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“Trust me, I’ve known Kaden for a very long time. He only does what he wants,” she said.

I shrugged and went back to my fake busywork. It was easier to let her think what she wanted.

She settled in quietly, drinking some more tea until I saw her jerk up, as if she’d just remembered something.“By the way, you didn’t let some weirdo whip you to keep the peace, right?”

She was watching me closely as I tried to think of what to say. Did it even matter? I had a feeling that no answer was going to go well.

“You didn’t see how fast things were about to devolve here. It was going to be a full-on civil war.”

“Oh, yeah, now it all makes sense.” She rolled her eyes and then went back to the tea. “At least now I understand why he’s being a little moreKaden.”

I didn’t even bother touching that one.

* * *

It was the next morning, and Kaden hadn’t come back yet. What the hell was taking him so long? Had he meant he’d be back in a day exactly, or had that been a rough guess? He had to go talk to Connor and get back. I could’ve done that in a matter of hours, and yet here it was, over a day. Tonight would mark two.

The girls were staring at me with downturned lips. Even little Marina wasn’t stating the obvious.

“He’ll be back soon,” Luisca said.

I nodded, smiling, trying to force some eggs down, when I finally felt Kaden’s presence.

“He’s back,” I blurted out in the middle of Tiber talking about crops.

I wanted to run out the door and find Kaden. I barely kept my butt in the kitchen seat until he walked in. Even then, I got up but barely restrained myself from jumping into his arms, all the time reminding myself we weren’t in a real relationship.

His gaze went right to me as he walked in, coming to my side. His arm went around my shoulders, as was only fitting, considering we were pretending to be a couple newly mated.

I turned slightly into him, laying a hand on his chest, feeling a comfort in his heartbeat.

“How’d it go?” Tiber asked.

“Well enough. It took longer because I waited for Connor to come back with an answer. We’re meeting Herrick the day after tomorrow. Erquin, over on Hattina, is going to host it.”

Kaden looked down at me, asking the question without saying a word.

This was it. We were meeting. We couldn’t back out now without looking weak. I gave a slight nod.

“He’s a good choice,” Tiber said. “He’s fair and a good diplomat. He’s been advocating for more peaceful resolutions for centuries. I think you can trust him.”

So this was it. I’d finally see Herrick face to face for the first time since Kaden busted me out of there and I’d killed my grandmother.

“Are you hungry?” Luisca asked.

“No. I want to get out in the field for a while,” Kaden said.

“I’ll round everyone up,” Tiber said.

Cookie walked into the kitchen, grabbed a biscuit, and gave us all a bittersweet smile. “I’m heading out, but I will see you all soon,” she said.

I gave her a hug before she could stop me, hating that she was going back there without me, especially after seeing how run-down she’d looked.

“Ugh,” she said, but then hugged me back. She finally pulled back and said, “Keep your shit together. I’ll see you soon.”

She said the rest of her goodbyes and then headed out.

I walked out to the field with Kaden a few minutes later, and a few people had already gathered there, looking as if they’d been working out on their own.