Page 18 of Prince of the Northwest Forest
“Yeah, well. You rarely have any idea what’s actually going on inside someone else’s head, do you?”
Kalle pauses, as if considering what he just said. He opens his mouth, but before he can say anything further, I say with a smile, “I’ve heard that before.” We are nearing the top of a ridge. “What do the gophers want?”
“They’re hungry. They want to eat all the roots. And they’re nervous. They always want me to check to see if any cats or owls or other predators are around, and they keep asking over and over again, like they didn’t believe my response the first time. I don’t know why they don’t trust me. I wouldn’t lie to them.”
“I agree: You do seem trustworthy.”
“Thanks.” Kalle bites his lip. “If we come across any other animals, do you want me to translate for you?”
“If they say something interesting or important.”
He chuckles. “Not sure anyone says anything of much importance most of the time, in any language.” We stop in a clearing with a view of the forest and river below. A pleasant summer breeze caresses our faces.
I scoff. “We all can’t have deep philosophical conversations all the time.”
Kalle shrugs. “I’d actually prefer that to listening to yet another story about how Joanna thinks she should get to make all the decisions just because she has the fluffiest tail.”
“Really?”
“Really. Ask me something important.”
“What is your life goal?” I ask immediately. Then regret it becausewhat the hell, Justice? Just ask the princethat?
But Kalle takes it in stride. He scrubs his face and studies the tree-covered land before us. “I am to rule. That is what I was born to do. The throne will be mine after my mother and father, so I have done my best to prepare. I have studied, learned diplomacy and sword fighting, history and languages, manners and protocol and politics.”
“Do you like those things?”
He tilts his head from side to side. “This path is all I have known. This is where I am. If I fight against it, that will only lead to unhappiness.”
“That answer suggests that you aren’t exactly where you want to be. That you might want something different.”
“I guess my dreams aren’t so grand. Sometimes I just like to sit by the fire with a cup of tea and read a good book.”
“Or coffee?”
“Or coffee,” Kalle agrees.
Man after my own heart. If I had a crush on him after seeing him only once, now that I’ve spent a little bit more time with him, it’s ripened into a full-blown infatuation. But that’s okay. It’s good. This is fine.
“I’m digging how we can just jump into a conversation at this level,” I admit.
“Me, too.”
“I wonder why I’m not assuming the worst about you.”
“Is that what you do with others?”
“Unfortunately. I wish I could open up, but I can’t.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Mostly because …” I don’t usually tell people about my quest, but then I’m sure Kalle doesn’t usually tell people about his dreams, either. So I square my shoulders. “Because a fae stole something from me, so I don’t trust easily now.”
Chapter Five
KALLE
Hot licks of anger like the flames from a firecat pass through me. The fae took something from Justice. Those bastards. Having experienced their mischief myself, I suspect I know what happened. But I don’t want to assume. “What did they steal?” I ask.
