4
I walked Jon to his new building because he was incredibly curious about it.
I absolutely didn’t want him staying there, which I was sure he could see, but I had no problem showing him where it was.
I wanted him to feel anchored here, to have a sense of belonging, and owning property was an easy step in that direction.
Somewhat to my surprise, he liked holding hands with me.
Was it attraction on his part? Was it comfort?
Stability? He’d said he walked into things often, and I could see how that happened, as we were barely three streets away from the palace when he nearly tripped right over a curb because he was busy studying someone else.
I bet to him everything was incredibly bright and distracting.
Of course he would have a hard time focusing.
He kept wincing, too, little sparks of pain on his face, and sometimes he’d avert his eyes, lowering them, which made me think the combination of bright sun overhead and people was too overwhelming.
And in that case, that store right over there should actually be our first stop.
I towed him to the side, then ushered him through the store’s open door, calling out a greeting as I entered. “Ho, Garrett!” Jon glanced up at me in confusion, so I quickly explained. “I think we can get something here that will help with your eyes.”
“Uh, okay?” He clearly had no idea what I meant.
Garrett popped out of the back, bringing in with him a box of something, and grinned. “Ah, thought I knew the voice. What brings the almighty dragon slayer in to grace my humble business?”
“Like you didn’t help me take down the dragon,” I drawled.
“Yes, but I’m not the one famous for it.”
Garrett had been part of the force to track down the acid dragon and kill it, but I was the one who got most of the clout because I had headed the task force, landed the final killing blow, and been the worst one injured.
Although thanks to our magnificent psychic Healers, I only bore skin deep scars from the incident.
The task force members had been rewarded handsomely, most choosing to invest in homes, businesses, and the like.
Garrett had chosen to open a mercantile business catering to travelers.
His spot here on the main thoroughfare was brilliant as it meant regular business, and he did very well for himself.
The shop was well appointed, he kept it cleaned and organized, and it had everything in here. Snacks, weapons, travel essentials, even a few blankets and pillows, and the thing I’d specifically come in for—tinted glasses.
“Garrett, this is Jon.” I beamed at Jon. I couldn’t help myself; I always seemed to smile when I looked at him. “Jon is a psychic Reader who came into the country yesterday. Jon, Garrett is an incredibly dear friend of mine.”
Jon offered a hand, which Garrett took with a firm clasp. “It’s a pleasure, Garrett.”
“Same, same. Reader, eh? That’s a rare ability. What do I look like, or is that rude to ask?”
“You, sir, are incredibly bright,” Jon answered with a ready laugh. “I thought this one was bad, but you’re giving him stiff competition right now.”
“Really? Bright is good?”
“Indeed. The brighter the soul, the more trustworthy the person.”
“Hoo, learned something new.”
“I thought maybe the tinted glasses you sell here would be good for him,” I threw in. “To help with the brightness until he’s anchored.”
“Oooh, smart!” Garrett immediately turned, picking up a display rack from the far end of the counter, then carried it to us.
“I actually got new ones in from Sho yesterday. He’s been a busy bee, making all sorts of them.
He’s also been playing with ratios and stuff, so some of these are quite dark in shade. ”
Jon lifted a pair of glasses curiously and put them on. His shoulders released some of their tension, easing downward, and he gave this little sigh of relief.
“Better?” I asked, not wanting to assume.
“So much,” he said with feeling. “In fact, I think I want to try a darker shade.”
“Try ’em, try ’em,” Garrett said.
Jon tried four other pairs on, some of them going back on the display, some of them staying on the counter. He paused and stared at the two, the debate clear on his face. One was noticeably lighter than the other, more of an amber hue.
“I want the lighter ones since they allow me to see inside a building,” he explained to us, still frowning. “But the darker shades are the only ones that can really mute Prince Donovan’s aura. Or yours, Garrett.”
I was really that bright?
Yes, that went straight to my ego, thanks for asking.
“Get both,” Garrett said. “You can use the darker ones outside, switch to the lighter ones when you’re inside. No reason to be stuck with one when you can easily afford both. They’re not expensive.”
“Oh, they’re not?”
“No, no, they’re only ten din a piece.”
This prompted an entire currency lesson. Jon’s old country had many different forms of coins, which led to a complex system allowing you to break down money into very small, single digit amounts. Tennoa’s currency was on a five-base system—the smallest you could go was in intervals of five.
Jon paid for both pairs of glasses, and I noticed he put the darker shades on, despite saying he could see less inside. Perhaps Garrett and I were too much for him combined.
“Saw a bunch of enslavers hassling people this morning,” Garrett commented. “Stepped in, reported it, they’re under a warning to not do it again. You know anything about that?”
I gave a sour grunt, as unfortunately I did. “I handled it.”
“Just wanted to make sure. They’re leaving soon, I hope?”
“They’d better, if they know what’s good for them. No one’s happy they’re here right now.”
“I bet.”
Shaking that off, I asked Jon, “Anything else you want, or do you want to continue to your building?”
“The building, please.”
“All right. In that case, see you later, Garrett.”
“Sure. Come back and see me, Jon!”
Jon flashed him a smile. “I will.”
The moment we stepped outside, he slipped his hand into mine, completely unprompted. It wasn’t wrong for me to hope, was it? That he felt safe around me, that he’d choose me?
“What is your role here, exactly?”
His curiosity fueled my wish. I tried not to become overeager, but it was proving an uphill battle. “I’m the Minister of Internal Security. I run and maintain the police force.”
Jon startled, whipping his head around to stare up at me. “I knew you were important and high up, but can you just take today off and spend it with me?”
“No, hence why I had to do some work this morning before coming back to fetch you. Barring an emergency, I won’t need to leave your side the rest of the day.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
“Not at all. You’re my priority.” Sensing some interest from him, I chose to keep talking.
“Really, I have an excellent staff that handles most of the day-to-day, but I do try to keep my finger on the pulse. Because this is a trade city, we have huge influxes of travelers at any given time, which often leads to conflicts. I do not want trouble in my country, much less my city, so I take the job very seriously.”
“It’s also why you said I can help you tremendously in your position.”
“Yes, very much so. No one will be able to lie to me with you at my side.”
This seemed to stabilize him, somehow? I wasn’t sure how to frame it, how to explain, but I sensed from him a need to do something. A need to somehow forge a path here, gain some footing. He probably did feel very displaced after everything he’d survived the past several months.
If giving him a job would help, I’d be happy to do so.
“Most of what I do is a routine patrol, really. I go from district to district and check in, handle emergencies, sometimes review very strange or awful crimes in order to sort them through the court system. From what you explained to Carol and Sharon, this is very much your strong suit. Would you like to hire on with my department? At least to start?”
“I would.” He canted his head a little at me. “I’d like to work, since I was given this insane amount of cash—”
The way he poked at the purse hanging at his side made me chuckle, like he was a little wary of its contents.
“—which, by the way, can’t be standard.”
“It is. The money is meant to support you until you’ve found a vocation and settled in, and can start drawing a steady paycheck. Easier to survive to that first paycheck if you have money in the purse.”
“Really hard to argue with that. And the building?”
“That is a perk of your ability.” I gestured to the buildings as we passed them.
They were all of thick adobe, made to keep the intense heat of the sun out.
People painted them all different colors, though, so it was much akin to walking through a rainbow.
“Tennoa is very old, and it’s not actually that large, so there’s a limited pool of available houses.
We build a certain amount every year, earmarking them for psychics, as you’re going to find it hard to buy a home otherwise.
If a building comes up on auction, we tend to buy and renovate it as well.
There’s very few abandoned buildings in this entire kingdom. ”
“What if I don’t choose to keep the building?”
“The building is an asset,” I assured him. “Not an anchor. If it doesn’t suit you, or you don’t wish to keep it for whatever reason, you can sell it. The welcoming package you received is to set you up for success. You must choose what success looks like for you.”
“That’s reassuring. I’m not really sure what to do with it at the moment.”
“We’re close. Take a look, at least.”
I turned the corner and gestured to the building sitting squarely in the middle of the block.
It was narrow—as most of the buildings were—painted pastel green, and stood two stories tall with a very cute garden tucked in along the side.
It was very much meant for a business on the main floor, with an apartment on the second.
Jon fetched the key from his belt ring and slid it into the door, then stepped in hesitantly. Why was he feeling so insecure?
The house felt excellent to me. Someone had freshly repainted the walls, so they were all white, the red tiled floors seemed to have been swept in the past week or so.
Someone had come in to check on the place and clean it up a little.
This bottom floor was incredibly open—you could see all the way to the back patio, which had a small garden and water fountain.
Stairs were the only main feature on this bottom floor, directly to the right and leading up.
Jon went up them, and I followed as he went from sitting room, to kitchen, to bathing room, to bedroom, then eventually onto the back balcony that overlooked the side and back garden.
Everything was clean but barely furnished, with only a bed, two chairs, and a kitchen table in the way of furniture up here.
Enough to survive with until you could buy your own, which was also standard.
He looked down at the flower beds and water fountain and said softly, “You said housing was rare. So how did I warrant one in the heart of the city?”
“I asked them to keep you nearby,” I admitted. “There’s multiple options around the country, and you can switch if you’d like, but this was the closest building to the palace.”
He lifted his head and stared blindly out. “My family would kill to own something this nice. I’m…not sure how to react to just being handed a building.”
There were many, many things I didn’t know about him and this seemed the time to ask. “What is your family like?”
“Nothing like yours. Father who abandoned me as a child, mother who’s also psychic and does her level best to ignore her ability, abusive stepfather.
My sister is my main comfort, and the only one I’ll really miss.
She just got married, actually, to a very good man.
That’s my only comfort, that my sister will be fine. ”
The urge to hold this man, already very strong, grew stronger. I slid an arm around his shoulders, tentatively, not sure if he would accept comfort from me. Some who had never had someone to trust didn’t know how to accept comfort.
To my surprise, he leaned into my hold, trusting his body weight against my chest. Was that a soft, happy sigh I heard as well?
“Write to her,” I said tenderly. “At least that way she’ll know you’re all right. You can even invite her here.”
“I think I will. I bet I can convince her to move here, really. She doesn’t like Orleansa.
She’ll be in a far better living situation.
” Jon perked up a little, glancing about the building more.
“Oh! Maybe I can offer her the house. That would be the best use for it, truly. She and Aaron would love this place.”
I found it cute that he wanted to give a house to his sister, whom he clearly adored. And yet, it did beg the question: “So you won’t consider staying in it?”
“That’s up to you.” Jon lifted the glasses up to rest on his head, then looked up at me with those stunning, penetrating blue eyes. I felt like I had no secrets from this man and knew that instinct to be true. “How much I’m in your life is completely up to you.”