Caleb opens his mouth like he’s about to say something but freezes when the king calls after him. “Mutt!”
Caleb shuts his eyes tight, wincing. When he exhales, he plasters the most pleasant customer service face I’ve ever seen before turning to face the king. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Where were you?”
Caleb side eyes me, smirking.
I shoot him a warning look.Don’t you dare.
He winks at me, then says to the king, “There were important matters that needed my attention.” Caleb’s heated gaze travels over my body.
My cheeks redden.
“Well, you’re late. Which makes you my demo partner for today,” His Majesty says.
On his knees, and in dramatic fashion, Sam presses his hands together in prayer and speaks to the sky. “Oh, thank you, Goddess.Finally,anyone else but me!”
His Majesty grins sadistically and crooks a finger at Caleb. “Let’s spar.”
Caleb curses under his breath but jogs over reluctantly.
Taya is sitting nearby in a lawn chair on a grassy slope that doubles as a border for the training arena. There’s another chair next to her.
She hands me a beer, opening it with one hand.
“Thank you, but I don’t really drink.”
“Oh! I’m sorry. Did you want something else?” She puts the drink back in the cooler.
Before I can say no thank you, she grabs her purse, plops it onto her lap and sifts through it.
She’s definitely the mom of her friend group.
“Let’s see, I’ve got...” She pulls out one airplane-sized bottle after another as she lists them. “Tequila, whiskey, vodka...” She whips out a tampon and giggles. “A tampon.” Then she shoves it back in her purse. “Take your pick!”
“That’s so kind. I’m good, though. Do you mind if I hang out with you while the boys train?”
“Not at all!” She moves the cooler from the chair beside her to allow me a place to sit. “Have a seat. We can people watch together.”
What?
“People watch?”
“We just sit and observe. Well sometimes we judge. Recently, I was watching Sam be a human punching bag for Dax. Every now and then he’ll look over at me and plead for me to save him. When he does, I drink.”
I drop into the lawn chair next to Taya.
In exaggeration, Sam crawls in our direction from the arena with his head hung, “Help me.”
“Oh dear goddess,” she says, cupping a hand around her mouth. “You’re being dramatic!”
I laugh. “Sam is so funny.”
“No, hethinkshe’s funny.”
I’m sure she laughs every day at least once. They seem to have that kind of relationship.
Sam grips the lawn chair’s metal legs like a life force. He gasps for air, inhaling deeply. “Water!” Another deep breath. “Water!”
