Page 90 of Enchanted Shadows
“Kess,” I greeted, keeping my eyes on the runners.
“Another nickname?”
I smirked. “Do you not like it?”
“I haven’t ever been called Kess. Kessa, yes. Not Kess.”
“I considered Kessa,” I told her. “But Warrick’s mom was named Cessa. I realize it is anSsound and not the K or C, but I still wanted something different for you.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? No arguments, Princess?”
“No,General,” extra emphasis on general, “we won the maze trial time, I’m not botherable today.”
I turned toward her. Confidence looked good on her. “As you should be. I knew you could do it.”
She reached out and dropped the extra key in my hand. “This was really just an extra? A lack of keys the disadvantage for the last team?”
“Yeah. It was supposed to be hard, but not impossible.”
“I wasn’t taking any chances once I felt it with my shadows. So we brought it with us.”
“And offered it to the other team. The last team in the maze hasn’t won for at least four training teams. Impressive.”
She smiled brilliantly, “You do know that I can pick locks with the shadows?”
What?“No. I did not know that. So why didn’t you?”
“There’s winning, and then there’s beating the entire maze and being a sore winner,” was her response. “I can play by the rules. I didn’t need to cheat to win.”
“Kessara,”I groaned.
“What?”
“One of these days you’re going to have to stop holding back.” Her performance today was already wildly impressive.
“I don’t think you want that,” was the cocky response I got back.
I swiped my thumb out to catch the mud off her face and was surprised when she didn’t flinch.
She leaned in and whispered, “Either way, I still get to sleep with a winner. Me.”
I laughed. “You get to sleep at the barracks tonight. You are off the hook tonight. But....” I trailed off intentionally.
“But?”
“But you do owe me a conversation about Calix.”
Her face went from happy to pouty in record speed. “Can’t you just let me enjoy this a little longer?”
I crossed my arms. “Not when that prick could arrive any minute.”
“Fine,” she groaned. “See you for dinner.”
“You are going to willingly tell me everything? Or do I need to invite Amos too?”
“No. I will,” Kessara muttered. “I will tell you everything.”
