Page 107 of Aryn

“Home is with the people I love,” I answer, my throat thick. “Home is two worlds, Brihn. I have loved you every second of every day since the moment you were born, and I have never once stopped trying to find my way back to you.”

“And Cato?”

I glance away, staring at the orange flames that crackle in the fireplace. “Does it bother you? To see me with another?”

“Bother me?” he repeats, waiting until I look up at him to continue. “I was very young when Mother was killed, but above all else, I remember her kindness. She would want you happy. She would never expect you to live a lifetime of solitude in her memory.” He hesitates, then says, “You love him. That much is clear.”

I huff out a frustrated laugh. “Gods, he might run for the hills if he heard you say that.”

“Why?” Brihn asks with a frown.

I shake my head with a small, reassuring smile. “Things are new between us. Cato has lost people, too. He needs time to work past his fear of it happening again, and I certainly didn’t help matters when I left him in the forest.”

His frown pulls deeper. “You were protecting him.”

“I know that. He knows that, truthfully, but he needs to process it in his own way. He’s fretting over me like a nursemaid right now, and I’m afraid if he doesn’t get a break from it soon, he’ll start seeing me as a decrepit old male.”

“It isn’t a weakness to allow others to care for you,” he scolds.

“I know. I do. I just… I want to… court him. Properly.”

Brihn’s face eases into something teasing. “I always heard you were a smooth talker. Are you telling me those were lies?”

“Sweet words would convince Cato to do very little,” I say with a fond smile. “He’s likely to do the opposite out of pure stubbornness.”

“Actions over words, then,” he muses. He thinks for a moment before his expression softens. “What about the hot springs?”

“They’re still there, even with the weather?” I ask, surprised.

“Yes, just as warm as they ever were. The valley is private, and even though it’s outside the walls, it’s close enough that we’ve never had problems there. You could take a picnic. Good wine, warm blankets, lanterns. The moons are bright this week. It would be beautiful.”

I nod slowly, already picturing it. “That sounds perfect.”

Brihn stands and claps me on the shoulder. “I’ll have a basket prepared for you tomorrow night. Try not to scare him off before then.”

I huff. “I managed to get him this far, didn’t I?”

“Pure luck, I’m sure,” Brihn says, failing to hide his smile. “I’m happy for you, Father. Truly. She would be, too.”

Aryn

The next evening, a covered basket waits outside our room, with a thick woven blanket and a lantern on top. I sneak it into the room and onto the table, setting the blanket aside as I dig through the contents. Fresh bread, roasted meat, and honey cakes sit inside, along with a bottle of spiced wine.

“What’s this?” Cato asks from directly behind me.

I startle and turn to him with wide eyes. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people.”

One of those ruggedly handsome crooked smiles tugs onto his lips as he nods at the basket. “We’ve been here this whole time, and you didn’t tell me there was room service?”

I chuckle as the lid drops shut, then take his hand. “It isn’t room service because we aren’t staying in the room.”

He hums and pulls me in for a kiss. “No? Are we running away together?”

“Something like that,” I agree as I press one more soft kiss on his lips.

When I try to pick up the basket, he swats me away, slides his arm through the handles, then offers me his hand. My fingers thread through his as we leave the village through the smaller northern gate. The guards nod and let us pass without comment, though I catch one of them fighting a smile.

Brihn’s doing, no doubt.