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Skaja spread her wings and jumped into the sky. Calle crossed the field toward the archery targets and took a long swig of water before picking up a bow and a quiver of arrows.
“You look extremely happy,” Calle laughed, amber eyes crinkling with amusement. “You going to start skipping around the field? What’s going on with you?”
Joel couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he picked up another bow and joined Calle’s side. “I’m getting married next week.”
“Huh?” Calle’s head snapped to the side, his mouth puckering in confusion. “I assume you are jesting.”
“I’m not.”
His hands shook as he pulled back an arrow and let it loose. In his nervousness, the arrow missed the target completely and speared the ground. He tried to ignore his friend’s blatant stare. But someone had to tell Calle. And he knew it absolutely couldn’t be Nyana.
How would Calle react?
Finally, Calle turned his attention to the targets and nocked an arrow. “To who? I wasn’t aware you were courting anyone.”
The arrows rattled together in their container as Joel reached for another with a trembling hand. This could be disastrous. But he wasn’t going to change his mind or turn back around to avoid upsetting his friend.
Quietly, he spoke her name. “Nyana.”
Dead. Silence.
Calle lowered his bow slowly until the arrow laid slack in his hands. A breath trembled from his lips, and Joel dared to glance to the side to find his best friend blinking slowly as if trying to connect the dots.
“How long have you two been courting?” he finally asked.
They had never courted, but it wasn’t Calle’s business either. Instead, he twisted his words to tell the truth. “I’ve been seeing her ever since she was widowed.”
“Ah.”
More silence.
“You are angry with me.”
Calle sighed and shook his head, scuffing his boot in the dirt. “No, I’m not. Everything is confusing and frustrating. I was already head over heels for Skaja when I learned Nyana was actually alive. We are both different people now than we were six years ago. But it’s hard being so close to someone once, only to watch them retreat and turn you away.” His eyebrows furrowed. “I had come to the conclusion that she was upset about me marrying Skaja. But now I’m confused all over again. Do I look like Liam? When she sees me, does she see my brother?”
No. She sees her daughter.
But he refused to betray Nyana’s trust and tell Calle the truth.
“You are overthinking things,” he finally settled on saying, loosing another arrow. It missed again.
A few moments of contemplative companionship passed as they practiced on the targets. Calle was getting much better, he realized, as his friend hit the target every single time. Likely due to having a fierce valkyrie as a fiancée.
“At the very least,” Calle said finally, breaking the silence with a relieved smile, “I can stop worrying so much when you will look after her. I look forward to the wedding.”
Joel kept quiet, but his silence must have given him away.
Calle grimaced. “I’m not invited, am I?”
Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Joel pulled back the string and let the arrow loose. The tip was embedded in the edge of the target and stuck out at an odd angle. He was much better at playing music than he was at shooting arrows. “Give her some time,” he finally said, choosing his words carefully. “You are still dealing with your horrors during your time as a slave in the Pits. Let her deal with her own demons too.”
His friend abandoned his weapon entirely and kicked a wooden post, followed by a frustrated growl. “She hates me, doesn’t she? It’s my fault Liam took her. I couldn’t protect her. And now I’m marrying Skaja. Am I hurting her? Does she truly dislike me so much?”
“She doesn’t hate you at all.”
He kicked the wood again. “How do you know?”
“She told me.”
