Noctis rose from behind it, his eyes wild, his wet hair tangled around his shoulders. The bindings of his tunic were still open. He must have run over from the shower the moment he heard the fight. I moved toward him instinctively, one hand coming up to touch his face in silent reassurance that we were both unhurt.
“Still making it a habit to save me, little queen?” he said, a twinkle in his eyes.
“I don’t have much of a choice as long as you are in the habit of throwing yourself into danger,” I shot back, savoring the feel of his warm skin far too much.
“Rada! Bylyr! Are you alright?” Dolores’ worried exclamation behind me shattered the moment between us. The Brownie had clambered off the wagon, her brown eyes wide with concern as she rushed over to me, her sienna skin flushed to a deep bronze in her agitation. Her white dress, decorated with blue flowers, was slightly dusty from the trip. The wild brown curls tumbling around her slight shoulders were held back with a matching hairband. When I flinched at her touch, she noticed the bandage on my wrist. “Stars, what have you done to your hand, poor darling?”
“I had a little accident some time ago. Nothing serious,” I reassured her.
“Still…” She shook her head. “That fight cannot have helped.” Unfortunately, she was not wrong; my wrist pounded with renewed pain.
“By M’tar’s balls. That bloody giant wolf honestly tried to get a bite out of us in the middle of the road.” Ulyss had clambered off the wagon as well. “I gave him a taste of my axe, but I guess we just looked too tempting to leave alone.” He patted the axe on his hip, his white beard, extending past his slightly rounded belly to his iron belt buckle, trembling with his laughter.
Dolores immediately went to his side, beaming at him. “You crazy old Dwarf. You can still wield your axe well enough to get my heart racing.”
The Underforges—an older Dwarf hailing from the Obsidian Mountains who had scandalously married the good-natured Brownie late in his life—were my closest neighbors. They were also terribly nosy. I loved them both to pieces.
Ulyss put his arm around Dolores’s shoulder and chuckled, butquickly grew serious, concern darkening his bright amber eyes as he looked at me. “When you missed the farmer’s market twice, we feared there was something wrong and decided to check on you. How are you managing on the farm if you are injured, lass?”
“I had help.” I motioned at Noctis, who was still hovering close. Curse it, we had to come up with an explanation for his presence.
“And who are you, young man?” Ulyss asked at once, his eyes assessing as he took Noctis in.
“Bele.” Noctis nodded politely at the Underforges, his face a calm mask. I stifled a giggle at his choice of a mortal name, as inventive as mine. “I am… an old acquaintance of Rada from her time with the army.” That was certainly one way to put it.
“Bele arrived a few days ago to visit me. He has been incredibly helpful.”
“Oh, we can see that.” Dolores threw an amused glance at the dead Serai and then at Noctis, her upturned little nose twitching in curiosity. “You’re really lucky that your friend came by just when you needed him.”
“Yes, terribly lucky.” I flashed an exaggeratedly sweet smile at Noctis.
I did not really fear that my neighbors would recognize him. The Underforges were simple people living a simple life. The war may have raged on for decades, but it was doubtful they had ever seen the Destroyer’s face. Ulyss and Dolores had met and fallen in love while handling supplies, far from the frontlines. Not that Noctis looked like the former Lord of Darkness and Chaos anyway, with his wet, disheveled hair, dark stubble on his jaw, and the sleeves of his simple tunic rolled up for work, exposing toned forearms.
“Let’s go inside and grab some plates.” Dolores slid an arm around my waist, knowing I avoided talking about my past. “After that shock, we could all use a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake. I brought thehoney cake you love so much, Rada. And don’t worry, just show me where everything is. I’ll do the work. You relax.”
I glanced at Noctis before being pulled inside the house. Ulyss was helping him heave the dead Serai onto the Underforges’ wagon, since we had agreed they would keep it. The Dwarf had launched into a detailed explanation of how he wanted to skin the wolf and use its pelt as a coat for Dolores, so I felt it was safe to leave.
“Ah, there’s my beautiful darling.” Dolores bent down to pet Bane when he came running to her and gave him a treat she summoned from one of her dress’s many pockets. The tomcat purred like a king receiving his rightful tribute. “So,” Dolores said as we entered the kitchen. “Your friend has come a long way to visit you.” She gave me a sly look. “Former lover?”
“No,” I answered curtly, opening the cupboard where the plates were stored.
“Mmm.” Dolores was undeterred by my taciturn response. “He is a brave warrior. And very tall, even for your kind. Don’t you Humans say big hands, big—”
“Dolores!”
My shocked exclamation only elicited a cheeky laugh from the Brownie. “I notice you don’t pretend not to know if I am right.”
I knew exactly that she was right.
I sighed, busying myself with activating the Fire stone to heat the kettle Dolores had placed on the stove. Like me, the Underforges enjoyed sweet, fruity tea, but Noctis preferred a more bitter blend. I hesitated briefly before retrieving a small metal container of tea leaves from the back of one cupboard. “It’s always been complicated between us.”
“But he came here to visit you.”
Yes, because I was probably the only being in all of Aron-Lyr foolish enough not to stab him at first sight. A snort escaped me as Icarefully measured the different tea leaves. “There’s a reason it never worked out between us.”
Dolores gave me a pensive look. “Sometimes people change.”
I smiled sadly. Clinging to impossible hopes only led to disaster. I had learned that long ago. “Sometimes they don’t.”
