I watch him with her, and to me it’s glaringly obvious that he has the same feelings I have for her. He’s also falling for her. But Kazimir is a lot more reluctant to admit it, even to himself. For some reason, he doesn’t want to accept what he’s feeling.
Maybe not all people are as curious about the magic in this world as I am. Because I do see falling in love as a form of magic, it’s a beautiful thing that shouldn’t be denied.
I’m sitting quietly in the corner of her room on a chair by the window, reading a book. Kaz comes back in. He whispers, “How is she doing?” as he walks silently to her bedside.
“She’s been asleep for about two hours now,” I update him.
He brushes her hair away from her face.
“Do you think she’s okay?” he asks, worried.
“I think she needs us right now,” I say, watching him again.
He nods, his eyes locked onto her, and a longing spilling from them.
“I’ll make her some more peppermint tea when she wakes up. It seemed to help earlier,” he says thoughtfully.
“It did. It helped her relax enough to get to sleep,” I agree.
I wonder how long it’ll take him to realize he’s falling in love with her?
I smile as I look back down at my book.
I’m happy to fall in love with such a beautiful person.
She is unique in so many ways.
He’ll come around. He can only deny it for so long.
Chapter 21 - Kazimir
Maria has been feeling a lot better this afternoon. I’m relieved, because she slept all day yesterday after coming home, then all night and late into this morning. But she woke up with color back in her cheeks and her beautiful smile back on her face.
“I’m really hungry,” she says, surprising me.
“Are you sure? Yesterday, you said if someone brings you food, you might throw it at them,” I chuckle.
“I was nauseous yesterday,” she laughs. “Today is a whole new day.”
“It certainly is. What were you in the mood for?” I ask.
“I still want to go to the bookshop and the little waffle coffee shop in the village. Bear and I didn’t get a chance to yesterday before I ruined the day,” she pouts.
“Bear…” I muse. “Are we all going to get our own nicknames, or is he your favorite husband?”
“Mm. I’ll have to think of a nickname that suits you. I don’t want to be boring and just call you Kaz. Everyone else already does that,” she says thoughtfully.
“I agree, it should be a nickname only you call me,” I nod.
Last night, Benedikt made a comment about me running away from my feelings.
I didn’t understand it last night, but as she turns to look at me now, my stomach flips, and I have a glimmer of self-reflection. But I push it away. He’s putting ideas in my head.
“You ready?” I ask.
“Are we going for waffles?” she asks happily.
“We are indeed,” I grin. “But we aren’t going to walk around too much. I think you should take it easy.”
