Free Ember by Mindy Hayes Page B

groaned outwardly, but inside I was beaming, relieved to see him. A part of me wanted to hug him, but I reigned in that unexpected urge. He had made himself scarce all day. I noticed since I’d been here, even while guarding me, he did everything in his power to communicate with me less and less.
    “Kai, for what do I owe the honor?”
    “My apologies,” he said formally, leaning forward in a bow.
    “Get up,” I ordered tiredly with him mid-bow. “It’s bad enough that Evan does that a million times a day as with the rest of the fae. I don’t need it from you, too.”
    He offered his playful grin. “I’m simply paying my respects.”
    “You say that as if I’ve died.”
    “Well, I suppose this is like a rebirth. You do look …” He cocked his head to one side, “… different now.” His indigo eyes trailed from my moccasin covered feet to my crown. I touched it self-consciously. I didn’t like wearing it in the first place, but Evan made it clear I couldn’t get rid of that custom, just yet. I needed something to set me apart from the rest of the fae.
    “The faery in me is taking over. I don’t think I look much like a human at all anymore.”
    “It’s about time. I was beginning to worry there was no hope for you.”
    It sounded like an insult, but coming from Kai, he was probably trying to pay me a compliment. It didn’t change the fact that it made me want to smack him, but I held back the urge. It suddenly occurred to me how mad I was at him and Declan for keeping me in the dark.
    “Why didn’t you and Declan tell me I have to bond with another Royal?”
    He snorted. “Because it never came up. Why are you so concerned about bonding?”
    “Because someday in my future I would like that to be a possibility, and I want to know what my options are. Doesn’t it bother you that you can’t be with anyone but a Sower?” I wanted to take the words back as soon as I said them.
    He looked briefly taken aback by my question before he was able to recover. “I’ve never really thought much about it.” He tried sounding nonchalant, but I heard the lie in his voice.
    I suddenly didn’t want to know his answer to the question because if bonding with another Sower didn’t bother him he wasn’t concerned about a future with anyone else. “What are you really doing here, Kai?” I steered his attention.
    “I came to check up on you,” he said simply. “Making sure you weren’t slowly dismantling this kingdom piece by piece.”
    “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I muttered dryly as he chuckled.
    “Honestly though, Calliope, are you surviving? Do you think you can handle it all?” I swallowed when he locked his eyes with mine. They watched me with a hint of concern that I wasn’t expecting to see. I disguised the immediate hitch in my breath.
    The way my name fell from his lips like it belonged there ignited feelings inside of me that I had never associated with Kai before. I blinked away our eye contact and chuckled humorlessly. “I’m surviving.” I sat back at my newly acquired table, heaving an exhausted breath. “I feel like this was all a big mistake. Some people think I’m their savior while others look at me like I don’t belong here.”
    “You belong here,” he assured. “They will see it soon. It’ll just take time.”
    I’d recently been repeatedly beaten over and over by his sarcasm that I wasn’t prepared for his concern. I offered him a small smile, but wasn’t reassured by his conviction. “Do you really believe that?”
    He blinked and paused a moment before responding. “I do.”
    “Where’s Declan?” I asked for lack of anything else to say. My nerves were getting the best of me.
    With a subtle eye roll he said, “He stepped away for a minute. I didn’t pry into his whereabouts.” A flicker of annoyance passed in his eyes. He began to retreat, but I wasn’t ready for that yet.
    “Kai—”
    The assertive footsteps of Evan’s all too familiar gait