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With a sentence so specific, along with her pointed finger, I couldn’t really play it off, so I raised my head and gave a small bow, noting she was with yet another man. This one smelled an awful lot like a human.
“I am,” I said. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Princess.”
“I’m sure it is.” She laughed like this was the most hilarious joke she’d ever told, and I did my best not to grit my teeth. I could see why she and Kai didn’t get along. “You know, I heard rumors about a witch running around in his entourage, and I was surprised. I didn’t think your kind were military types.”
It was true. Witches generally didn’t like being constrained by all the stupid rules and regulations of the armed forces, but something about the way she said it was so incredibly demeaning.
“It’s not generally in our repertoire,” I said, channeling Aodin’s ability to smoothly escape any awkward moment.
The human at her side shuffled, like he was the one feeling out of place, while I looked around, taking in everything I could. He was dressed fairly formally, in a style I only vaguely recognized. Was this the husband I’d heard about but never seen?
“Hmph, well, you must be a special one, then.” The princess scrunched her nose, and I knew, even with my limited socialization, she didn’t play nicely. But just as soon as I’d entered her orbit, I seemed to leave it, because she let out a little huff. “Well, we have things we must do. Be well, citizen.”
Then she swept off, chattering at her husband, as I just shook my head. How unpleasant.
But it seemed my trip to the library wasn’t meant to be a solitary one, because it was only a few minutes after that Mad Dog fell into step with me. Maybe it was all in my head, but I did feel like we were closer lately. Must have been the result of spending hours metaphorically elbows deep in his body, or maybe just a natural side effect of everything we’d gone through. I was just grateful he didn’t seem to blame me for any of it, even though it was objectively my fault.
“Hey there,” I said, not breaking stride. “Not spending time at the training yard?”
“Nah. Figured I should take a break from there for a bit. Don’t wanna push my luck, recently healed and all.”
“Good to be cautious,” I said with a nod. “Did you happen to see Darla and Oren, by the way?” It was probably out of nowhere, but I hadn’t seen either of them since Yvonne left, and I was starting to get a little suspicious.
“Well, I ain’tseenhide nor hair of ‘em, butI can say I might have heard a thing or two last night when I swung by Darla’s room to ask if I could borrow her conditioner again.”
I froze in place, giving him a sharp look.
“What? She’s a grown woman. It’s perfectly natural she and the l—”
“No, I mean you borrowed Darla’s conditioner?”
“Have youseenher hair? That shit is luscious. Besides, it’s her fault. She told me if I wanted to be less of a fifth wheel, I should start with taking care of my split ends, then threw the bottle at me last week.”
That did sound like Darla.
“Well, it really is her fault, then.” I chuckled and continued walking.
Surprisingly enough, Mad Dog didn’t turn out to be a distraction in the library. Instead, he went to his own section and picked out a couple of books, then went to sit at the desk opposite me. Not far enough for it to be weird but enough for me to feel like I had space.
Was it wrong of me to assume the large man wasn’t one for a book? He’d never indicated a love for literature, but I’d also judged him based solely on a shallow perception. It looked like I had some things to work on.
It seemed like a quiet day here just wasn’t in the cards. We were barely a half hour in when the doors opened again, along with a pair of footsteps.
I tried not to fume to myself. The library was for everyone, not just me, yet one of the reasons I liked it so much was it was supposedly one of the smaller, lesser used ones. But now it seemed like every Tom, Dick, and Harry was strolling right in like they owned the place.
But then I turned and saw it was none other than Princess Seraphina—one of the few people who did own the place.
Well, then.
“Ah, there you are,” she said, beaming as she pranced over to me. I felt bad I’d been upset about her arrival, as she was obviously happy to see me. “I haven’t been able to find you or the lovely Sergeant Khan all day!”
“I was in the infirmary,” I said honestly, looking to Halle to judge the situation at hand. But the woman was just dutifully standing beside the princess, a clipboard in hand. Oh, wait, was that a measuring tape?
“That makes sense. I heard you’re quite a superstar there.”
My stomach twisted at the thought. “Me and the other healers get along.”
“Well, it’s just wonderful to hear. I’d hate to have to chop off someone’s head for being mean to my friend.” I sent her a startled look, not used to such words coming out of her mouth, but she just laughed. “Relax. I’m kidding, kidding.”
