Kade turned to look up at Killi. They were so close their noses nearly brushed at the movement. Killi was grinning. Kade’s stomach fluttered. “Because I have so many friends here.”
Killi shrugged. “How would I know? I’ve been stuck working while you’ve been partying it up with my guards,baby Torau.”
Kade rolled his eyes, and Killi laughed.
Kade thought that they’d be alright.
Dantel insisted on walking Kade back to Killi’s room one last time.For old time’s sake, the guard had said with a wink. It hit Kade again, just how much he liked the other elf, with his boyish wit and charm. It didn’t hurt that it made him feel closer to Killi in some odd way, like he was getting to know Killi again through the guards under his command.
It only took a couple hours to track all of Kade’s things down and get them stuffed back into the small pack he’d shown up with just a week ago. A couple extra sets of clothes and some books he couldn’t bear to leave behind. Everything else he left in that house, eager to be rid of.
Porthos, the blond haired blue-eyed apprentice who had talked to him an eternity ago, gave a quiet congratulations when he showed Kade to his new room. They were neighbors, just across the hall from each other.
All the apprentices lived on the third floor above the infirmary. Above the clean luxury of the patient’s rooms, out of the way of any important passerby’s.
At the very end of the hall, squished between the servants' staircase and an unnamed apprentice, was Kade’s room. It was dingy and dusty and dark, only big enough to fit a narrow, stilted bed frame and a desk.
Porthos laughed at Kade’s expression. “Did you expect anything else from Hokda? Your uniform is there. Try not to get it dirty before you get your other sets from the tailor, this is the only one you’ll have for the moment.” He offered a sympathetic smile. “I’ll let you get settled, but if you need anything or have any questions, feel free to ask me.”
It had been hard for Kade to go back to Killi’s life of luxury afterseeing what would be his hovel. But he was welcomed with a feast.
Killi had collected food and drinks—sparkling cider becauseyou don’t drink, I remember—spread out in front of the fire.
They clinked flutes of cider, cheering to Kade and his future success. They talked and laughed and shared stories of their time apart.
It was nice—more than nice, it felt like healing, like a true beginning.
And when it was time, Kade made the journey back to his room, alone.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“WOW. ALL THIS. For you?” Killi looked around Kade’s dingy dorm, his nose scrunched in clear disgust. He swiped a finger over the desk Kade hadn’t had time to clean yet, and his finger came away black.
“Shut up,” laughed Kade. “We’re not all lucky enough to be given a room fit for a king. Some of us are servants and guards and apprentices, and we getthis.”
Killi shook his head. “No. The guards’ rooms are much nicer than this. I made sure of it. Hokda just hates you guys.”
Amazing. “Oh.”
Kade finished the last of the buttons across his chest, then turned to Killi and held out his arms, asking a silent question.
Killi looked him up and down slowly, then pressed his lips together. “Yes. I think Hokda must really hate you.”
Throwing his arms up, Kade groaned. “I know! It’s awful.”
Killi cackled.
“Why can’t we all just wear white like he does?” Kade said petulantly. “I look like an overgrown pyttle bug.”
Killi tipped forward, his hands on his stomach. No doubt the image of the spindly, green bug with a bulbous white butt at the forefront of his mind.It matched the apprentice robes horriblywell. The top an awful sickly green. The bottoms, at least, were a normal white.
Kade worked to keep his face stern. “Stop! It’s not funny. How am I supposed to be taken seriously like this?”
Still laughing, Killi slapped Kade’s hands away from where he was picking at the buttons on his uniform. “You look good, the most dashing pyttle bug to ever walk these halls.” He took over fiddling with and fixing Kade’s already perfect uniform. “Breathe. Breathe.”
Kade obeyed, filling his lungs to bursting before exhaling. Again and again. It didn’t make him feel any better. So, he said, “Thank you for being here.”
“It’s your first day. I wouldn’t miss it.”
