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Yes, I would, but I knew I wouldn’t do a good job.
“I’m not sure I should,” I said. “I was never much good at woodwork.”
“It’s no big deal,” he said. “You just need to put it over there in the corner.”
I looked from him to the model. Surely even I couldn’t mess that up?
“Okay,” I said.
He picked up a small tube of glue and came over to me. I could smell the sawdust and drying paint on him. I never thought a lord would ever need to use his hands like this.
He ran the glue around the base of the model and gave it to me. He stood beside me and helped me guide it into the right position. His arms were muscular and strong, but his touch was delicate and measured. His shirt hung open and I caught a full view of his toned physique.
I poked my tongue out in concentration. I needed to get this right…
I pressed the model into place on the outskirts of town.
“There,” I said, straightening up. “How’s that?”
His face fell.
“Terrible,” he said. “You’ve ruined it. I’m going to have to start from scratch.”
“I’m so sorry!” I said. “I told you I’m no good at woodwork! I could ruin a tree with a thumbtack if—”
He was grinning at me.
“You were joking,” I said, slapping him on the arm. “Don’t do that!”
He held up his hands, multicolored with paint.
“Sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t resist. You did great.”
I pouted and blew him a raspberry.
He was surprised by my outburst and shook his head. I wondered what he was thinking. Gosh, he was handsome.
“So, what’s this building I just installed?” I said.
“A builder’s yard,” he said. “The one in town was built last week.”
“Last week?” I said. “How do you know this is what it looks like?”
“I like to creep among the villagers when I can,” Kal said. “I never used to need a disguise before. I’m… not well-liked at the moment.”
“Because you didn’t light the beacon?” I said. “Because you didn’t send them to war to die?”
“Because I wouldn’t fight for their honor as Titans.”
He smiled but it was sad.
“Look, I can’t pretend to understand how a Titan thinks,” I said, “but given the choice between life and death, I would always choose life. No matter how much honor I had.”
“To a Titan, honor is life.”
“If you take someone’s life away, do they still have honor?”
“Yes.”
