“Perfectly well, thank you,” Moira replied, rising gracefully. “Ragvald, escort me to my cabin, please.”
Ragvald levered himself to his feet with rather lesselegance. “Of course, Princess. Though may I have your permission to return to the fire afterward?”
“No,” Moira said firmly. “I shall require you to check the perimeter. With all this talk of something in the woods, I am concerned for the campers’ safety.”
Shan started to get up as well. “I will join you, Ragvald.”
“No need,” Moira said before the wyrm could reply. Her blue eyes sparkled with mischief. “Ragvald is a very capable warrior. To imply he cannot protect the camp alone would insult his honor.”
Ragvald blinked. “It would?”
“Yes, it would,” Moira informed him. “Please stay and enjoy the fire, Agent Zhao. I’m sure you and Leonie have much to discuss.”
Leonie shot Moira a dirty look, which the sea dragon ignored. With a parting wave, Moira swept regally away, Ragvald at her heels.
Shan stared after them. “You have interesting colleagues.”
“They’re more like family, really.” She let out an exasperated huff. “Nosy, argumentative, and frequently maddening. Sometimes I want to bury them all headfirst in the ground like a row of carrots.”
“Truth,” Shan murmured, sounding amused. “But you still care for them.”
“I love them like my own brothers and sisters.” She narrowed her eyes at him in mock-threat. “And if you ever tell them I said that, I’ll plantyouin the ground like a carrot.”
Shan made a faint, deep rumble that might have been a laugh. “Truth.”
“You better believe it.” She leaned back on her hands. “I guess this is a long way from your day job. You don’t usually work in a team, do you?”
“No.” He paused, then added, “Not one like this, at least.”
Was that a hint of longing in his voice? “Sounds lonely.”
“I am accustomed to it,” he said, which was not actually a denial. “You seem to enjoy your work.”
“It’s the best job in the world.” She smiled, contentment warming her as much as the fire. “My position is full-time, so I’m always working for the camp in one way or another. I spend the rest of the year planning activities and recruiting staff, as well as helping Zephyr with the other events and courses he runs here over the winter. But summer is always my favorite season. I love seeing the kids grow and bloom here, and their counselors, too. It makes all the work worthwhile.”
“Truth,” Shan murmured. He let out a breath, shoulders easing down. “Your life sounds very full.”
“Too full, sometimes,” she admitted wryly. “This place has a way of taking over my every waking hour. But I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Shan had seemed to be relaxing, at least as much as he ever did. At her last words, however, he shot her a sharp look. “That is not entirely true.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Your ability can be very annoying, you know.”
“Yes,” he said, and there was a lifetime of heaviness in that one word. “I do.”
Poor man. Her momentary irritation evaporated. It couldn’t be easy, having to live with a constant random barrage of flavors.
“Sorry,” she said, hoping that would wipe away any lingering unpleasant taste. “I’ll try to be more careful in future. Of course my life isn’t absolutely perfect. But nobody’s is, right?”
Shan looked into the fire. “So what is missing from yours?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, and then realized that she’d probably just filled his mouth with rotten lemons. “Sorry.Okay, well, maybe I do. It’s more awhothan awhat, though.”
“Who, then?” Shan paused, and added, tone neutral, “A mate?”
“What?” She stared at him, surprised, and more than a little offended. “Oh my God. Shan, do you assume every unmated female shifter you meet must be sitting around pining for a man?”
He jerked back, hands lifting in surrender. “No! I didn’t mean—I just assumed?—”
