Kaiden glanced at me. “Fled?”
I nodded. “They were very manly about it, but yes, they escaped as fast as their dignity let them.”
My brother, who thought military slang was funny, would’ve called it a “rapid advance to the rear.”
“And he will have the Magnars with him. And me. I will be there and even if I die, I will come back, Kaiden.”
He looked down at his feet again.
Stealing was a coping mechanism. Taking it away cold turkey could do more harm than good.
“I will need my pen back. It’s the only one I have that won’t make holes in the paper.”
He handed the pen over.
“Stealing is wrong. It makes the people you stole from feel unsafe and vulnerable.”
He still wasn’t looking at me. “Will you tell Reynald?”
“No. I won’t tell anyone.”
Some of the tension went out of his shoulders.
“A good thief steals without getting caught, but a better thief can return what he stole without being discovered. It takes more skill because the target is looking for their belongings, so they will be more alert.”
Kaiden didn’t say anything.
“When you steal things from us in the future, you must return them after two days.”
His gaze snapped to me.
“If you get caught, I won’t help you. If you are going to be a thief, Kaiden, be the best thief you can be. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Just for the record, you aren’t leaving fish in my study?”
“What fish?”
“That’s what I thought.”
I got off the bed. “Would you like a hug?”
He shook his head.
“Well, if you ever need one, you know where to find me. Two days, Kaiden. Don’t get caught.”
Half an hour later Reynald found me on the floor of my study. I’d heard a noise in my bedroom when I returned, so I had moved the plate with the meat to the floor and leaned against the wall.
Reynald took it all in and sat on the floor next to me.
“What are we doing?”
“Waiting for the fish fairy.”
“I didn’t quite catch that.”
I must’ve saidfairyin English. Tiny, winged humanoids weren’t a part of Rellasian mythology.
