“Got ’em?” He watched me struggle.
I nodded. “Got the chickens?”
He gave a quick, “Mm-hmm. And Phoebe. And Archie.”
Standing up, I scowled. Right, right, because Laken worked three times as fast as me. He should, too, especially with his muscles and stamina. He tried not to laugh. Pissing me off more, he lookedgoodsoaking wet. His white tunic became see-through, and his pants appeared as fine fitting as always. Meanwhile, I looked like a rag doll dragged through the muck.
“Anyway,” I cautioned, “just Indo left?” The dragon had received his medicine and we needed to check to see if it worked. I hated putting it off any longer; the anticipation ate away at my patience. But the weather had other plans.
Setting his stare over the field, Laken hesitated. “Indo loves this weather; he’s probably rolling in the mud and cooling off his stomach.” He turned toward me, his eyes flickering over my body. A light blush covered his cheeks. “Let’s get you inside.”
Thank the Gods.
Cutting my eyes, I stormed inside ahead of him. Blaze and Gordon waited for us on the counter, one hiding in his little cage. But I moved past, grabbing towels from the kitchen so Laken and I could at least dry off somewhat. I wrung my hair and dabbed my skirt; he ruffled his hair then shook it into place. No point in changing clothes when we’d be trotting back out over soggy fields to find Indo in a bit.
Raindrops poured over the porch, creating a moat on the ground. The storm had dragged in a small cold front, and I wrapped myself in a blanket as Laken and I stood at the window wall.
“I need some overalls.” I realized how filthy my clothes were. “You know? I have to stop ruining my clothes.” Laken cut his eyes at me. “Like the farmer ones—I think I could pull them off.”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, I’m sure you could.”
“I didn’t know it was supposed to rain today,” I said. It came out of nowhere, and we weren’t prepared in the slightest. And we paid for it—or I did, at least. I’d have to scrub the mud from my boots to keep them from ruin.
Laken crossed his arms. “Yeah, it’d be nice if we had a way to predict that.”
I didn’t know how much time passed while we stood and watched. Lightning erupted across the clouds, flashing a purple haze over the sky. Thunder echoed in the distance, but I barely registered it. I couldn’t take my gaze off him. Laken watched the storm with a longing in his eyes, a glimmer showing that it meant something different to him.
He must’ve felt my stare. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he shifted on his feet and cleared his throat. “I used to watch the storms a lot while I was away,” he admitted.
His jaw clenched and I panicked. “Oh, no. You don’t have to tell me—”
The corner of his lip curled. “It’s fine, Reece. I don’t mind. I just think it’s peaceful is all.”
We didn’t talk much more after that. If the rain brought Laken peace, I wasn’t going to ruin it, no matter how bad I wanted to talk.
Laken pointed at my father’s desk. Or what used to be my father’s and had become mine? Right? It felt weird to call it mine. Laken studied the desk, not belonging to anyone specific.
“Is thatThe Prisoner’s Chains?”
I peeked over my shoulder where he pointed to the book I’d left there. “Yes. How’d you know?”
Laken picked it up. “I’d recognize it any day. You read it a thousand times.” He flipped through the pages in search of something. Gesturing to the couch, I followed him. Sitting so close our legs touched, I almost didn’t notice as I became distracted by his enthusiasm.Almost. He pointed a finger to the mountain on the map. “You see this? I visited the real mountain the story is based on.”
Every bone in my body ran hot with energy as I sat up on my knees, halfway leaning over his legs. “You went to Mount Emoria?”
“Well, I saw it. I didn’t visit.”
Dropping my shoulders, I thought he’d have to be out of his mind not to visit. “Why not?” I couldn’t imagine passing it up if I’d the chance.
Laken’s mouth parted, but he hesitated. “It… it was always your thing. It’s your favorite book and visiting it without you just… well, it felt wrong.”
Something in him admitting that clicked my mind into place. “Wait—you were in Gorzon?” Gorzon, an island kingdom across the ocean, known for being riddled with crime and war, pirates and assassins.
He nodded, and his eyes darkened, almost growing distant.
“You travel a lot for your work?” I asked, but before he could answer, I added, “Where have you been staying all this time?”
Laken shifted uncomfortably on the cushions. “We do stay traveling the majority of the time, yes, but we have a headquarters on the coast. It’s where we train when first joining, too. Took me a while to be able to go on assignments alone.” He answered me easily enough, but nothing in his tone sounded as such.
