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My mind was still reeling. Haleika and Leander were kashonim. According to Lumerian Law, they could never be together. And they’d been…Gods…I was sure they’d been together, hiding in the seats of the arena while Rhyan and I had been on the field.
I didn’t want to share Haleika’s secret with Rhyan, partially out of respect for her, and partially because I didn’t want to burden Rhyan with this knowledge. Maybe I hadn’t sworn a blood oath this time, but I knew the weight this secret carried, and knew how much weaker the secrecy became with every person who knew. But I also needed to ease Rhyan’s mind that he hadn’t been seen. That we were okay.
“They didn’t see you,” I said at last, hoping he wouldn’t ask me how that was possible. “I guess because you move so fast.”
Rhyan breathed an audible sigh of relief, his arms loosening from his hold. “You’re sure.”
“They invited me to run with them, so I wouldn’t have to do it alone.”
“What?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but they weren’t paying attention, and they didn’t see you.”
He shook his head, squinting in concentration like he couldn’t believe it. “Either way, we can’t do this again.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Not here.”
“I know,” I said sadly.
“That doesn’t mean we’re not going to continue,” he said, stepping forward. “I’ll just have to scout out a new location for runs. Or watch from the sidelines if I have to.”
“You’re sure you want to go through all of this trouble?” I asked.
“I’m sure I want to keep you in Bamaria,” he said, his gaze intensifying. Then he winked. “It’s the only way I get to stay.”
“That still means a lot.” I bit my lip, grateful for the lengths he was willing to go to for me.
He jerked his chin toward the center of the room. “Ready for the next part of training?” he asked.
“Only if it involves coffee,” I said. I perked up at the thought. I had smelled coffee the moment I’d entered the room but had been distracted with thoughts of Haleika and Leander until now.
He’d rearranged a stack of mats we usually kept off to the side into the center of the room, and as I looked beyond them, I realized he’d done more than just brewed me coffee. He’d laid out an entire feast, and it smelled amazing. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee, baked goods, and spices filled the air, drowning out its usually musty, chalky scent.
“Here’s your, how do you say, good job?” he said, tapping his finger against his chin.
I walked forward to the pale blue blanket laid out across the floor. A silver carafe full of steaming coffee stood in its center, the scent emanating from it now overwhelming. Surrounding the coffee lay fruit platters full of pomegranate seeds, strawberries, figs, dates, and grapes. Beyond those were silver plates heaping with hummus, olives, tomato salad, and toasted pita bread.
I spotted a jug of water, tiny bowls full of roasted nuts, and a larger bowl filled with hardboiled eggs. And to top it all off were three plates stacked with desserts. One held tiny sculpted chocolates, the second was filled with honey-glazed pastries with dripping icing, and the third plate had been layered almost ridiculously high with lemon cakes.
“You just put all of this together?” I asked, stunned by the display. My mouth watered, my stomach panging for once with genuine hunger and excitement over what I was about to eat.
“You shouldn’t just have coffee. You need something to go with it.”
“This is a lot more than something,” I said. My stomach growled, as my heart felt like it was swelling up to three times its size.
Rhyan gestured for me to sit down on the blanket, and I did as he reached for the silver carafe, filling a mug for me. Smoky tendrils of steam rose from the cup, and I noted additional spices tangled with the scent of the coffee beans.
“Rhyan, this is….” I didn’t know what to say. It was so sweet, and kind, and…exactly what I’d needed today. “You didn’t have to do all of this.” I paused. “Wait, this isn’t, like, some sort of bribe or attempt to get me to trust you, and then the next thing we’re about to do is some sort of torturous training routine. Is it?”
A mischievous smile played across his lips. “I thought you knew better than to trust me by now.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
He chuckled, his gaze pausing on me before he returned his focus to pouring coffee into a second mug. “Believe or not, partner, the next part of your training is this. Eating.”
I didn’t fully believe him but definitely wasn’t about to argue. “We could have gone to the dining hall for that.” I frowned. “Separately.”
Disappointment flashed in his eyes, but just for a second. “Well, this is maybe a little more than that. Eating, yes. And I promised coffee. But,” his jaw tensed for a moment, “I took a well-educated guess that this past week was probably not the best of your life. And as your friend,” he said carefully, “I thought you could use something nice at the end of it.”
He handed me a mug, and I cupped it between my palms, bringing it up to my nose to smell its divinely delicious scent but also to conceal all the emotion no doubt spilling across my features.
