“Oh, hello,” she says, slipping her coat off. “Ellie, right? I wasn’t expecting you here.” She hobbles over to a hook on the wall to hang it from.
Determined to follow through on my earlier claim, I’m about to step over to greet her when Caeo cuts me off.
“She was just leaving.” He drops the bolt he was holding back into the crate and grabs my hand.
“But…” I swipe my bag from the table as he pulls me toward the door. Glancing back, I get a flash of his mother watching us, lips pursed, before finding myself outside on the street.
“What was that about?” I ask, tugging my hand free as Caeo turns back to me. He rests his hand on my back, guiding me away from the window to the wood-paneled building next door. “I wanted to say hello.”
“Well, she did. That’s enough, right?”
“Are you really that worried she’ll scare me away?” He can’t think so little of me, not after everything he said.
He sighs, taking my hands. “No, she’s just… not a part of my life I want you around.” My face must have fallen, because he quickly stutters, “I-It’s nothing against you. Just her. She’ll try to make you feel bad about yourself.”
The creases etched in his face reveal an insecurity I haven’t seen in him before—he must be speaking from experience. While Father never intentionally made me feel unworthy, I’m well acquainted with how it feels to struggle with a parent’s expectations. My heart melts as a deep, protective instinct burns in my chest.
I squeeze his fingers. “I understand. But don’t let her do that to you, either.”
He presses tightly back, then lifts his hand to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear. “I’ll try.”
With a sigh, I glance down the road, back toward the Academy. A long walk awaits me, but it’s early enough that I should make it back before it gets too cold.
“Promise me I’ll see you before the ball?” I ask, turning back to him.
“How about tomorrow after class? I can take you to dinner?”
A smile stretches across my face, and he lights up. He moves closer, kissing right where my dimple crimps my cheek. Over and over again.
Laughter falls out of me, and I step back. “Stop it! I’ll see you tomorrow. The steps of my dormitory at twelfth bell?”
“Sounds good.” He gives me one last kiss before releasing my fingers, opening the door to the shop, and disappearing from sight.
Chapter 10
Caeo
I’ve been chugging through the last few days with barely a moment to breathe between class, studying, and heavy lifting for my mother. It’s as if everyone decided it’s time to make my life as miserable as possible, except for Reid, who showed up at my door insisting we go to The Buttoned-Up Duck and “meet the girls.” I don’t want to meet any girls, and I’m not sure why he does, either. But he promised to buy me a drink, which saves me from going through more of my long leaf, so here I am.
Warm candlelight spatters the green walls between columns of decorative lace stapled to them. Mismatched buttons line each strip, randomly placed as they climb toward the ceiling and meet a decorative border of ducks marching around the room. Meanwhile, whittled mallards sit at the center of every table and the corners of the bar, some painted, some left bare.
I have no idea what the owner was thinking.
Reid slams a tankard in front of me, then slides into the other side of our semicircular booth. A greenish liquid spills onto the table, and I eye it suspiciously. While The Duck offers an adventurous selection, we usually stick with ale.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“It’s new from Kestel. Made of something called a melon, I think.”
I take a sip and almost spit it out. “Shit, that’s sweet.” I cough. “Is there even any alcohol in there?”
“They said there was.” Reid takes a swig of his drink and relaxes against the wooden back of the booth.
I pull over his tankard. “Give me that.” Regular ale sloshes inside as it catches on the uneven planks of the tabletop. “Why do you get ale and I get this poison?”
Reid swipes it back. “Someone recommended it.”
I follow his gaze to a man eyeing him from across the crowded bar, who gives me a smile and wink when he notices my attention. It’s not particularly well-lit here, but he’s got a good-looking face, narrow eyes, and sandy-blond hair pulled back in a knot.
