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Archie’s eyes round as he looks at me. “How old are you, Kat?”

An easy enough reply for me. “Twenty-two.”

“And you’re...how old, Cole?”

“Twenty-six.”

“Wow…” Archie nods slowly with arched eyebrows. “I bet birthday parties are fun.”

“Do you have any siblings, Archie?” I ask.

“Yep, I’m the youngest of four. All boys. Two of my brothers are actually stationed in Arterias.”

“Wow. The capital, huh? That’s impressive!”

“Yeah. All three of my brothers were originally appointed to the King’s castle. But my oldest brother was injured and honorably discharged. He’s back home with my ma and pa.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I murmur.

Archie shrugs and diverts his gaze down to his hands.

“Do chickens live in the forest?”

Daeja’s sudden intrusion catches me off guard, and I clear my throat to keep myself from laughing.

Cole looks over to me, and Archie lifts his head. The both of them watching me expectantly, as if I announced I needed to say something.

A nervous chuckle rumbles off my lips. “Delicious.” I sip a spoonful of soup.

“No. Why are you asking?”

“I wanted to see if I could hunt one myself.”

I bite my lip—hard—trying not to laugh. “You can’t, they live on farms. We raise them for food.”

“What are farms?”

Archie’s eyes meet mine, his eyebrow quirking up in question.

Shit, I must have been staring directly at him for far too long. Juggling two conversations is proving to be much more difficult than I could have ever imagined.

“Daeja, I have to go. I’ll come see you tonight.”

I mentally scramble for something to ask Archie. “Have you ever been to Arterias?”

“No. I’ve always wanted to! I was hoping to be stationed there with my brothers by the time I turned twenty-one.”

“When do you turn twenty-one?” I question.

“I’m nearly twenty-two. I uh…didn’t quite make the cut. Those stationed in Arterias are the best of the best. They have to be to protect the King.”

Cole pipes in, offering an encouraging smile, “And we will get you there, Arch. You’re close! I don’t think I’ve ever seen another soldier with your courage. We just have to work on some more technical sword training. I’ll even write a recommendation to the King for you myself.”

But despite the confidence from Cole, Archie’s smile doesn’t touch his eyes. He steals a quick glance off in the direction where Darian disappeared.

Realization dawns over me…he wants Darian to train him.

The cogs in my mind spin as I piece it together. The way Archie gravitates toward him, desperate for an ounce of recognition or respect, even though Darian does nothing but push him away. The one rumored to be the best swordsman in the kingdom. And that asshole won’t even give Archie the time of day.