Page 104 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

You broke a lot of bones going down the stairs. What did I miss?she asked.

Well. I have a cast on a broken ankle. No rush. Heal it slowly, so you don’t tire out so much. Ada pushed us. Cade took herto Crescent Moon where Mom and Dad were wanting words, before the council came to try her for attempted murder.

You mean try whatever is left of her,Nenetl chuckled.

Pretty much. Oh, and I took your advice. I made the first move—sort of—and now we’re dating Chris. Can it be called dating when we don’t go anywhere?The last question was more of a musing to myself than anything.

Way to bury the lead there, human,Nenetl sneezed, her tail wagging happily.

Chris came back into the room when I was ready to go. He went to pick me up, but I grabbed his face first.

“Nenetl is awake,” I told him.

His eyes lit up, and I let Nenetl come forward so she could give him a short kiss. Nenetl receded, happy to have her moment and to see the smile appear on Chris’ face.

“I think she approves,” I told him.

I texted Elim to meet us in the training grounds for the sparring and Chris carried me down to the ground floor. There, I made him put me down so I could use the crutches. Elim met us halfway down the path to the training grounds as we made slow progress thanks to me.

“Evening,”

“Hi, Elim! How are you?”

“Relieved to see you better. Do you need help getting to the gym? I could carry you.”

“No. Chris tried that already. I need to walk a little.”

I looked over at Chris, who was frowning hard, so I motioned for him to get on with it. Chris cleared his throat, his hand going to his neck.

“About the other night. I’m sorry I hurt you. I—”

“No need. I would’ve done the same. Your job is to protect her and no one can fault you for it.” Elim dismissed it.

“Thanks,” Chris replied, looking relieved that the whole thing didn’t drag on.

We arrived at the training grounds, and I was already tired. I made it to the seats around the sparring arena and breathed a sigh of relief. Chris eyed me, his face clearly letting me know he wished I’d just let him carry me. Before he could say anything, however, the same women who kept asking him for help over the last week walked in.

Do they look out the window until they see him leaving the pack house?Nenetl growled.

I wouldn’t be surprised if that was exactly what they were doing.

Chris looked annoyed when he saw them approaching and looked down at me. “I’ll be right back.”

I tried desperately not to pout and nodded. Elim sat down next to me as I followed Chris with my eyes.

“So...” Elim started. “If I were to ask you on a date, today?”

I looked at him, then at Chris talking to the other women. Whatever Elim saw on my face when one of the women tried putting her hand on Chris’ arm made him let out a tiny laugh.

“I thought so,” he chuckled.

I turned to look at him to see a sort of resignation smile on his face.

“I’m sorry. It’s j—”

“You don’t have to explain, Violet. I understand I got to the picture a little late. After the way he reacted when he saw you hurt, I knew.”

“Friends?” I asked. I genuinely liked Elim, but not that way.

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