Emperor Lloyd let out a tired chuckle. “Yeah, that's right. She needs that, I guess.”
I led her into the castle kitchen, and the weight of Fawn’s heart stayed heavy on mine. Even the warm and inviting kitchen filled with the sweet aroma of freshly baked goods and the comforting sounds of crackling fires couldn't ease the pain that I felt deep in my soul.
“How long has it been since you've had a cupcake?” I asked her.
Her brows furrowed, and she shook her head. “I don't think I've ever had a cupcake.”
I held back my surprise, but I was sure she felt it in the bond as she tilted her head.
“They're sweets, and they didn't come around until after the Lethium Empire had already captured me. The emperor didn't like me having sweets, and I just never tried it. One servant was beheaded in front of me for attempting to pass me chocolate.”
I pushed back the anger in my soul and took a deep breath. “Well, we're going to bake some chocolate cupcakes. Chocolate is the best medicine for grief, as my mother would always say.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened, and the tears started to dry.
“My mother always made us chocolates whenever one of us was grieving. She would always bake chocolate cupcakes to give to grieving family members when anyone in our village lost someone they loved,” I explained, and my heart filled with warmth from her memory.
I needed some of her wisdom right now. I may not have known how to comfort a woman before, but I had no reason to until now. My mother was one of the best women I had known, so following her advice was an easy decision for me.
“She sounds like she was great,” she murmured.
“It's okay to take a break from the sadness.” I reached out and ran my thumb over her wet cheek. “Why don't you let me show you how to bake these?”
She glanced up at me with glistening eyes, but she managed a faint smile on her beautiful lips. “Okay. Thank you, Aimon.”
Bending down, I pressed a kiss to her soft lips. “You are more than welcome, bug.” I slowly slid her robe off of her shoulders and then moved back, placing it over my arm before doing the same to mine.
I placed our robes on the counter, away from where we would be baking, and turned to her with a soft smile. “Are you ready?”
She wrung her hands in front of her, smiling softly at me, but I could see the grief-stricken glint in her eyes that I wanted to banish forever. “What kind of ingredients do we need?”
“We need eggs, flour, and coca powder,” I told her as I rifled through the kitchen cabinets to find everything we needed and set it all on the table as she grabbed a big bowl to mix it in.
We baked in a calming silence until we put the cupcake batter in a metal pan and stuck it in the oven.
Fawn stepped back and smiled at me softly. “Thanks, Aimon. I really needed that. It was fun.”
“Don't thank me until you try them, bug.” I walked forward and caged her against the counter, leaving both of my hands on either side of her. “Ash might not be dead.”
Fawn shook her head. “If Matthieu got that close to her, I won’t hold out hope. She’s been under my wing since she was a kid. Her parents lived in one of the southern villages. They were killed in a grockett attack. After I killed the monster, I found her. She had been hiding under some rubble. She was terrified, so I brought her to the guild with me.”
“You did the right thing,” I murmured.
“I couldn't bear to bring her to my cottage and raise her because Iknewsomething like this might happen in the future.” She sniffled, and I could see the anguish washing over her as it flickered through the bond. “All of my adventurers were raising her with me, and she was taught everything she knew by not just me but by everyone. She took on responsibilities that I probably shouldn't have let her do, but she wanted to so I let her. She started managing the guild by the time she was eighteen, but it shouldn't surprise me that something like this happened.”
Tears fell from her beautiful blue eyes again. “Those closest to me always die. I have lost a lot of people to sickness and old-age but the worst ways are monster attacks and murder.” A small whimper tore from her throat as she started to shake her head.
“I understand, but I'm gonna need you to breathe for me.”
“I am.” She nodded her head and tried to control her breathing, but her chest moved rapidly up and down.
I could feel the panic lurking in the bond so I did the only thing I could think of in that moment to calm her, I closed the distance between us, slowly pushing my lips to hers.
Fawn responded immediately. She pushed her body against mine and let out a soft moan as she grabbed hold of my shoulders.
I moved one hand up to cup the back of her neck, while the other trailed down her side, exploring every inch of her body that was pressed against mine.
The heat of our kiss radiated through my entire body, and I could feel my heartbeat speed up with each passing moment. The scent of cupcakes baking in the oven filled the air around us, and I inhaled it deeply.
