Page 35 of My Haven
Caiden laughed. “Good thing I prepared several cows worth of steaks for tonight’s dinner.”
Zev scowled. “At least one cow is mine,” he groused.
“You’ll get your damn ribeyes, Zev,” Hunter laughed.
As the men got comfortable to wait, he noticed that Aiden was never more than a foot away from the stressed witch. Caiden knew that their commander would do no less for any of them, even if they didn’t serve anymore, they would always be unit warriors to Aiden McKenzie, and always under his protection.
Chapter Five
Caiden didn’t relax until everyone was seated with a plate of food in front of them. Having Ryuu there made all the difference in the world. The squire never got in the way, but instead performed all the small tasks that built up when preparing a meal. Ryuu anticipated what he wanted at every turn.
They never had a squire at the Ironwood home. He had taken on a lot of the duties as the eldest son. They had it somewhat easier in Storm Keep, as they did not entertain as much as other families in pillar cities that valued being a Founding Family member over test scores.
Ryuu had been the one to suggest elongating the table and he was glad he listened. With nearly twenty people over for dinner, he couldn’t imagine serving without the squire.
Meryn swayed in her chair, eyes closed, head back, humming to herself. Caiden watched her smiling. Amelia used to do the same thing when she was younger. “Good?” he asked.
“It’s amazerling! I want to eat this every day,” she said, looking down only long enough to cut another piece. Once the chewing started, she closed her eyes again.
Aiden paused his own meal and began cutting up Meryn’s meat for her, so she could continue her happy humming. “Besides the pork buns and the occasional spring roll, this past month has been protein heavy.”
His father smiled. “Lily ate nearly her weight in popcorn with Amelia.”
Lily swatted his arm. “It was nowhere near as much, maybe half my weight,” she said laughing.
Caiden saw Mikel wave his hand and the room was soundproofed.
Meryn opened her eyes. “Didja kill Andrei?” she asked between bites.
Mikel shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Mikel can cast a spell that gives him the ability to see lies,” Aiden explained.
“So, whatever was said was iffy enough for follow up?” she asked.
Mikel looked to Kendrick. “She’s good.”
Kendrick sat back and swirled his wine. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Meryn put her fork down. “Is it like Cas’ ability to see aura colors?”
Mikel nodded. “Our great-grandmother was fae, it affected our magic.”
“Serenity is like that too, she uses it to see colors when she’s looking at a human body to heal shit,” Meryn explained.
“I know Serenity. I helped her a lot when she was growing up,” Mikel said.
“How does your lie thingie work?” she asked.
“I cast the spell, and a light engulfs them. It stays white if they are telling the truth and shifts to red when they are lying. I can cast it so either only I can see the light or allow others to see as well,” he explained.
“What’s the criteria for the lie?” she asked, looking around for more potato wedges.
Caiden watched Mikel’s expression. The man looked confused. He looked over to Kendrick who was now smirking.
Mikel frowned. “A lie is a lie.”
Meryn snorted. “Oh, you sweet, summer child,” she sang.
