“Where do you think you’re going?” Lenora’s sharp voice asked, stopping his retreat.
He lifted his mouth in a half-smile. “To bed. I am an old man, after all.”
“You don’t look tired,” Cat accused. “Are we not important enough?”
Caius jerked back. “What? Of course not.”
Lenora turned to the girls. “Give us a moment.” She led him away until they were out of earshot. “Honey, Rory wouldn’t want you punishing yourself every day.”
He averted his gaze, unsure how to answer. “It doesn’t feel right,” he admitted. “I want to experience these things with her.”
She rubbed his shirt sleeve and gave it an affectionate pat. “Do you want to be responsible for piling more guilt onto my daughter?”
His eyes snapped to hers. “How does me going home hurt Rory?”
Her brows rose. “If she finds out you intentionally avoided having fun, she’ll blame herself.”
“She won’t find out,” he argued.
Her eyes narrowed as she stepped closer. “Want to bet?”
His mouth fell open at her ruthlessness. “You wouldn’t do that to her.”
She harrumphed. “You don’t know me very well, dear. I suggest you follow me back to the girls, or you won’t like the outcome.”
His lips twitched, and Lenora grinned widely. “Lead the way.”
When they reached the others, Caius rubbed his jaw. “I have a room perfect for games,” he offered.
“We get to party in the palace? I’m in,” Cat announced and marched ahead, making Kit roll her eyes.
Lenora and Bellina linked arms as they followed the other two, with Caius trailing behind.
By the time they arrived at the palace, he was laughing atsomething Bellina said, and when Lenora looked at him and winked, his chest swelled with gratitude.
He led them into a banquet room undergoing construction. He had secretly started the remodel before Rory left as a surprise for her.
When they walked into the room, Cat spun around in awe. The bar was unfinished, but tables were set up across the wide room.
Kit looked at him quizzically. “You’re building a bar in the palace?”
He nodded and removed a cover from one of the tables. “What else do we need?” he asked Lenora.
Scanning the room, her eyes landed on a table meant for larger groups. “A longer table.”
From there, they worked to ready the game surface, and as he watched the women chatting and laughing amongst themselves, his heart longed for his mate. She would love this.
This carefree behavior was out of character for him, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. It was fun, and he would return to being the king tomorrow.
38
ERDIKOA
When Kordie saidtheir group would do fun things every day to enjoy their time together, she wasn’t kidding. She forced them to go to an amusement park, and when Rory told Sam, he looked put out at the prospect. She was determined for him to have fun because she didn’t think he’d had fun a day in his life.
“What are we doing first?” Kordie asked as she snagged a map from the ticket booth. “The crazy train ride is closest.”
Sera looked over Kordie’s shoulder to read the map. “I say we start at the train and make our way around like this.” She moved her finger along the edge of the paper.
