“Forgive me,” I murmured. “Are you hungry?”
An emotion I couldn’t name flickered in her eyes before she nodded and looked away. I rose and went to find Iris instead of Maz bellowing for her again. I also needed a moment to calm the protectiveness that seemed to turn me into a wild beast where Kiera was concerned.
I found Iris coming out of the kitchen, carrying two platters of food. I asked her for some of everything and to hurry if she could. After slipping a handful of silvers in her apron pocket, I headed back to the table.
Just as Maz was saying, “I believe he’s brooding over a woman, but he won’t tell me.”
Her eyes flicked to me. “How do you know it’s a woman?”
Gods damn it, Mazkull.I sat down with a glare.
He grinned and winked at me. “I always know when it’s a woman. I understand women intimately, you see.”
“Is that so?” I quirked an eyebrow at him. “Lorel.”
“Ah, yes, a beautiful woman with the biggest pair of,”—he glanced at Ruru’s rapt expression—“ah,eyesthat I’ve ever seen. She adored me.”
“She burned your tent to the ground.”
Kiera laughed, and I instantly forgave Maz.
Maz waved his hand in the air. “That was an accident. She was merely trying to start a cooking fire.”
I smirked. “Insideyour tent. To roast you and... what was the name of the other woman? Bertha?”
“Bella.” Maz grimaced. “She didn’t know Bella was in my tent.”
I sent a laugh up into the rafters. “By the Four, she did. I also recall we moved camps quickly after that.”
“Call it what you will,” Maz said with a chuckle, “but all I take from that story is how much I’ve learned about women. To prove my point,” he added, dipping his head at Kiera.
She grinned. My shoulders relaxed. Perhaps we could chase away whatever demons haunted her tonight.
Iris arrived with a platter of sticky bread pockets filled with sliced beef, onions, and tomatoes. She also set down a pot of baked beans and a plate of biscuits.
“Gods, you’re the best, Iris, thank you,” Kiera said, already reaching for a bread pocket. “Did you three not eat yet?”
We all shook our heads and dug in like a pack of wolves.
With each bite, a few more of the shadows disappeared from Kiera’s eyes. She caught me studying her and wiped her mouthwith the back of her hand. Our gazes linked in a way that felt like holding hands. Was it my imagination, or did she lean the slightest bit toward me?
“Tell us another story,” Ruru piped up, licking butter from his fingers. “From... fromDagriel,” he whispered.
Maz grinned. “How about the time I blindfolded Aiden, tied his hands behind his back, and left him in the forest overnight?”
Ruru’s mouth fell open, and a soft laugh escaped Kiera’s lips.
“Now this is one I definitely want to hear,” she said. “I hope something worse than a spider hunted you whenyouwere blindfolded.”
I grinned, nudging her shoulder. “How about a mountain lion?”
“What’s a mountain lion?” Ruru asked.
Maz guffawed and described the large, sneaky cat, then told everyone the story, embellishing a few details here and there. Kiera and Ruru gasped and laughed in the right places, and Maz glowed with the happiness of telling a good story. If not for the smoky tavern, we could’ve been back around a roaring fire in the mountains of Dagriel.
Soon, Maz. I’ll get you home.I glanced at Kiera and Ruru. Perhaps my actions would also make Rellmira a home worth having. Maybe then Kiera could come back.
I had to bring up her travel plans again. Skelly’s ship was nearly reloaded for his next run to Eloren, and Kiera would have to be on it.
