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He turned up the full force of his charm. His now bright blue-green eyes were sparkling, his smile wide. He was so boyishly endearing that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Don’t you simper at me,” I mock demanded. “Why can’t I ride with you?” I asked Aiden.

“Hey!” E.Z. exclaimed.

“That came out wrong. I have nothing against you,” I clarified. “I just want to know why.”

“Because I’ll be escorting River,” Aiden said with a smile. “Plus, E.Z. is your Keeper. Otherwise, I would have gladly accepted the offer.”

I smiled shyly at him and looked at River. I was under the impression that Aiden was escorting her to Garberon, then going somewhere and meeting us later. I had assumed River was coming to town with us and facilitating the meeting. Is E.Z. going to know what to do?

“What will we do while you do that?” I asked.

“You’ll wait for the leaders to arrive at Whispering Oaks Inn. You and E.Z. will check in as a couple. You will stay in your room and receive instructions on when and where to meet. E.Z. and I went over the finer details last night. But I can go over again as we go if you’d like.”

I nodded, taking another sip of my coffee. Stay in the room. Alone with E.Z.. Great.

E.Z. was not-so-subtly charming his way into my life. I didn’t know how I would handle his affections full force while alone with him. I couldn’t say I was upset about the prospect. He made me happy just being around him, something I hadn’t expected to feel again for some time, if ever. I was just nervous.

“I will be the best Keeper,” E.Z. assured. “I’m great with back rubs! You should take advantage of me.”

“Don’t touch her, E.Z.!” Elijah barked, now finished packing up the rest of camp. “Don’t be overly tactile with her. This is not an excuse to grope her.”

“What the fuck do you take me for?” E.Z. said, appalled. “I’m not going to grope her!”

“Overly tactile? Really?” I stepped in. “Who talks like that in conversation?”

“An heir to the throne,” Elijah defended sternly, all warmth from last night gone. “Just don’t touch her, E.Z..”

“Oh, touch yourself, Ash.” E.Z. was livid. “I would never.”

“Elijah, I decide who touches me. Not you.” I paused. “Well, maybe it’s my Keeper's decision. But it’s not yours. That’s for sure.”

They all paused. No one moved. All eyes were on me.

River barked out a laugh, thought about it some more, and then barked out another laugh.

This snapped the guys out of their stupors.

Aiden stepped forward, handing me a bag of rations. “Here. Eat fast. We leave shortly.”

“Thanks,” I said, picking through berries and nuts as I watched him walk away.

I continued eating and walked to gather my pack. Someone, probably Elijah, had already gathered my bedroll and attached them to the horses. I only had a few small personal items and clothes to pack before I’d be ready to leave.

I felt Elijah come up behind me. I could always tell his presence apart from everyone else’s.

“Kaia,” Elijah spoke over my shoulder, waiting for me to turn before continuing. “Here’s Liam’s bag. You may want to keep it now. And this.” He held out a leather-bound book. Tabs were stuck in the margins. “I noted where you’d find the information you may need. If E.Z. shuts up at all, find time to read it. Let me know if you have any other questions.”

He spent the night finding passages in a book? Where did he even get it?

Wide-eyed, I reached up and took the leather-bound book from him with my mouth hanging open. It was well-worn, with pages starting to detach from the binding.

“I don’t have a book on shielding, but I do have my journal from when I learned. I don’t know if it’s what you wanted to know or not, but that’s all I have.”

I gently flipped through worn and ratty pages. It was handwritten with freshly inked notes jammed in the creases and doodles in the margins. Elijah had spent the night tabbing his own journal for me? Huge sections had been scribbled out. Not just crossed out, blacked out. Effort was taken to conceal what was written underneath. It was impossible to tell if this had been done last night or in the past.

“You ruined your journal for me?”