Page 9 of Quest for her Knights (The Lost Souls of Dyconia #5)

Chapter eight

Blaze

I watch, transfixed, as she wades through the stream. She had slipped off her shoes, gathered up her skirts, and stepped in before I could stop her. The water is only a couple of inches deep, so she’s in no danger of drowning, but I still worry she’ll fall.

“What is she doing?” Draven asks quietly as he steps up beside me, his signature scowl in place.

“It feels so nice on my feet!” she says with a laugh, making me smile.

“I dunno, she’s enjoying herself, though. That’s all that really matters,” I say with a shrug.

“She could fall in there.”

“She could fall out here,” I counter. He just grunts in reply as we watch her splash around like it’s the most fun thing in the world.

“Why don’t you two join me? It feels so refreshing!” she calls over to us.

“I’d rather watch you,” I tell her, realizing that may come off as a little creepy.

“Draven?” she asks, thankfully overlooking my awkwardness.

He shakes his head, making her frown. She turns away and continues moving down the stream. I elbow him in the ribs. “Oomph!”

“You could at least try to be nice to her. You know she’s nothing like the other Elora, right?”

“I know that,” he grumbles, watching her for a moment before storming off back to the carriage.

He’s never spoken about what Princess Elora said to him years ago, but we all know it caused him to withdraw and grow angry. Hopefully, he can come to terms with the fact that she’s gone and never coming back.

I’m sure it’s hard working in a castle under someone you hate, especially when they’re essentially your boss.

“What are you thinking about?” Elora asks, pulling me out of my head.

“Nothing important. Are you having fun in there?”

“Yeah, but I wish you’d join me. Everything’s better when you have someone to do it with,” she says a little wistfully. And dammit all, I can’t resist her when she sounds like that. So I roll up my pants, slip off my boots and socks, and step into the water with her.

She cheers, clapping her hands in excitement as she tries to jump up and down, but quickly starts to fall sideways. I grab her waist and pull her close as her hands shoot to my shoulders for stability.

“You okay, darling?” I ask, the nickname slipping out easily. But I don’t take it back, and she doesn’t correct me.

“Yeah, thanks. I got a little overexcited there,” she giggles.

“Let’s go that way,” I say, pointing upstream. “Here, take my hand so you don’t fall.” I offer my hand, and she takes it easily. Her skin feels soft against my calloused hand.

Are my hands too rough for her?

She grips me tight as we walk side by side through the water. I know she doesn’t really need to hold my hand, and I try to convince myself it’s just for her safety.

Yep. Her safety. It has nothing to do with the warm feeling in my chest.

“Tell me about yourself, Blaze.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Well, you already told me you started working at the castle because it gave you a purpose in life. How long have you been working there? And how old are you? Where are you from? What do you do for fun? ”

I chuckle at her barrage of questions, warmed that she remembers what I said her first night here. “Let’s see… twelve years, thirty-two, Pelican Bay, annnnnnd… I don’t know. Cook, maybe?”

“You like to cook, for fun?”

“When I get the chance, which honestly isn’t often. We’re usually given all our meals at the castle, so I don’t get many opportunities to cook.”

“Maybe you could cook something for me sometime?”

My heart takes a small leap in my chest. She wants me to cook for her?

“Yeah?” I ask, a smile playing on my lips.

“Only if you want to.”

“I’d like that,” I tell her honestly. The thought of making a meal specifically for her makes me eager and excited. I quickly start thinking about what I would make and how I’d cook it.

“What else do you do for fun around the castle? Do you play any games or anything?”

“Sometimes in the evenings, the knights will play cards. When we get a day off, Arrow likes to go hunting or practice with his bow, and Draven practices throwing knives.”

“What about you?”

“I prefer the sword or hand-to-hand, so I can’t practice without a partner to spar with.”

“I’d pay good money to see that,” she says so quietly, I have a feeling I wasn’t supposed to hear it .

“What was that now?” I ask, biting my lip to stop myself from smiling at her lack of filter.

“Oh, um… I just said I’d pay good money to learn how to fight like that.”

“We can train you, if you’d like?”

“I should probably warn you I’m a bit clumsy and more likely to stab myself with a blade than any opponent.”

I let out a small laugh. “Maybe we’ll stick to the fighting, and you stick to looking pretty.”

“You think I’m pretty?” she asks shyly, and I turn to see her cheeks turning bright red.

Wondering if her lack of filter is wearing off on me, I can’t help but admit, “Fucking gorgeous.”