Chapter 16
I was still plotting the perfect way to get rid of this menace.
Push him into a well?
Hmm.
Hit him with a frying pan?
Very satisfying.
Abandon him in the forest and hope something with sharp teeth adopted him?
Ideal.
Unfortunately, before I could decide on a method, Miss Ann said the one thing that made it painfully clear none of my brilliant plans were going to work.
"Cassiane, take Rhaevan to the market and bring back supplies."
I turned very, very slowly.
Take him? Why? Was he secretly a toddler? Had he lost all sense of direction?
The man was enormous. He had legs. Functional ones.
"No."
"Yes."
"He has legs."
Miss Ann didn't even blink.
"And you have a mouth. Yet you still need supervision."
I gasped.
"I am being attacked in my own home."
Rhaevan finally spoke. "I can go alone."
I pointed at him.
"See? He understands freedom."
Miss Ann did not even spare us a glance.
"You're going together. There are a few things to buy, and he may need assistance."
Ha.
What a shamelessly partial old hag.
I had been going to the market alone for years and had returned perfectly successfully every single time.
Mostly.
Except for that one time when I paid for the supplies and somehow came home without the supplies. The shopkeeper delivered them the next morning-mostly because he was terrified of Miss Ann.
And the time Miss Ann sent me to buy a herb for memory enhancement for old Mr. Bennet.
I misheard the name.
The herb I brought back was apparently excellent. Just not for memory.
It was a digestive stimulant.
Mr. Bennet remembered absolutely nothing, but he did spend the next six hours sprinting to the latrine with admirable consistency.
And then there was the time I got distracted by a street performer, missed sunset, and returned home three hours late with absolutely nothing we needed but somehow with a duck.
I stared at Miss Ann.
Damn it.
She was sending Rhaevan to make sure I didn't screw up.
Scheming old witch.
She ignored me. Traitor.
I turned to Rhaevan.
He met my gaze calmly.
Then, to my absolute horror, he smiled.
The bastard was enjoying this.
I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.
If glaring could kill, he would have turned to ash on the spot.
I huffed, snatched up the shopping bags, and stomped out.
Rhaevan followed.
I walked fast.
Not because I was in a hurry, of course. I simply preferred efficient movement and minimal conversation, both of which were difficult to achieve with Rhaevan walking beside me like a silent, overly attractive shadow.
Unfortunately, he matched my pace with deeply unsettling precision.
I sped up.
He sped up.
I slowed down.
He slowed down.
After three full minutes of this nonsense, I finally turned to him.
"Are you doing this on purpose?"
He looked at me calmly.
"Doing what?"
"Matching my pace with alarming commitment."
"Yes."
I stared at him.
At least he was honest.
That was somehow more annoying.
The market was busier than usual, packed with merchants shouting prices and customers pretending to bargain before paying the original amount anyway.
I moved through the crowd with practiced ease, collecting Miss Ann's list item by item while Rhaevan followed, carrying the growing number of bags without complaint.
Halfway through, an elderly vendor spotted me.
"Cassiane!" she called with a bright smile. "You finally decided to visit."
I sighed.
"I was here last week."
"That hardly counts."
Before I could protest, she placed a cream bun into my hand.
"Your favorite."
"I did not ask for this."
"You never do."
I narrowed my eyes, but accepted it anyway.
As we resumed walking, a familiar stray cat trotted toward me, meowing with shameless confidence. It brushed against my leg like it owned me, which, in fairness, it probably believed.
Without breaking stride, I tore off a portion of the bun and handed it over.
The cat accepted its tribute and wandered away, satisfied.
Beside me, Rhaevan spoke for the first time in several minutes.
"You still like them."
I looked at him.
"People are allowed to have consistent taste."
"I did not say otherwise."
I took a bite of the bun.
After a moment, I held out the remaining half toward him without looking.
"Take it."
He paused.
"You're giving this to me?"
"I am sharing because carrying supplies burns calories, and if you collapse midway, Miss Ann will blame me."
There was a brief silence before he took it.
"Thank you."
I ignored the strange warmth that settled in my chest.
The walk back was considerably less pleasant.
Mainly because Miss Ann's supplies had somehow tripled in weight.
By the time we reached the inn, my arms felt like they were seconds away from detaching from my body.
Rhaevan noticed.
"I can carry those."
"No."
"Cassiane-"
"No."
"You are struggling."
"I am not struggling."
He looked at the bags, then at me.
One of them nearly slipped from my grasp.
His expression remained infuriatingly calm.
"I can help."
I tightened my hold.
"No. I refuse to let you play hero over grocery bags."
"That is not what I am doing."
"That is exactly what you are doing."
With the last of my dignity and rapidly fading upper body strength, I dragged the bags toward the inn.
By the time I reached the entrance, I was breathing harder than I cared to admit.
Then his voice came from behind me.
"Cassiane."
I snapped - "What?!!"
"Do you hate me?"
The question was so unexpected that I actually turned around.
For a second, I simply stared at him.
Of all the things I had expected from Rhaevan, emotional directness had not been on the list.
I recovered quickly though.
"No," I said at last. "If I hated you, you would know."
His gaze stayed on me.
"Then why do you keep running from me?"
I adjusted my grip on the bags, "Because ever since you arrived, my flaws have become alarmingly visible, and I do not appreciate that."
He smiled again, and those infernal dimples made another appearance.
I hated that my eyes kept going straight to them.
I turned away before my traitorous brain could think further.
"Stop smiling and open the door," I said scowling.
He moved ahead and opened it without a word.
I walked in first, dragging the bags behind me.
The man was a menace.
And, increasingly, not for the reasons I had originally assumed.