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“Touring the island to ensure your safety,” was his prompt response. “Saph, you can’t keep missing lunch.”
“I didn’t miss lunch. I just forgot the time and am late. Klaus—”
“Don’t tell me he kept you somewhere and made you late for lunch.”
There was no missing the switch from concern to hostility, even while he visibly tried to tame the latter.
“All right. I won’t tell you that because it’s not the case.”
“Was he with you, then?”
“Just for a few minutes. Mostly I was on my own.”
“No servants?” Silver asked incredulously. “Just you? That’s not safe.”
“Staff,” she corrected firmly, feeling her annoyance rise. “Not servants. I was making potions—”
“All day? Then you should be off your feet, Saph—”
“And making potions in a room I organized myself is quite safe,” she finished, refusing to be interrupted. “In fact, I prefer to be alone these days, especially when Klaus offered to carry me andyoulook like you’re on the verge of doing that.”
The expression on Silver’s face told her that he was already considering the idea, so she growled and held up a potion.
“Saph—”
“Back off. I’m not an imbecile and I’m certainly not a cripple. I can walk on my feet fine, and I don’t need to be carried anywhere just because I’m pregnant.”
“You’ll stress the baby and stress yourself,” he soothed. “Stop yelling. I promise I won’t carry you, but you have to take it easy. If only you weren’t pregnant—”
“Yes, well, I am. And I’m not in the mood to face you for lunch, so don’t mind me while I get some myself.”
“Saph—”
“And don’t follow me.”
The warning was effective as Silver didn’t follow her at all, but the indignation snapped in her body the whole time she made her way to the kitchen to fix herself a sandwich. After having her fill and washing it down with some fruit juice, she marched out of the castle to get some air, her mood so horrible that sparks were dancing on her fingers. Silver was right, of course—she was stressing herself out and the baby in turn, and that just frustrated her further. Needing to calm herself down, Sapphire ventured into the garden. She paused when she spotted a figure standing in the flowers and admiring the view.
“Rosa?”
Rosa was startled at her voice, too distracted by the view to pay attention to the surroundings. Sapphire approached her and noted her blush, and the way she kept admiring the flowers.
“This is very pretty. Did you set this up for him?”
“It was here before I got here. Klaus said it all just grew, but his staff had a hand in maintaining it.” She pointed. “He also planted those, and added more benches. Would you like to sit on one and hang out?”
Surprise flickered in the woman’s gaze, but she nodded and accepted the invitation. They sat and got comfortable, and she waited as Rosa’s curious looks finally settled into words.
“I didn’t think Klaus had it in him,” Rosa confessed.
“Had what?”
“Time for this. To have a hand in something this…magical.”
“Big, bad dragon who kidnaps and wreaks havoc left and right, taking the time to nurture something so beautiful. Unbelievable, right?” she murmured. She wouldn’t have believed it, either, if she had clung to her prejudice and refused to see what had been there all along.
“Not entirely unbelievable,” Rosa said. “I’ve seen meaner folks have a change of heart and display compassion. I guess I just never expected it to happen for him, considering how he almost burned down my village?”
“Would you believe it if I said it wasn’t a change of heart but him just having a terrible phase in his life, and that the compassion had been there all this time?”
