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I led the way to a quiet corner and stood back, as if showing off some masterpiece I had created. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
The masterpiece was all nature's.
A calico cat stared up at us calmly from where she reclined, her soft fur a pretty patchwork of colors. Alongside her, a brood of kittens played amidst the hay-strewn floor, pouncing and tumbling and swatting at one another with their tiny paws.
Kaye let out a little cry of delight and immediately crouched down in the hay. One of the kittens, a sandy-furred little lady, immediately rubbed up against him, mewling with her small voice.
I watched as my brother gently picked up the kitten, cupping her in his hands, then cradling her gently beneath his chin, and smiled.
Had I really dreamed Kaye was in danger? That he might be dead?
It was the stuff of nightmares. A true dreamer I might be, but evidently, even true dreamers could have false dreams.
Kaye was here. He was safe. And looking at him, I saw he had not lost the capacity to be happy.
I felt filled to the brim with love.
And I longed to tell him about Draven.
Soon, I decided. Perhaps even later that night.
I crouched down beside him, my boots softly rustling the straw, and picked up a plump, black kitten. The small fellow began to purr instantly, cozying up against me as I ran a finger gently over his sleek fur.
“I wish I could keep one,” Kaye murmured from beside me. “There were no cats in the war camp.”
“We could bring it back to my room,” I suggested. I looked down at the mother cat and the rest of the kittens and my lips turned upwards. “What’s to stop us from bringing them all up? We could find a basket to carry them and—”
Kaye was already on his feet, cupping the orange kitten in one hand while searching for a basket for the others.
I grinned. “We can have the kitchen send up some supper for their mother, too. I’m sure she’d like some nice fish. Wouldn’t you, milady?” I eyed the mother cat who was now cleaning herself.
“I wouldn’t mind fish for supper either,” Kaye said, coming back over. He was carrying a wooden crate in his free hand. I grabbed it and started lining it with straw, then added a horse blanket on top for good measure.
My brother beamed down at me. “Kittens and fish. What an excellent homecoming.”
Kaye was truly the sweetest Pendragon of us all.
Much later, we layside by side on my bed, stuffed with fried fish, dill and cream scalloped potatoes, and a sinfully delicious chocolate cake.
“I’d forgotten how good food tastes,” I said with a sigh and a groan.
“Haven’t you been eating?” Kaye asked, sounding a little concerned.
“I’ve been eating. I suppose I just haven’t really been tasting.” I had been more consumed with worry than I’d known until that night. Now I realized food had been nothing but ash in my mouth for the most part.
But with Kaye here, it felt as if I were floating on a cloud. I could breathe again. Easier than I had without Draven in weeks.
Kaye smirked at me. “I can’t believe you’re an empress.”
I swatted his arm. “Hush. Don’t call me that.” I was quiet for a moment. “I still can’t believe I am either.”
“Well, you deserve to be one,” Kaye said generously. “You should have been queen of Pendrath.”
I looked nervously around my room. But I needn’t have worried. The door was closed and locked. We were alone. We were safe.
“I don’t know if I’m cut out to be a ruler,” I said with a sigh. “Draven would be much better at it.”
“From what you’ve told me about him, he’s not going to let you get out of it that easily.” Kaye turned on his side and propped his head on his hand. “Does he really have horns, Morgan?”
