“I see.” Kane scratches the round tip of the mare’s soft muzzle. “You know, there are ways to ensure you arrive back in your realm at the exact time you left it.”
“How would that work?” I cock my head, mentally sorting through all the pros and cons cycling through my thoughts at once.
Pro: My mother won’t send out a search party when I don’t answer her about the date with the hobbit.
Con: I’ll be back in my life.
Pro: My landlord won’t let my mom, sister, and the police into my apartment to see the abysmal state of things when I’m officially declared a missing person.
Con: I’ll be back in my life…
Shit.
“She won’t like the answer,” Kane says to Shadow.
“Oh, wait. Don’t tell me. It’smagick.” I hold up my hands and wiggle my fingers to add a bit of flair. “So Iwon’t get fired. At least not because I skipped out on work. Guess I’ll have to face that nightmare of a problem head-on.”
“Shadow and I find it best to face all problems directly.”
We enter the small clearing where the stone cottage sits, as rickety and run-down as when we left.
“Oh yeah? Is that why you’re hiding out in the woods?” I motion to the derelict home up ahead. “I didn’t realize that was the most direct way to solve being banished.”
Shadow snorts, and Kane grumbles a curse. “I have a duty, and banishment won’t keep me from it.”
We reach the ramshackle cottage, its weathered exterior blending seamlessly with the surrounding forest. Kane loops Shadow’s reins around a post and smooths his palm along her neck, his whispers soft and soothing. He unties one of the leather bags attached to either side of the saddle, removes her bridle, and slips the bag of grain over her head. Shadow eagerly dips her muzzle into the bag and starts to munch.
“How long have you had her?” I ask, reaching up to take Lord Ashwood’s clothes from where they’re draped over the saddle.
“I found her.” Kane pauses as if choosing his words carefully. “About five years ago. She was just a foal then, abandoned and injured. We were returning from a hunt near the border of the kingdom when I heard her cries.
“It took a while to gain her trust, but eventually, I managed to free her. She was weak, starving. I took her to the palace stables and nursed her back to health. We’ve been together ever since.”
“She’s lucky to have you.” I try to block out the starry-eyed pang of admiration I have for Kane and run my fingers along the jacket thrown over the saddle, silver threads stitched in a pattern of cresting waves.
Kane shrugs, but there’s a softness in his eyes as he watches the mare. “I’m the lucky one. She’s saved my life more times than I can count. There’s a loyalty in animals not found in people.”
A comfortable silence drifts between us—a little too comfortable—and I rush to fill it. “Even with this on, you won’t look anything like a lord,” I tease and motion to the jacket, the corners of my mouth twitching with a grin.
“Thank you,” Kane says, patting Shadow while she munches on her snack.
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“Those born with royal blood don’t work with their hands. They don’t defend nor protect.” Kane’s dark gaze meets mine, intense and unflinching. “They don’t know how to do a great many things that I know.”
“Like what?” I ask, my fingers clutching the velvet.
A shriek pierces through the forest. I flinch as an owl’s mottled gray-brown wings slice the air above me. Kane reacts swiftly and sweeps his arm around my waist. Before I fully comprehend what’s happening, he’s pushed me under the safety of the sagging porch roof. My back meets the cottage door’s rough wood, and I clutch the jacket against my chest as his body shields mine from whatever dangers lurk within the trees. The sudden closeness, the warmth of him, the subtle scent of woodsmoke and pine that clings to him merge and send a rush of heat through my limbs.
“I can show you what I know.” His words caress my hair.
My heart skips, then races, pounding rapidly against my ribs. “I’m always up for learning something new.”
“That’s right.” That delicious grin returns, and I want to trace my tongue across its arch. “How could I forget what a quick study you are, Little Fawn?”
A pet name has never sounded so good as it does on his lips. I feel myself rise, lifting onto my tiptoes, drawn to him like a magnet to steel.
“Fawn…” His voice is a warm caress against my mouth.
