His gaze meets mine. “Is it okay if you what?”
I frown in confusion. “What?”
“You were asking Elowen something.”
His question jogs my memory. “Oh.” I scramble for something. Anything. “Is it okay if I,” I pause. “...help with breakfast.”
“Of course,” she jumps in quickly, too quickly.
Rauk’s eyes narrow. “Breakfast is already made.”
“Oh.” I shrug, trying to play it off. “Next time.” Then before he can question me anymore, I turn the tables on him. “Where were you?”
He takes a bite of his food, obviously not in a hurry to answer my question. “Taking care of a few things.”
“Mmmm.” I stare at him, trying to figure him out. But when he stares right back, I get fidgety. I may be a strong woman and all that, but I know my weaknesses. And right now, I’m feeling all kinds of guilty. Even though I haven’t done anything wrong, I feel guilty that I’m not telling him that I know about Auri. In fact, I’ve just decided to open my mouth and tell him everything when Elowen coughs. I glance over at her, and she shakes her head at me, eyes wide. Her face returns to normal, and I know Rauk is looking at her.
“What is that?”
His question startles me, and I turn to look at him. “What?”
He shocks me by taking my hand in his and turning it over. “What is that?”
I look at the angry red blister on my palm and know it’s from how long I held the shovel yesterday and tried to break up the ice out back. It stings today, but it was worth every minute. I try to pull my hand away, but he won't release it. “It’s a blister,” I finally answer.
“I know that. How’d you get it?”
I decide the best thing to do is to stick to the truth as much as possible. “From using a shovel. I was trying to break up some of the ice and snow.” He’s still frowning, and I decide it’s time to take my hand back. I tug, and he releases it instantly. “What are your plans for today?”
His face tightens. “I’ll be gone for the day—meetings.”
I nod, unsurprised. “Okay.” It hits me a moment later that I said that a little too happily. When I look back at him, he’s studying my face with a frown. I force a pout to my lips. “What am I supposed to do today?”
“I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” he tells me.
And even though that’s what I was going for, his answer rubs me the wrong way. I cross my arms across my chest. “I think I enjoyed it more when you were gone.” I take a deep breath, and I force myself to focus on what’s really important. “We need to talk about the war.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
I point a finger at him. “That’s where you’re wrong. You said you would think about it if I came here. I came here, and—”
“My answer is no.”
“But you said you’d think about it.”
Heleans forward in his chair. “Okay.” He cocks his head to the side and then looks back at me. “I thought about it. My answer is still no.”
Chapter 14
I watch as he pushes his chair back. “Thank you for breakfast, Elowen.”
“You’re welcome.”
He drops off his plate and then kisses her on the cheek. Without even a glance in my direction, he leaves the kitchen. And just like that, I’m on my feet, following. I push past the door. “I’m going with.” He doesn’t turn around.
“No, you’re not.”
He's out the door a moment later. I walk back into the kitchen with a smile on my face. “You just played that man,” Elowen says, shaking her head. Since she has a small smile on her face, I don’t let her words bother me.
