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He chuckled and looked at the table in front of him, avoiding my eyes. “I’d like to say it was all me. I did try, Princess, but my fingers aren’t as nimble as my mother’s. She took it from me and finished it. I have a suspicion she even took what I had done out and started from scratch.”

I laughed at this, his words filling me with amusement. He looked up, his eyes questioning, but seeing nothing but sincerity, he sat up straighter when I said, “It’s beautiful either way and I’m glad you tried. I wouldn’t be able to anything like this.”

“Maybe I can show you sometime.”

“I’d like that,” I said softly.

Kai’s gaze rose above my head and I turned to see what caught his attention. Shocked a little by what I saw, I sat and watched. Papa Christian had come into the room with Theo Nolan. They spoke to one another as if they were old friends and then before Papa Christian left, he put his hand on Theo’s shoulder and patted him there.

Right before Theo turned, I swiveled back around in my seat until I was staring at Kai again. His forehead wrinkled. “I didn’t know King Christian knew Theo.”

Neither did I. But, I wasn’t going to say anything.

I shrugged and decided to change the subject. “Are you ready for today’s training?”

“Of course,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to training with you, though I doubt we’ll be doing anything like how I train at home.”

“Really?” I asked.

He smiled. “For instance, we don’t train indoors usually. We train around the island, with nature. We use trees and the ocean for our physical activity and then move on to our self-made weapons.”

The mention of his weapon made me perk up. “I was eyeing your traditional weapon yesterday. Maybe today you can show me a few moves.”

“I’d be happy to.” His dark hair fell over his forehead, silky like raven’s feathers.

The differing backgrounds of my potential mates intrigued me. Why had we not tried to learn from one another before? It was such a simple notion, but one that was often overlooked when meetings like this were few and far between. There wouldn’t even be a meeting like this if it wasn’t for the danger lingering in the future. Something these men and their families were yet unaware of.

“Is something troubling you, Princess?”

I looked back. “I really wish you would call me Izzy.”

His tan cheeks turned into a ruddy red.

He opened his mouth to talk, but I held up my hand. “I know. King Christian told you to call me Princess Izzy.” It just felt like that title was a barrier I needed to break down in order to bring them to me. Maybe it was all in my head, something none of the others thought about, but just a weight on my shoulders that seemed bigger than it was.

I dipped my fork into the eggs that were growing cold on my plate.

Across the table, Kai fidgeted. He lowered his voice. “If you wish, I will call you Izzy when King Christian isn’t present.”

I lifted my gaze to meet his. His eyes were hopeful as he stared right back into mine. “Please,” I said. “Sometimes the formalities get to me. Though, I don’t want you to get in trouble over it.”

“I’ll risk it for you,” he said immediately, making my insides squeeze.

I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face. There was just something about being with Kai that made me happy. He was sweet, and positivity seemed to echo through him and outward like soundwaves. “Kai…” I started.

“Yes?”

“Do you think you could show us how you train? I’d be interested in seeing it. Perhaps tomorrow the Nolan Clan can show us and so on until we get to my training?”

His pearly white teeth glimmered. “Really? I would love that, Princess.”

I gave him a stern look.

He looked around quickly and then said, “I would love that, Izzy.”

Finally. I beamed at him and then stood where I sat. The sudden movement caught most of the others’ attention. Or, they had already been looking at me, anyway. “Instead of using The Fort techniques, I think each of the potential mates should take us through their training routines. We will start with the Iona Clan today.”

I looked down at Kai, who stood, taking on his role of instructor today more easily than I would’ve imagined. “We’ll meet outside in fifteen minutes. Bring something to swim in.”