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“I’ve added these particular words to my vocabulary because they describe the essence of pain I endure on a daily basis. Over and over, I must hear schmaltzy phrases from Kaevin’s lips.”
“You wouldn’t have to hear it if you weren’t sneaking around, spying on us all the time.”
“You wound me, Alora.” Jireo stabbed his heart with his hand. “I’ve grown so fond of you. Especially since your lips appear almost normal now.”
“Hey! My lips aren’t swollen at all any more.” Alora probed her face with her fingers.
Kaevin chuckled. “Don’t listen to him, Alora.”
Jireo spoke a little louder. “Begging your pardon, Bearer. I didn’t wish to cause embarrassment about your rather large lips.”
“Are my lips big?” she asked Kaevin.
“Your lips are perfect.” He kissed them to prove his point. “Now, take us to the stables before I’m forced to kill my defender brother.”
“You’ll miss the cinnamon rolls,” Jireo warned.
Alora considered her options. She could smell the delicious pastries. Her mouth was already watering in anticipation.
In a flash of genius, she transported herself and Kaevin into the kitchen, narrowly missing Uncle Charles.
“Hey! We have rules about transporting inside the house, young lady.”
“Sorry, Uncle Charles. It was an emergency.”
“There you are.” Jireo leaned into the kitchen doorway, with his arms folded across his chest. “You should be careful, Alora. Two things are known to be responsible for the fattening of the lips... cinnamon rolls and mawkish phrases.”
“I plan to keep a steady diet of both.” Snatching three cinnamon rolls and transferring them to a paper plate, Alora transported Kaevin and herself to the stables.
“Whew!” she sat on an upside-down bucket. “We got away!”
She took one pastry and handed the other two to Kaevin.
“Why don’t you ignore him?” asked Kaevin, between bites.
“I can’t. He knows how to push my buttons.”
Grinning, Kaevin reached over to tap the top button on her shirt. “And how does Jireo do that?”
Alora nudged him with her elbow as she took a huge bite of cinnamon roll. “You know what I’m talking about. Mmmm, this is so good.” She savored her next bite. “What we really need is
to get Arista over here. Jireo needs a sister to tease.”
“Or perhaps we simply need to return to Laegenshire, where Jireo may find a woman of his own.”
Alora liked being referred to as a woman. Ironically, it made her feel like giggling, but she held her composure. Barely.
Then it happened, as it had so many times in the past month, since they’d returned from Glaenshire. His smile faltered, and she felt a hint of some other emotion—something dark and angry. Just for an instant, and then it was gone.
She had to know the truth, even if it was unpleasant. She steeled her emotions, trying not to alert him to her intentions.
“Kaevin, are you happy?” Rotating on her stool until she faced him, she watched his expression, searching for answers when she wasn’t sure of the right question.
He swallowed the last of his cinnamon rolls and leaned against the wall beside her. “Of course I am. I’m the luckiest man in the entirety of two realms, for I have you as my soulmate.”
“Yes, but... something’s happened between us, hasn’t it? You’re... I don’t know... you’re different.”
His smile disappeared, and he grew quiet. Too quiet. She opened her empathy, scanning for his feelings, but she didn’t like what she felt. Pain. Anxiety. Anger. Withdrawal.
