Page 27

“He is,” Kaiden agreed, helping himself to what looked like a golden apple while Alex began tucking into the rest of her plate. “He’s delighted that I know enough of his languageto communicate a little. He’s asked a lot of questions about Medora—I think he’s not so secretly intrigued by our world.” Kaiden looked away and quietly amended, “My world.”

Reading him better than he would have liked, Alex nudged him with her elbow and said, “You had it right the first time. Our world.”

He turned back to her, just watching for a moment, before a smile slowly formed. “Our world, huh?”

Alex raised a hand, indicating everything around them. “You think I’d be here doing all this if I didn’t plan on staying in Medora once it’s all over? I still have at least a year and a half left at Akarnae—more, if I’m selected as an apprentice.”

“And you will be,” Kaiden said, taking another bite of his golden fruit. “So that’s two more years.”

“And it’d be a shame to waste such a valuable education by not working in a field where I can use my trusty Combat or Stealth and Subterfuge skills on a daily basis,” Alex continued dryly, enjoying their wishful conversation. They both knew such a future might never come to pass if Aven wasn’t defeated, but the normalcy of the exchange brought some much-needed levity to their day.

“Having saved the world, one would presume you’d be offered your fair share of employment opportunities,” Kaiden said, his serious tone at odds with the teasing light in his eyes.

“Frankly, I’d be insulted if they didn’t give me a crown for my efforts,” Alex replied, causing them both to snicker.

“Queen Alexandra it is,” Kaiden said. He then grinned widely, timing his next words for when Alex raised her goblet to take a sip of sparkling juice. “That works well, since I’ve always thought ‘King Kaiden’ has a nice ring to it.”

To keep from spitting her mouthful all over him, Alex sucked it back too quickly, the bubbly liquid burning as she choked it down.

Sending him her best glare when he burst out laughing, she couldn’t maintain her annoyed expression for long before she too descended into laughter. As audacious as his words had been, they were just what she needed to pull her from the sadness that had engulfed her since finishing their earlier test.

Quietly, she said, “Thank you, Kaiden.”

“Anytime, Alex.”

His words were as soft as hers, his meaning clear. He would be there for her—any time she needed him.

Blinking quickly against the burn in her eyes, Alex cleared her throat and focused on finishing her meal.

“I wasn’t listening earlier,” she said, after swallowing some kind of sweet vegetable. “What time does tomorrow’s test begin?”

With a twitch of his lips, Kaiden answered, “What time do you think?”

Alex scrunched her nose. “When all this is over, I’m never going to get up before dawn again.”

Kaiden chuckled. “Five more days. I have every bit of faith that you can make it.”

Again, his meaning went beyond his words, and this time Alex smiled softly in gratitude.

She finished the rest of her food while Kaiden repeated some of the stilted conversations he’d had with Sorin, telling her how the helper had grown up in the palace after being born to a family of royal servants. Many of the other helpers were the same, most of them so content with their station that they wouldn’t even entertain the idea of living beyond the golden walls. As far as they were concerned, they had the best lives in Vardaesia and loved serving the empress.

“Could have fooled me,” Alex said, thinking about the temperamental Zaylin as she pushed her tray away. Immediately, it disappeared from sight.

“For a man who doesn’t stop talking most of the time, he didn’t say much about your helper,” Kaiden admitted. “Even when I questioned him directly.”

Alex wasn’t surprised. She doubted the prickly Zaylin would be happy if she learned her fellow helpers were gossiping about her.

As if the Tia Auran had been summoned by thought alone, she appeared in a flash, her arms crossed as she glared between Alex and Kaiden.

“You are not resting,” she said, her melodic language unable to hide the irritation in her tone.

Keeping up the guise that she couldn’t understand, Alex turned to Kaiden in question. His eyes sparkled with humour as he played along, translating Zaylin’s words.

Alex exhaled almost too dramatically. “I don’t suppose she’ll believe that I haven’t left this bed since I last saw her, will she?”

With a quick smile, Kaiden answered, “Judging by the look on her face, probably not.” His smile grew and his voice lowered as he finished, “And you might want to be careful how you word that, especially since she found me here with you.”

A strangled laugh left Alex’s lips even as she felt heat touch her cheeks.