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“But you haven’t even eaten yet.”
Oh shit, I hadn’t, had I? “Crap, I’d better head to the caf.”
“No, none of that. Whatever food is there will be cold or just scraps. Here, come to my quarters and I’ll order you a hot meal.”
“Kai, we can’t—”
“I’m not trying to get into your pants, Ayla. I genuinely want you to have a hearty meal if you’re going from spellcasting all day straight into work.” He crossed the distance between us, lifting my chin with his strong hand so he could press a kiss tomy forehead. “Gotta make sure my mate is taking care of herself, ya know?”
I could feel my toes curl in my shoes, but I just nodded mutely. “Lead the way, then.”
Chapter 4
Kai
I mused happily to myself while Ayla voraciously devoured the rotisserie chicken I’d had a runner drop off here. They weren’t a staple for every day, but it wasn’t uncommon in times of high workload for the kitchen staff to spear a few thousand birds or so on roasting spits, then have some magic users enchant them so they’d rotate evenly over bonfires in the fields out in the eastern quadrant. It was relatively easy for them to do, and then they could focus on the repairs the fort needed, as well as on the fruit and veggies portions of the meals.
Goodness knew, Ayla needed all the protein she could get. I didn’t have an exact idea what it was like casting magic, but I’d felt her energy draining through our bond as the spellcasting wore on. It was an interesting sensation, and one that made me plenty curious, but I couldn’t pester her with more questions before she was about to work an overnight shift.
I wanted to tell her she was relieved of her duty, but we only had three healers at the fort as it was. The only reason we’d gotten this far was a credit to her, Mikhailov, and the head of the infirmary.
“You look happy,” Ayla said when she took a break from downing the chicken to chugging a bit of the mead I’d set in a pitcher on my desk.
“Just thinking about Oren and your friend. I’ve been encouraging him to approach her for a long time. I thought he never would.”
“Oh?” She wiped her mouth, then sat back and watched me with the corners of her eyes, crinkled from her soft smile. Gods, I loved her smile. It felt like the world wasn’t such a bad place whenever she looked at me like that. “So, it’s thanks to you that Oren kissed Darla out of the blue?”
I nearly choked on my water glass. “He what now?”
Ayla grinned. “Yup. Laid one on her, then panicked and ran away without saying a thing.”
I laughed. “I’m teasing him about this later. I had no idea. For the record, I encouraged him to talk to Darla, not just lay one on her without asking permission.”
Ayla chuckled, too, and went back to eating. It was such a normal, non-dramatic conversation that my mind got carried away, imagining what our lives would be like if we could do this every day. It was a nice image, and one which made me more determined than ever to break Ayla’s curse so she could live a full and happy life without worrying about who she’d hurt by merely existing.
Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end, and Ayla finished her food and began to rise.
“I’m glad today worked out with the veiling spell, but I just want to remind you we’ll need to be careful how we act in the capital, even when we’re not around each other.”
“Of course, I know that much.”
“Do you?” she said idly. “That means no lingering gazes, and no snapping at others who are disrespectful of me. You really can’t act protective around me at all.”
I was quite ready to tell her it wouldn’t be a problem, but then I thought of just how skeezy some of the court could be. The thought of one of my cousins leering at her, or a second uncle cornering her, or even one of my older aunties squeezing a handful, made my blood boil.
Uh-oh.
“If it makes you feel better,” I said with restraint. “I have a long history of being a killjoy whenever it comes to my family harassing innocent staff members, so it wouldn’t exactly be suspicious.”
“If you say so. I just want to make sure you understand we can’t leave any clues. You’re the literal prince of our entire nation. There’s going to be so many eyes on you, scrutinizing your every move and word.”
Ugh. She was reminding me of exactly what it was like being at court. Always being under surveillance, having people measure me against rules I didn’t know or agree with. It was maddening and a waste of so much energy.
“I promise, I will take this seriously.”
“Good. Has there been any word back from your parents?”
“Not yet, but my uncle likely didn’t send his missive until the day after he arrived here, so it’s not entirely unusual.” A wicked grin grew across my features, and I didn’t feel a lick of guilt about it. “Still, I could wake him as soon as you head out. He surely wouldn’t mind losing some sleep in service of the crown.”
