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Did he more than like me? Did he, perhaps, care about me, too?
A lump clogged my throat.Don’t fall for him. Not him.
“It’s more than a responsibility to you.” I admired this about him. Greatly. “You want each individual to do well for their own sake, not just because of the clan thing. You lead by example, always tell the truth, even when it hurts, and don’t do what’s easy but what’s right. You’re a good king.”
He opened his mouth, closed it, shook his head. “You said scouts, not guides.”
I allowed the subject change without comment. “I did, yes.”
“Since you insist on using that American accent and way of speaking, let’s test your knowledge of the country.”
He hoped to trip me up and force me to admit I was Scottish. A game more fun than dangerous, considering his motive. Rubbing mental hands together with glee, I replied, “Bring it on, berserker boy.”
“What year was the US Constitution written?”
“1787.”Thank you, Mrs. Hayes, for making your fifth-grade students memorize a poem about our great land.
In seventeen eighty-seven, our nation’s fate was spun,
A Constitution born, the work of many, not of one.
Disappointment flashed over Callen’s handsome face, and I inwardly chuckled.
We passed a shadowy alcove nestled within foliage. A statue of a fearsome warrior clutching a sword pulsed with an almost otherworldly force.
“Where was the first capital?” he asked.
“New York City.” Bam! I’d aced high school history class, too. I smiled up at him sweetly, only to go breathless when I spied a tinge of admiration in his eyes. I think he liked my ability to surprise him.
“Name a war fought in the 1800s.”
Of course the warrior king would ask that question. “Surprise, surprise, the War of 1812.” Battles had never really interested me, but hey, it wasn’t my fault he’d chosen a century and there just happened to be a war with the year in its title.
“I should have stipulated any war but that one,” hegroused. “How many versions of the US flag have there been?”
Uh, color me stumped! I skidded to a halt, grousing, “No one is gonna know that.”
He smirked at me. “The correct answer is twenty-seven.”
I lifted a brow. “You looked up the answer before you asked me, admit it.”
“It’s possible,” he allowed, and I snorted.
Dang, I liked this man.
In the distance came the sound of babbling water. I’d never made it this far into the maze and couldn’t stop the added spring in my step. The compacted earth gave way to ancient cobblestones ending at a weathered cistern, with moss covering the smooth sides. Clear water trickled gently into the basin from a fountain in the shape of a wolf, carved from a dark gray granite, its jaws wide, frozen mid-roar. Despite its imposing appearance, the statue evoked a sense of awe.
“If the ancient carvings and alcoves we’ve already passed are meant to intimidate,” I said, “what purpose does the water serve?”
“Legend claims Truthwell Fount reflect who you truly are.” Callen waved his arm, inviting me to try it. “I concur. As a child, I looked and saw myself as king.”
My footsteps stalled. Gazing into truth water could spell trouble for me. What if my own face stared back at me? He would know a soul switch had occurred. But I also couldn’t come up with a plausible explanation to resist such an innocent activity.
C’mon, it’s not like this fountain will actually unlock genuine secrets.Despite Callen’s experience.
“You stay here,” I commanded. Just in case. “One stepcloser, and I’ll put you in time out. Five minutes without my delightful company.”
“As if I could survive such cruelty,” he responded, seeming to tease me, mean it, and adorably man-pout all at the same time.
