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“Yes, boss.” He went quiet for a moment, keeping up with the quick pace I set through the corridors to the healer’s wing. “Am I fired?”
“No, Torin. You’re not fired.”
“My mother says you’re going to fire me soon.”
“Does your mother know me better than I know myself?”
“No, boss.” He was saying the right things, but Torin didn’t look like he believed them. There really was no criticism with more long-lasting damage than that delivered by parents.
“Torin, so long as you keeptryingto do a good job,tryingto learn,tryingyour best, I’m not going to fire you, got it? You’ve got a good palate for flavors—I can’t teach that—and a good work ethic. Stop trying to be Calix. Torin is plenty good enough. Alright?”
“Yes, boss.” He sniffed. “Thank you, boss.”
“I might fire you if you start weeping,” I warned. “This is as comforting as I get, don’t push your luck.”
He shot me a watery smile.
“I’m really glad I came to work here. You don’t need to come in with me,” he added, pausing before the enormous stone archway that led to the healers. “I’ve got it from here.”
“You sure?”
Torin winced. “I’m not sure I want you there when I describe how I did it. You might get annoyed again.”
“Probably,” I agreed, imagining him trying to flip the cleaver between slices. “Take some time off, no coming back to work until you’re fully healed. You cause enough disasters with all your limbs intact.”
Torin laughed, all signs of wariness gone. “That’s true. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
He headed cheerfully through the archway, perhaps not realizing that the healers were the scariest Shades in the palace and would have far more to say about him being irresponsible with a knife than I would.
Ever a glutton for punishment, I didn’t turn around and head back to the kitchen like I should have, but kept heading forward instead, toward some of the apartments that the crown had given to the wealthy court families.
I’d never visited Levana here, but I knew which door belonged to her family. Whether I was welcome was the bigger question. She’d been avoiding me again, but there was a slim chance that it wasn’t intentional. The queen had been busy with her coronation and getting the ex-Hunters who’d decided to stay permanently settled. And the captain had decided to take a Hunter mate of his own, which had undoubtedly created more work for the Guard as they took over some of his duties.
It could have been a coincidence that Levana had avoided me for weeks.
Or pointing out the connection between us might have sent her into hiding. Only one way to find out.
It wasn’t long before Levana appeared, rounding the corner looking so utterly exhausted that every thought in my head was drowned out by the screaming demand to care for her.
Levana jumped when she noticed me standing opposite her door, turning to face me in a blur of misbehaving shadows.
“How long have you been standing there?”
“Surprised I managed to sneak up on you, Blue?” I teased, pushing off the wall and crossing the short distance between us.Iwas a little surprised—I didn’t have any of Levana’s training.
She made a disgruntled noise of assent. “How do you know where I live?”
I gave her a disbelieving look, not bothering to dignify that question with an answer. These rooms had belonged to Levana’s family for generations, even if they’d been mostly left empty during her father’s tenure as head of the household.
“Stupid question,” she muttered, exhaling heavily before straightening, giving me her most imperious look. It was meant to scare me off and I had no doubt that her success rate with it had been one-hundred-percent before now, but I didn’t scare so easily. “What do you want?”
Everything.
“At this exact moment, I’d like to feed you a decent meal and tuck you into my bed for a good nap. You look exhausted, Levana.”
“I am exhausted,” she mumbled before exhaling heavily. “We’re not in a relationship, Calix. You’re not responsible for me.”
“So you keep reminding me.”
