Page 107 of The Gathering

Her eyes fluttered open as she said, “Something wrong?”

But Nadir just shook his head. “I can’t do everything I want to do to you, Princess,” he said, rubbing her legs. “I’ll have no tricks for you to look forward to when I see you again.”

“You want to see me again?” she asked.

Nadir paused, his gaze turning serious. “If I didn’t have a realm to defend, you wouldn’t be able to get rid of me.”

He gave her a quick peck on her lips before he moved away, cleaning up some of the mess he’d made. She noted the way his shoulders seemed to sag, how the silence between them thickened and the sound of the crackling fire became louder. But all that intensity was forgotten as he started opening pantries and made them a platter of fresh fruits and cheeses.

The baguette he pulled from the back of the pantry made him eye her over his shoulder. “This is absolute shit,” he declared.

“What is?”

“Some of this bread,” he continued. “Is this… Is this what they save for themselves?”

Nyssa shrugged. “Dorian and I rarely go through the cupboards unless it’s for chocolate,” she said as Nadir sat the tray on the table. She moved to the bench across from him.

Nadir chuckled under his breath. “No, you just take what they give you, right?”

She felt her eyes narrow at the way he was speaking to her.

“I… I guess. I mean, it’s not like I asked for this title,” she said in a snappier tone than she meant to, getting a little annoyed. “I don’t demand them to make things or serve me. It’s just… It’s not my fault.”

“Sospoiled, Princess,” he teased. “Here you’ve been fooled into thinking your servants eat as well as you. Half this bread is molded.”

“I’m not in charge of the kitchens,” she argued.

He grinned back at her. “Have youanylife skills?”

Her mouth nearly dropped that he was calling her out as he was. “What—I know how to use a bow.”

“Right, so you’re alone in the forest. You shoot an animal with this bow. Then what?” He chewed on the apple in delight, and she nearly threw her entire plate at him as she realized he was trying to get a rise out of her.

“Shut up.” She couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Why don’t you teach me then?”

“I’ll have to once I steal you,” he declared. “We’ll be on the run. My home will be in flames from both your brothers. We’ll have to hide out in the northern forest. Perhaps the Nitesh will let us stay a while. I’ll teach you hunting and gathering when we’re lost in the Mortis Lunar Pass.”

She was actually intrigued by the idea. “We would have two wars surrounding us,” she bantered.

He smirked at her, slowing down on his chewing. “Run away with me and you’ll never have to worry about war.”

There was a sincerity in his eyes that told her he wasn’t entirely exaggerating. And if she was being honest with herself, she was undoubtedly considering it.

“If only,” she sighed. “Feels like a poor decision for Haerland’s greatest Commander.”

“Mmm…” he agreed as he stood to go check on the wood-burning oven. “It is. You’d be worth it, though,” he winked back at her.

She laughed. “Commander, how many women have you said these things to? I’m sure you’ve threatened to run away with your fair share of merchants and seamstresses from the villages you’ve traveled to.”

“Merchants and seamstresses aren’t as exciting as Princesses who let me play and provide,” he said, pulling the loaf out of the oven.

She stood from the table and went to stand at his side as he checked their food. “Teach me something,” she told him.

“What?”

“You say I’m spoiled. Teach me something that my servants would not. Something not weapons or related to combat because I know all of those. Something not of our history. Teach me a life skill.”

He stared down at her as though he were contemplating her words. “Everyone at my beach has a skill they put to use besides their combat skills. No one is only a warrior. Everyone pitches in.”