Chapter Three #2
Merle was waiting for us when we returned, two bowls of steaming spiced oats and two identical vials of a potion beside them.
She knew our battered bodies would need it, as we always did when we trained.
I was very familiar with the faded jade potion, knowing the citrusy flavor that would coat my tongue and burn down my throat.
Yet I drank it gratefully, instantly feeling the ache of my forming bruises lessen.
The wounds would still be tender to the touch, but my skin wouldn’t show the marks.
If I truly wished to be healed of the pain, I would need to pay a visit to a Master Healer, but I never did.
Bran sat across from me, after placing a kiss upon Merle’s cheek in greeting, throwing back his own potion before digging into the food before him. I practically let out a moan as the taste of cinnamon and honey coated my tongue, trying to detect the other flavors layered within the oats.
“Goddess, Merle, this is divine.” I praised, shoveling another spoonful into my mouth.
Merle's laugh was bright as wrinkles formed around her eyes. “I’m glad you two still enjoy my home cooked meals.”
“Way better than what the cooks at the barracks serve,” he said around a mouthful of oats, my face twisting with disgust.
“Maybe try swallowing the food before you choke,” I snipped, nearly gagging when he opened his mouth wide in reply, giving me a full view of the contents inside.
Disgusting.
“You two bicker like you’re blood,” Merle muttered before I could toss my spoon at his head, but her smile lingered as she watched us fondly.
“Also, I was meaning to ask, I found this while I was cleaning in the shop downstairs. Did someone inquiring about The Fever happen to stop by while I was out yesterday?”
My eyes settled upon the paper she slid across the table to me, face flushing as Bran snatched it up.
It was the note that had been left.
Scratching the back of my neck, I murmured, “I was actually going to speak with you both about it today,” before detailing the story of the two men. I explained the unease that slithered through me at their presence, and how it seemed like they were far more interested in snooping than shopping.
When I finished, I turned to Bran and asked, “do you know of a man named Kai in the barracks?”
He leaned back in his chair thoughtfully as he pondered for a moment before shaking his head slightly.
“The name doesn’t sound familiar, but there are a ton of recruits and soldiers who live in the barracks.
Perhaps I just haven’t crossed paths with him.
If he’s already gotten his tattoos and he isn’t an instructor, I doubt I’ve come into contact with him. ”
Humming thoughtfully, my finger tapped upon the wooden table as those golden eyes invaded my mind.
Bran quirked a brow at my expression, leaning forward as he rested his chin on his hand. “Was he handsome?” His eyes danced knowingly, a smirk sliding upon his lips. “Could this Kai be part of the reason you were so distracted this morning?”
”Soli’s wrath,” I cursed beneath my breath, pointing my spoon threateningly towards him, “I have no interest in the arrogant prick, he’s much more your type than mine. I’m just worried because they seemed so…investigative.”
Interest lit his gaze. “More my type, huh? So he was handsome then,” he said, shoveling another bite into his mouth with a wink. “If he stops by again, send him my way.”
Goddess. Man or woman, if there was one opportunity Bran never passed up, it was the opportunity to flirt. The man could talk a Solerian Priestess out of her robes if he really truly wished to.
“You haven’t really been interested in anyone since you used to sneak out to the barns with Aldrin McCay—”
”Do not,”—my tone pure venom—”mention that Goddess-forsaken name.”
”Bran,” Merle chastised, “you know he’s a sensitive subject.”
His hands went up placatingly. “Well I’m just saying, if you’re avoiding being interested in anyone because he acted like such a bastard, you shouldn’t. They say the best way to get over someone is to get under someone new.”
“Branson Sommers!”
His flinch at Merle's scolding had a reluctant smile curving my lips, despite the pinprick of pain that pierced my heart.
Aldrin McCay had been the first boy I’d ever thought I could love, the first one I’d ever given myself to.
All golden hair and deep blue eyes, he had a roguish smile that had once left me breathless.
Until he’d crushed my teenage heart in one fell swoop, and if there was one thing I knew how to do—it was how to hold a grudge.
Perhaps it had been for the best though, that it had ended before it could even begin.
What was a relationship without truth? He never could have truly known me, only the facade that I cast out into the world.
Relationships weren’t something I was interested in, nor would they be for a while.
Or perhaps ever. I spent my life trying not to draw attention to myself, and the last thing I needed was a person trying to get to know me.
Even the thought of it made my skin crawl.
As Bran and Merle’s bickering quieted, his gaze drifted back to me, his smile faltering. “You know, McCay is apprenticing in the army with me. I could put some itching powder in his bedsheets, give him a nasty shock, if it’d make you feel better?”
Pondering, I thought momentarily of the satisfaction it would bring me, but ultimately shook my head. “The offer is sweet, but it would only bring you trouble. He’s a vengeful little man.”
Shrugging, he shot me a look. One that spoke, without words, to let him know if I changed my mind before he once again dug into his breakfast, leaving me to follow suit.
As we ate in comfortable silence all thoughts of Aldrin McCay and the mysterious Kai disappeared with each sweet bite I took.