People could always use more potatoes in my experience.
I opened my eyes and pointed where the scraggly potato plants had been a few minutes ago. The foliage was now thick and green. “If you dig those up now, they won’t be too big,” I said to King Zakai and the gardener. “In the morning, they’ll be the size of pumpkins. Will you have your cook roast one or two now and bring them up to Lord Tyrrik, please? He missed supper, and—”
“It would be my pleasure,” King Zakai said, his voice breaking. He reached for a hand trowel and then shuffled over to the patch and hacked at the dirt.
In his rush to dig up a potato, he was going to gouge them. I scooted after him. “Here. When you dig them up, the trick is to go at it softly so you don’t tear the skin.”
I unearthed a potato, and when I followed the tuber to its edges, I found the little spuds were the size of a watermelon already. Yeah, those were definitely mine. Apparently, my mojo was a little stronger now.
I deposited the potato into the gardener’s outstretched hand and brushed off my own. Ignoring the king’s gaping mouth, I said, “I’m off. Please be sure to round up something hearty for Tyrrik to eat. Drae get very cranky when they’re hungry.”
The king recovered enough to chuckle weakly, but the soldier’s mouth remained open.
“I’ll be sure to send up some of the potato to him when it’s roasted. Please give my best to him and Lord Dyter. And thank you, Ryn.”
I brushed off his apology and stooped to pluck a carrot and a couple strawberries the size of apples from the ground, and then I left the walled-off garden.
I strode down several empty halls before I realized I was alone. Alone. With my knife. And a bajillion precious jewels. Conditions were perfect.
34
I glanced up and down the hall. The coast was clear. I studied the wall, twirling my golden knife absently.
The stone masons had used a dark cement to adhere the gems to the walls, and I wiggled the tip of the blade into the mortar, gritting my teeth at the grating sound it created. Mistress Moons, that sounded worse than Dyter’s singing. But I was Ryn the Persistent, and within a few minutes, I’d freed not one but three stunning uncut stones the size of my palm. Saliva filled my mouth, and my fingers itched to get a few more out to add to my horde, but I suppressed the urge. I wasn’t greedy. What I was taking was reasonable. Besides, the gaps I’d left weren’t that noticeable, but if I took too many, someone would inevitably notice the holes. I wanted my collection to be balanced, not just full of one type of shiny.
I placed the three sapphires in my pockets, along with the golden knife, its tip now bent, and returned to our rooms.
“Here’s your strawberries, Dyter,” I said as I opened the door, dropping my voice as his soft snores registered.
My gaze went from his supine form to the other two beds in our room, and my heart dropped. Both of them were empty. I sucked in a ragged breath, a scream balanced on the edge of my lips. I managed to swallow it back and scanned the room for evidence of a struggle, anything that would give me an indication if Tyrrik left on his own accord or—
“Ryn?” Tyrrik whispered from the open door of the bathroom.
He stood bare-chested, and water ran in rivulets down his skin. A towel was wrapped around his tapered waist.
A new sense of angst replaced my previous panic as heat flooded my cheeks.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. He must’ve felt my fear through the bond. “I thought they’d taken you.” I was probably irrationally apprehensive, but my ability to be calm over things like that was shattered.
He took a deep breath, and I stared at his chest muscles. Had he already healed? Because it looked like he was filling back out. I crossed the room, choosing not to ignore the low pull in my abdomen to be near him.
“How are you feeling?” I forced my gaze upward, my heart flipping when I saw the same intensity reflected in his eyes. “You look good.”
I did not just say that out loud. Trying to salvage my blunder, I blurted, “Like, not dead.”
A low chuckle rumbled from his lips. “You look good, too. Although I liked the way your other dress bounced when you jumped from rock to rock.”
I might’ve hit him if I wasn’t still holding the produce. I decided the wall to one side of him was a good place to look. “I knew you were looking at my butt.”
Tyrrik reached forward and grabbed my wrist. He reeled me in and tugged me into the bathroom. “There was only one side for me to look at,” he said with a lop-sided smile. Tyrrik pointed at the strawberries and carrot. “Did you bring those for me?”
“You can have the carrot and one strawberry. The other strawberry is for Dyter,” I said.
I put some space between us, trying to steady my breathing. I went to the wash-basin to clean the dirt off my produce. I set one berry on the countertop, my gaze crossing over the gold-flecked granite, and thought of my new treasures. I smiled. I couldn’t wait to set up some kind of dark warm cave with all my objects.
“They’re bringing up some potatoes for you,” I said then snickered. “I know how much you love potatoes.”
I turned to offer him the berry, but he’d dropped the towel and was slipping back into the large tub. My mouth dried up, and I averted my gaze.
Holy Drae Babies.
“What are you doing?” I whisper-screamed. I stole another peek, unsure whether to be relieved or disappointed he was submerged in the water. Tyrrik watched me with dark, magnetic eyes.
“Do you want to join me?” he asked, a hint of Drae in his voice.
Yes. “No,” I blurted. “I—” Was it just me, or was the room getting smaller? “I should probably leave.”
No probably about it. I should leave, but I didn’t want to go out into our room and listen to Dyter snore. Because that’s a really solid reason not to leave a bathroom containing a naked Drae? Totally solid.
“Then stay,” Tyrrik said, slipping down deeper in the water. “I won’t pull you in; I promise. Not unless you ask me to.”
I rolled my eyes, but part of me wanted to ask. Jerking my thumb at the strawberries and carrot, I asked, “Do you want either of these?”
“Yes, please,” he said, his gaze still fixed on me.
I stared at him, and he stared back. The temperature rose a million degrees. Were we both thinking about the moment I’d have to pass him the fruit?
“Which one?” I ground out.
“Either.” His gaze dropped to my hands. “Both.” He frowned. “What do you have in your pockets?”
My hands went to my skirt, and then I forced them behind me, acting as natural as I could when the gems clinked together. “Nothing.”
I grabbed the carrot and one of the berries and threw them at him. In a blur of movement, he caught one right after the other, thankfully while keeping his lower half submerged. Obviously, I hadn’t thought that through.