Kairos nudged me to a bench beside a flowering tree and dropped my arm.
“Sit,” he barked.
I sank onto the bench.
He leaned down, his hands bracing on either side of me. “This realm doesn’t have harmless creatures waiting for some soft girl to rescue them.”
My hands started shaking. I pressed them against my thighs, but the trembling spread up my arms. The panic drained out of me, leaving me hollow.
Kairos exhaled roughly, then sat down.
The wood creaked under his weight. He was massive this close, all broad shoulders and corded muscle, and my pulse skidded hard enough to make me dizzy. He stretched his arm, not quite touching me.
“I can’t believe,” he said slowly, “that you scaled a castle in a dress.”
“You didn’t leave me any trousers,” I shot back.
He turned, his brow raised. “I gave you an entire wardrobe.”
“Of gowns. Silks. Impractical things.”
“I thought you’d prefer dresses.” His gaze trailed over the green fabric pooled around my legs, and I fought the urge to cross them. “You don’t strike me as a woman who’d choose leather over silk.”
Heat crept up my neck.
“Was I wrong?” he prompted.
I opened my mouth. Closed it. “I—I guess not.”
His lips curved. “And the food?”
“What?”
“Breakfast. Did you like it?”
My mind reeled. “Are you—what’s happening right now?”
He tilted his head, studying me. “We’re talking.”
“You just killed someone.”
“Yes.”
“And you want to talk about food?”
“Why not?” He leaned back, his arm shifting behind me. “You know what counts as conversation in a Skalgard dungeon? Prisoners screaming, calling me bastard,monster, promising to kill me if they ever broke free. Guards wagering on which prisoner would break first.”
I stared at him.
“So yes,” he continued. “I’d rather talk about breakfast.”
The breeze shifted, carrying the sweetness of roses.
“The bacon,” I muttered. “It was excellent.”
A wistful smile spread across his face. “I missed that, too. Proper bacon.”
“The bread was warm, and it was soft inside—not like the bread they give out in the foundlings hall. Rheya and I used to soak ours in hot water to make it edible.”
