It was cozier than it looked from the outside, the large and imposing Alpha Fleet cabin. The common room was decorated warmly with yellows and reds. While there were certainly aspects of any war room present—maps, strategy boards, weaponry—she was surprised to see it was far more like a home. Well-worn couches, books, games.
Aster was seated on a couch beside the front door, while Willow was sprawled out with her head in his lap. His focus was solely on a piece of parchment in his hands, while Willow was talking to Keir.
Willow and Keir’s gazes swung to where Evelina had stopped in the doorway, while Aster didn’t so much as glance up from his paper.
“Daimon was supposed to meet me for a check-in,” Evelina explained, wondering if she had overstepped by coming in.
Keir’s gaze traveled to a door opposite where Evelina was standing. “I’ll wake him. He’s had enough beauty sleep.”
Evelina smiled awkwardly, wondering if she should wait for him back at her cabin. But the healer side of her was impatient to see he was fine, so she stayed rooted at the entry.
Willow popped up, earning a small grunt from Aster even as his eyes stayed on the page. She squished into Aster’s side and patted the open spot beside her. “Come, sit while you wait.”
Evelina swallowed, feeling entirely out of place. But Willow’s smile was bright, showing off her high cheekbones and a small dimple in her right cheek.
“I can wait for him back at my cabin?—”
“She’s not going to stop asking until you sit,” Brielle said with a laugh, settling herself in a wooden rocking chair stuffed beside the couch.
“She really won’t,” Aster added, earning a smack on the shoulder from Willow. At this, he finally looked away from his paper. He smirked at her and she narrowed her eyes. But a playful smile tugged at her lips as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Evelina took a small step back and the floorboards creaked, catching Willow’s attention.
“Come on, Evelina.” Willow patted the seat again. “We won’t bite.”
Aster snorted a laugh and Willow shot him a look. He held his hands up with a smile before resuming his reading.
Evelina crossed the room and sat beside Willow, placing her satchel in her lap.
“Tell us, how did you become such a brilliant healer?” Willow asked, her eyes bright with expectation.
Warmth spread across Evelina’s cheeks. “Gloriana has been teaching me for years. I owe everything I know to her.”
“Can’t beat being a princess,” Aster muttered absentmindedly.
“It can, actually,” she said pointedly, earning a surprised titter from the cabin. “Being a healer is my life’s work.”
Aster held up his hands. “Beg forgiveness, Your Highness.”
His tone was hard to read, and a spell of tension hung in the air. Willow smacked his arm.
“By Eurydice, I just offended a Manor,” he said, his eyes widening. “I swear I was just teasing.”
Brielle cut in. “You’ll have to excuse us. We speak a little too casually to each other in the camp.”
Evelina’s chest squeezed. Then just as quickly the apprehension she was feeling dissipated. She huffed out a laugh. “No, don’t—I prefer it, actually. I hate the formalities.”
A smile broke across Aster’s face.
“Being formal is boring anyway,” Willow added, waving her hand in the air. “It’s much more interesting to cause a little chaos.” She winked, her smile just as wide as Aster’s.
“Don’t think Keir or Daimon would appreciate that too much,” Evelina teased.
Aster snorted a laugh and leaned over to Willow. “I like her.”
They talked more, asking what it was like for Evelina at camp and telling stories of how they’d made it here, too. It was interesting hearing about the time when Daimon first left, when they were all just as new. Brielle wasn’t even a soldier when she was chosen, and instead had opted to be an ironsmith at the start of the war. Whenever one of them seemed a little melancholy thinking about the home they’d left behind, another would crack a joke to cheer them up. Evelina found herself grinning so hard her cheeks began to ache. She could get used to this—esteemed soldiers who would rather have fun than be too serious.
They were just about to rope Brielle into sharing when the door across the room clicked open and Keir stepped out.
