Page 52 of Spirit Trials

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Harper says and leaves.

“Do you want help?” Kinsley asks. “While I wait for Harper to finish?”

“Sure.” I give her a bowl to stir.

“What are we making?”

“My famous hotcakes,” I say with a grin. I grab the skillet and pour oil in and wait for it to heat while I let the mix sit. I also prepare an egg concoction that’s similar to a meat pie but with eggs for breakfast. Within minutes the first hotcakes are sizzling. I snag the jar of honey off the shelf. As the fresh hotcakes come out of the skillet, I drizzle honey over them. Soon the kitchen smells like a confectionary from the oil and the honey.

“What is cooking in here?” Lox asks, striding into the kitchen. He picks up a hotcake, even as I smack his hand. He whirls away from me and takes a bite. Even though I scolded him for eating, I wait to see his reaction.

His eyes light up. “These are so good,” he says around a mouthful.

I laugh; I can’t help it. “I’m glad you like it.” I look up to see Rysden in the doorway watching me with those intense eyes of his. I drop my gaze to the wolf at his side. “I see you found your other half.” I wonder what Rysden's going to say about it, but he says nothing. He walks over and stands between Lox and me.

“You made these?” he asks.

For some reason, I get nervous. “Yeah. Want to try one?”

He picks one up and takes a bite. He doesn’t make a single expression; I’m used to that. He steps close to me, and my startled eyes lift to his. He reaches out and runs a finger over my nose. “Flour,” he says in a low voice. “These are really good,” he says without stepping back.

“Thanks.” My voice is breathless. I take a breath. “Well, we made it through the night.” He nods once before snagging a plate and filling it. “You didn’t have to send Shade,” I say in a quiet voice, so everybody doesn’t hear. “We were fine.”

“I didn’t.”

I frown. “But he was out there with us.”

He turns to face me. “I didn’t send him; he did all that on his own.”

I roll my eyes. “Oh right. He opened the front door himself?”

His eyes bore into mine. “He never came in. He refused to leave you outside unprotected.”

His words surprise me, and I force a laugh. “Unlike his bonded, right?”

“If Shade wasn’t out there, I would have been.” With those confusing words, he turns back to the food. He finishes filling his plate and hands it to me.

“Oh, I can get my own plate.”

“I know.” He doesn’t turn back to me as he fills a plate. I watch the muscles in his back contract as he fills his plate.

“You’re confusing, Rysden.”

“I don’t mean to be.”

I sigh. “And yet you are.” I leave the kitchen before he can say or do anything to confuse me more. I pull out a chair at the table and sit. Rysden shocks me by pulling out the seat next to mine, and I turn to him in surprise.

“What?” he asks.

“You never eat with us,” I point out.

He shrugs. “I wanted to.”

I have no idea what to say to that, so I don’t. Hector and Jamik join us at the table. “Where’s the tall, mouthy one?” Lox asks after a few bites.

“She was taking a bath, but she’s probably asleep now,” I say and take another bite. I look over at Kinsley who looks like she’s going to fall asleep in her food. “Kins, you go take the next bath.”

She lifts her head. “Are you sure?”