Page 29

Daylight was dwindling by the time we reached the Okon neighborhood where the carriage would be waiting. I saw many interesting things and met unusual people. As we explored, Kaspian bought us food from street vendors. It felt like we were constantly eating, and I'm not complaining about that. I think he was as excited as I was to try the food. It was new to him too. When you go from castle to carriage to your destination, you don't see the food carts. You don't see a lot of things.

And you don't get cats following you.

Yup, the orange cat was still with us. I was starting to get worried. He seemed too friendly to be a stray, but what did I know? I'd never had a cat, and this was a Serai cat. Maybe strays were friendly on Serai. Maybe they didn't have to fear people as Earth cats did. Fuck, humans are assholes.

“Why is this called the White Feather District?” I asked. “I've seen Okons with all sorts of colors in their wings.”

“The original Okon citizens of this neighborhood were white-winged. They named it.” Kaspian looked down at the cat. “I wonder if he's going to get in the carriage with us.”

“What if he belongs to a kid?” I stopped and stared down at the cat. “Do you belong to someone? We've already led you far from your neighborhood.” I looked back at Kas. “Maybe we should take him back.”

Kaspian considered the cat. “I've never had an animal in the castle. Not as a pet. I've never wanted the extra responsibility. But cats seem rather self-sufficient. The castle could be a smaller city for him.”

“But what if someone is missing him?” I crossed my arms. “I'd miss him. He's a nice cat.”

The cat sat down and looked back and forth between us.

“I'll send word to the restaurant where we found him. If someone comes looking for a missing orange cat, I'll have them direct the person to the castle.”

“Oh.” I dropped my arms. “I guess that'll be all right.”

“This all depends on whether he decides to come with us. If he wants out of the carriage, I'm letting him out. Even a Dragon avoids dealing with an enraged cat.”

I looked at the cat.

He looked at me.

“He's coming with us,” I said.

“I think you're giving an animal more credit than it deserves.” Kas took my hand and started walking again. “I can't imagine him handling a carriage ride well.”

“We'll see.” I shrugged. “If he jumps out, that will decide it.”

I glanced at the winged people who populated the White Feather District. There were a lot of white wings there, but they seemed outnumbered by other colors. Birds of a feather did not flock together on Serai. The Okon settlers may have named the district after themselves, but it didn't look as if they discriminated against those who didn’t have white wings.

The sidewalks were wider there. No, wait. They weren't wider, just less crowded. As in, no street vendors or cafe tables set out on the walks. The path was left clear for people who needed more elbow room than others.

That meant no nibbles for us, but the stores there sold fascinating items that made up for the lack of snacks. I made Kaspian stop often so I could inspect wing jewels, clothing that wrapped around wings, and flying accouterments including strap-on glasses and boots with hooks on the heels. Kaspian explained every item to me.

At last, we came to the carriage.

Hapsedes sat on the driver's ledge eating something from a paper cone. He crumpled the cone when he saw us and jumped down. “Your Majesty, are you ready to return to the castle? I see that you still have your furry companion.”

“Yes, we'll see if he decides to continue his adventure.” Kaspian took me toward the carriage.

Sir Vadron opened the door for us. I got in first. Before Kaspian could follow, the cat jumped in. I chuckled as he got up on the bench, then climbed onto my lap. He peered out of the window beside me, then curled up, and went to sleep. I gave Kas a smug look when he got in.

“We haven't started moving yet,” Kas pointed out. “You may want to prepare yourself for getting scratched.”

The door shut, and we started rolling. The cat didn't even flinch. He slept on as we drove through the White Feather District and up to the castle gate. Frankly, we could have walked. The castle gate was in the Okon neighborhood. It took less than ten minutes to get there.

“He's a bold one,” Kaspian said as we rode through the gate. “I think he needs a bold name.”

“I hadn't thought to name him.”

“You can't keep calling him 'cat.'”

“What's a bold name here?”

“Besides my own?” Kas smirked.

“Ha-ha.” I looked down at the cat. “How about Hercules?”

“Hercules?” Kas cocked his head. “I like that.”

“He was a hero from Greek mythology—the son of a god.”

“More of your stories. Did this hero fight dragons?”

“No, but he did kill a snake woman called Medusa.” I grimaced. “I never liked that story. Medusa was just minding her own business when Hercules came along and cut off her head. She couldn't help that she had snakes for hair or that those snakes could turn people into stone. In fact, she was a normal human until a god—I think it was Poseidon—raped her on the steps of a goddess's temple. She cried out to the goddess for help, and the goddess got mad at her—Medusa, not Poseidon—for defiling her temple and cursed Medusa, turning her into a monster. Not that monsters who are born have a choice in what they are, but still. Medusa was the victim.”

We stopped before the castle steps.

“Hey, buddy.” I stroked the cat. “You must be tired, huh? You want me to carry you?”

The cat jumped onto the carriage floor and stretched his forepaws out, lifting his butt. I could almost hear him yawn. When the carriage door opened, he jumped out first.

“A moment,” Kas said to the knight who opened the carriage door. He looked back at me. “One of your gods raped a woman, and a goddess punished the woman for it?”

“Yeah. Bunk, right?”

“Bunk indeed. Medusa was transformed into a snake creature that could turn people into stone?”

“Yup. Then Hercules was told by his daddy that Medusa was protecting some magic armor. So he went to steal the armor and killed her.”

“That poor woman. She was tormented until the very end. How unfair.”

“Yup.”

“And you want to name the cat after her murderer?”

“Well, now that you put it like that.” I grimaced. “I guess we need another option.”

“Maybe you should stick with 'Cat' for now.”

I snorted a laugh as Kaspian got out. I climbed out next and shook my head at the cat who was sitting calmly on the castle steps, waiting for us. “Look at him.”

“I guess he's claimed you.” Kaspian took my hand and led me up the steps. “Be warned, Cat. I claimed him first. He's mine.”

“Now, you're talking to him.” I nudged Kaspian's shoulder with mine.

He nuzzled my cheek and whispered, “Only to amuse you.”

The cat fell into step beside us, head lifted as if he knew he was a guest of the King. I grinned at it. My first pet and he was something special. It was turning out to be a great day.

“We're going to need a litter box, food and water dishes, and a bed,” I said.

“What is a litter box?”

“You know, for Cat to do his business in?”

“His business?” Kaspian nodded absently at the courtiers as we passed.

“Poop.”

“And we're back to your fascination with shit.” Kaspian snorted a laugh. “I'm sure he will find a spot in one of the gardens.”

“I am not fascinated with shit. We're taking him up to your apartments and as far as I know, there aren't any gardens up there.”

Kaspian blinked.

“I don't think he'll be able to use the elevator. I mean, the lifter.”

“There are stairs as well.”

“And what if he's upstairs and decides he'd rather poop on the couch than go downstairs to find a garden? When you gotta go, you gotta go.”

“Huh.” Kaspian looked over his shoulder at his knights. “What do people with cats do about their defecation?”

The knights looked at each other and shrugged.

One of them said, “I had a cat once, but he went outside for that.”

“Perhaps the gardeners could make a patch of grass—”

“Let me stop you right there,” I interrupted Kas. “Cats bury their shit. That's why you need litter in a box. Thus, a litter box. Litter can be anything from sand to ground-up walnut shells.”

“Walnut shells?”

“Yeah, they use granulated clay too, because it absorbs the piss.”

Kaspian stopped walking. “This is why I've never had a pet. It's too complicated.”

“How is a cat shitter complicated? It's a box with sand in it. Surely someone can find one of those. Dogs are way more work. You have to walk them when they need to go.”

Kas started walking again. “Someone tell the steward to gather cat items—a box with sand, a water dish, and whatever else he thinks we might need.”

“What about a food dish?” I asked.

“The cooks will send his food up with ours.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“We'll take him to my private garden for now. It's right below my apartments so he can come upstairs when he wishes.”

We went into the elevator that took us up to Kaspian's apartments.

As we ascended, Kaspian peered at the cat. “There is something odd about that cat.”

Then the elevator stopped. Before anyone could step out, the cat darted out of the cab.

“Cat!” I called after him.

“There is only the garden on this floor.” Kaspian stepped out.

“I guess he had to go.”

I followed Kas out to a stone courtyard. There was a building that housed the elevator and that was it as far as enclosed rooms went. The building was large, but not as large as Kaspian's apartments—as evidenced by the ceiling that continued past it in all directions. Several doors spotted the building in addition to the elevator panel, all of them closed except for an open archway leading to stairs.

“What if he takes the stairs down instead of up?” I asked Kas.

“There's a guarded door at the bottom.”

“Oh. Okay.”

The rest of the courtyard stood beneath that stone ceiling I mentioned, columns spaced out beneath it for support. Chairs, couches, and low tables clustered in the courtyard, a few of the groups gathered around fire pits. Arches defined the edge of the space and beyond them was a sunlit garden. The orange cat was already investigating the closest plants.

I went over to where the cat was sniffing the leaves of a rubbery plant. He glanced at me, then sashayed to another. Once I was out there, I looked back. And there was the central keep, rising above the courtyard, its white marble walls gleaming in the sun. I recognized the balcony off Kaspian's living room. Seeing it like that, I recalled how it looked when we first flew in. I'd noticed the gardens then, but hadn't put two and two together.

“This is beautiful.” I found a stone bench carved with birds and sat down.

A tree with bright green leaves and fluffy white flowers bent over me like an umbrella. Not that I needed the shade; the sun was in the process of setting. Pink and orange stained sky—the Sun's goodnight to the world. That's what my mother used to say.

“Is something wrong?” Kaspian sat beside me.

“A sunset is a sunset. But it seems ten times more beautiful here.”

Kaspian put his arm around me. The sensation shocked me at first. I'd never dated a man as large as Kas. Usually, I was the larger guy, and it fell to the larger man to do the arm-around-the-shoulder thing. It felt good to be the smaller man. Kinda nice to have someone bigger holding me. So silly, but that's the truth of it. It just felt . . . safe. I guess I liked the idea of Kas protecting me, after all.

“I haven't felt safe since I was a kid,” I murmured.

“Do you not feel safe now?” Kaspian leaned in.

“No, that's the thing. I do. I feel safe.” I looked at him. “I shouldn't like it. Especially not after I made a fuss about taking care of myself.”

“Everyone likes to feel safe.” He nuzzled his head against mine. “Even Dragons. It's why we value strength above all things. And why we rule. There's safety at the top.”

“Also danger.”

“Yes, but the safety outweighs it. At the very least, the top gives you a vantage point to see your enemies coming.” He chuckled and nodded forward. “Maybe we don't need that sandbox.”

I looked over to see the cat pooping in the dirt. He buried it, then looked at us as if we were being rude.

“Hey, you're the one who pooped within eyesight,” I said to it. “Next time go behind a bush or something.”

The cat came over and sat on my foot.

“Hey! You just pooped and now you're gonna sit on my boot? Now, that's rude. Leather is not toilet paper!”

The cat looked up at me as Kas chortled.

“Come on.” Kas stood up. “Let's show him the way upstairs. Then he can make himself at home.”

Instead of going to the elevator, Kaspian went for the stairs. Sure enough, Cat followed.