Adalia placed her empty glass down on the table. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
Shiloh giggled to her left. “It will be amazing, no doubt. Matthias, do you like seafood?”
Matthias sipped his wine before he spoke. “I actually don’t. I’ve never been a fan.”
Nikolas shrugged his shoulders. “To each their own, I guess.”
Adalia kept her eyes locked on the blue-eyed prince at the other end of the table. Beneath the cherry blossom shadows, she swore his eyes were sparkling with mischievousness.
Shiloh broke the silence. “How about a round of Dartborne?”
“What’s Dartborne?” the dark prince asked.
Shiloh turned to Matthias. “It’s a game of dagger throwing. You get three daggers each and if you get all three in the centre of the target within thirty seconds, you win a point. At the end of five rounds, whoever has the most points is crowned the winner.”
Matthias looked intrigued. “I only have two blades, though.”
“Adalia can loan you an extra. She has heaps.” Nikolas rose from the table and headed towards a small shed at the far end of the courtyard.
Adalia glared at her brother as he walked away.
“Is there a reason you have so many?” Matthias cocked his head.
“She makes them.” Nikolas answered as he returned from the shed with a wooden board on legs.
“Nik,” Adalia hissed.
One side of Matthias’s mouth lifted in an amused smile and Adalia looked away. “I make a few blades here and there. It’s nothing serious.”
“Stop being so modest, Ada. Your work is incredible. She’s made me one, and Nikolas has two of her designs that he carries on him all the time,” Shiloh piped in.
Adalia felt uncomfortable with all the attention suddenly on her, so she rose from the table and started clearing it. “You go on ahead and play. I’ll get dessert ready.”
Matthias rose from the table too and stacked some plates, heading inside after her. He found her in the kitchen, taking a plate of little round desserts from the cold room. “So, is that what you were doing at the Blazing Anvil the other day? Buying more metals?”
Placing the delicacies on the countertop, Adalia shrugged.
“Are you embarrassed that I know?” the prince prompted.
Could she trust him with parts of her? Would he laugh and make fun of a woman learning a man’s trade?
“No, I’m not embarrassed. It’s just not something I like to announce to the world.” She replied as she plated the desserts.
“Is there a reason you don’t?”
“I guess it’s not a very feminine hobby to have, and some people might find it odd.”
“You’re a soldier. A major.”
“In service of others, yes, but this . . . this is just for me.”
Shifting so he lent against the counter, Matthias folded his arms across his chest, his wings loose against his body. “Well, I think it’s amazing, really.”
Relief washed over her. It’s not that she needed his approval, but Adalia was pleased all the same that he wasn’t deterred by it.
“Thanks and now that you know, you better be careful,” she teased.
Matthias huffed lightly at her words as he leaned forward to see what she was doing. “What are these?”
