“I hope I’m not taking too much of your time,” Sawyer said, staring at a frog as it leapt off a pad and into the water with a littleblip.
“You’re not,” I answered. “I hired a new guy who knows his way around the kitchen, so I’m confident he has everything under control for now. His name’s Miles, and he’s a demi-bear.”
“You hired a demi-human?” Sawyer asked with a touch of awe.
“Yep. When I first met him, he was being tossed out of the bakery in the marketplace. All he’d wanted was a job. So I gave him one. He actually made the lemon cookies I brought today.”
Sawyer smiled. “Please tell Miles the cookies were delicious.”
“I will.”
A short silence followed. Kuya knelt by the edge of the pond, knees drawn to his chest, and glided his hand over the top of the water. When a fish swam past, his ears shot up, as did his tail.
“I’m so torn, Evan.”
“About what?”
“Lady Alina will be arriving at the castle in three days’ time,” Sawyer said, watching as Kuya hunkered low, his tail swirling in the air behind him. “We’ll spend time together. A prelude to the announcement of our engagement, I’m sure. Kuya… he…” His chin trembled. “He won’t handle it well. Frankly, neither will I. How cruel to have exactly what you want right before you but be forbidden from having it.”
Kuya batted at the water with his palm, a snaggle tooth flashing as he grinned. More fish circled below him, as if they knew he wouldn’t hurt them; he only wanted to play.
“He can come to my café while you’re busy,” I said, understanding his unspoken request. “And I’ll feed him lots of cake.”
“Cake?” Kuya snapped his head toward us.
When Sawyer laughed, it sounded a bit broken. Much like his heart, I’d wager. “Thank you, Evan. Truly.” That brokenness then reflected in his grass-green eyes. “What pains me more than anything? Knowing how upset he is about the engagement. I’d rather take a hundred daggers to the chest than see him shed a single tear because of me.”
A few minutes later, an older man approached. “It’s time for your afternoon fencing lesson, my prince.”
Sawyer sighed and clasped my forearm. “Thank you for joining me for lunch. It’s been lovely.”
“Don’t poke your eye out,” I teased, before imitating one of the fencing moves I’d seen on a TV show.
“I’m not clumsy like you,” Sawyer said, amused. Good. I hadn’t wanted our visit to end on such a sad note, with him looking so fragile.
“Oh. That cut deep.” I put a hand to my chest. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are. And I don’t take it for granted. Until next time.” He gave me another smile and guided Kuya away from the pond, following behind the older man.
Sir Noah bowed at their departure before turning to me. “I’ll take you home.”
“You don’t have to,” I said as we walked along the path to leave the area. “I know I don’t have the best track record when it comes to finding my way around, but I’m pretty sure I can make it there without getting lost.”
Noah kept his gaze forward.
Silence hung in the air, nothing but the sound of our steps filling the space between us. As that silence drew on, I sighed. “This is going to be a long trip back if we don’t talk.”
Again, he didn’t respond.
“Where are we going?” I asked as we passed the trail I always took when leaving the castle grounds.
“To the stable,” Noah answered. “The day is too hot for us to walk to town, so I’m taking you on horseback.”
“Oh. Cool.”
He gave a curt nod and said nothing further.
“I’ve never been to the Royal Order’s encampment,” I said after ten-whole seconds. It was probably a new record. “Now, the Second Order? Definitely. I basically lived there for a while. They’re my boys. Hungry boys too. I swear, every time I cook, they gobble it up like ravenous lions. I love it though. It makes me happy when people enjoy my food.”
