Callan slid his hands into pockets, mainly to hide his clenched fists. “Captain of the Guard. We can promote him to Captain of the Guard. We will find new personal guards for both of us.”

Tava huffed a small laugh, making her way towards him. “As you wish, Callan.”

“It was only one kiss, right?” he asked when she came to a stop in front of him.

“Only one,” she answered, pushing up onto her toes. “The rest are yours.”

He could live with that, he supposed, as he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her soundly.

Chapter53

Cyrus

“My feet hurt,” Scarlett whined when they appeared in the foyer of the Fiera Palace.

Cassius had just Traveled them all home from the celebration of Callan and Tava’s coronations, and Cyrus could understand why Scarlett’s feet hurt. He rarely saw her off the dance floor.

“I have something for that,” Cyrus said with a grin.

“Is it a bed and uninterrupted sleep for hours?” she grumbled. She’d already taken her shoes off before they’d left, and they currently dangled from Sorin’s fingertips.

“Some would argue it’s better than that.”

Her nose scrunched. “What could be better than sleep?”

There was a burst of flames, and Cyrus held out a palm.

“Where did you get that?” Cassius asked, eyeing the five rolls of mugweed.

Cyrus shrugged. “From your stash.”

“Godsdamnit, Cyrus,” Cass sighed. “That is for potions and herbal remedies.”

“And thank the gods we have a Witch in the family now. This will remedy her aching feet.” Cassius shook his head, but he didn’t argue further, which Cyrus took as a good sign. “There’s enough for all of us,” he urged. “Besides, Scarlett did say after this coronation we were all taking some time to relax.”

“I do not think she meant literally the moment we returned home,” Sorin said.

“I definitely did,” Scarlett cut in, swiping a roll from Cyrus’s palm. “We can share.”

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