“I understand.” Kas nodded. “I've only left Aravult once and it was to see the Dragon God when he was first freed.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I grew up in the Rohvan Enclave, then I became King and moved here. Along with the flight to see Karadas, it's the only traveling I've done.”
“That and going to Earth.”
Kaspian grinned. “Yes, that was my greatest adventure.”
“Greater than meeting your god?”
He stared at me for a moment, then, holding my gaze, said, “Yes.”
That stole my tongue for a bit. I just stared back. Finally, I whispered, “Was that another gift?”
“Youare the gift, Mate.” Before I could respond, he motioned at the baked goods. “Try something else. I want to know which ones you prefer. Then I can ask our chefs to make them for you. I have a Chelli baker on staff.”
“It's a rough job, but for you . . . anything.” I grabbed a fluffy bun covered in a yellow glaze and took a bite. Moaning, I declared, “Oh, fuck me.”
Kaspian burst out laughing. “For you, Mate, anything.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Daylight was dwindling by the time we reached the Okon neighborhood where the carriage would be waiting. I saw many interesting things and met unusual people. As we explored, Kaspian bought us food from street vendors. It felt like we were constantly eating, and I'm not complaining about that. I think he was as excited as I was to try the food. It was new to him too. When you go from castle to carriage to your destination, you don't see the food carts. You don't see a lot of things.
And you don't get cats following you.
Yup, the orange cat was still with us. I was starting to get worried. He seemed too friendly to be a stray, but what did I know? I'd never had a cat, and this was a Serai cat. Maybe strays were friendly on Serai. Maybe they didn't have to fear people as Earth cats did. Fuck, humans are assholes.
“Why is this called the White Feather District?” I asked. “I've seen Okons with all sorts of colors in their wings.”
“The original Okon citizens of this neighborhood were white-winged. They named it.” Kaspian looked down at the cat. “I wonder if he's going to get in the carriage with us.”
“What if he belongs to a kid?” I stopped and stared down at the cat. “Do you belong to someone? We've already led you far from your neighborhood.” I looked back at Kas. “Maybe we should take him back.”
Kaspian considered the cat. “I've never had an animal in the castle. Not as a pet. I've never wanted the extra responsibility. But cats seem rather self-sufficient. The castle could be a smaller city for him.”
“But what if someone is missing him?” I crossed my arms. “I'd miss him. He's a nice cat.”
The cat sat down and looked back and forth between us.
“I'll send word to the restaurant where we found him. If someone comes looking for a missing orange cat, I'll have them direct the person to the castle.”
“Oh.” I dropped my arms. “I guess that'll be all right.”
“This all depends on whether he decides to come with us. If he wants out of the carriage, I'm letting him out. Even a Dragon avoids dealing with an enraged cat.”
I looked at the cat.
He looked at me.
“He's coming with us,” I said.
“I think you're giving an animal more credit than it deserves.” Kas took my hand and started walking again. “I can't imagine him handling a carriage ride well.”
“We'll see.” I shrugged. “If he jumps out, that will decide it.”
I glanced at the winged people who populated the White Feather District. There were a lot of white wings there, but they seemed outnumbered by other colors. Birds of a feather did not flock together on Serai. The Okon settlers may have named the district after themselves, but it didn't look as if they discriminated against those who didn’t have white wings.
