Daegel glances back at me over his shoulder. “We’re almost there.”
“And where is that?”
I can’t see his face, but I can hear the smile in his voice. “You’ll see. Patience, princess.”
I roll my eyes. If I had a dime every time someone said that to me, I’d be richer than Wetra’s king. And that bastard is loaded.
A sound of running water reaches my ears. The air cools even more, and a few moments later, we emerge into a little clearing next to a beautiful clear river and a rocky waterfall. I’m mesmerized by the untamed beauty of it. The rustling water calms my rage, and I feel much more at peace.
“Here we are,” Daegel says. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Stunning,” I say, taking in my surroundings.
He places the basket on the grass and pulls out a blanket. A damnblanket. This man comes prepared. I hate to admit it, but…it makes my insides melt.
I help him lay out the blanket and then unpack the food from the basket.
“Where did you get the food?” I settle down in front of him. “This is freshly made.”
“I know where the kitchen is.”
I blink. “Did you steal the food from the monks?!”
“They won’t notice. And there’s plenty of food left for others.” I shake my head in disbelief. “I figured because we probably won’t be back in time for dinner, we might as well get our share.”
An alarm bell rings in my mind. I pick up a piece of hard cheese from the paper box. “We won’t? Why’s that?”
Daegel takes a bite of grilled asparagus. He chews on it, taking his time. Finally, he swallows and says, “While I enjoy your company immensely, princess, and all I want to do right now is fuck that awful attitude out of you, I didn’t bring you herefor that. I brought you here so we can’t train before tomorrow’s trial.”
My heart drops.
“I thought we put that behind us,” I say. “Are you in the mood to reminisce about my Ezkai Academy days?”
Daegel smirks. The look he gives me makes heat curl low in my stomach.
“Maybe I am,” he says, teasing. “If you’re a good girl you may even get rewarded.”
“Fuck off,” I say, but there’s no heat behind those words.
I’m all for it, the rest of our troubles all forgotten.
The humor evaporates as quickly as it appeared from Daegel’s face. “All jokes aside, though…I need you to stay alive tomorrow. While you might be the master of the bow and a skilled Decarios, fighting dragons is a completely different ball game. If you’re not going to drop out, at least let me help you in whatever way I can to keep you safe tomorrow.”
How can I be angry at that?
“Fair enough,” I say. “You know how to fight dragons?”
I pop a piece of apple in my mouth. It’s crunchy and juicy as I chew.
“In theory,” he says. “Ezkai bond dragons. We don’t fight them.”
We eat in silence for a while. Daegel gives me time and space to mull things over, get my thoughts in order.
“You didn’t mention that Ezkai Generals are not supposed to have romantic relationships,” I say.
Daegel goes still as a statue. Fae can feel so…unnatural. I sometimes forget our ears are not the only difference.
“If I were to accept your offer to drop out and serve you as the Taaslord, that’s all we’d be,” I say, a bitter taste filling my mouth. “An Ezkai General and a Taaslord.”
