Chapter 125
By the time we reached the nearest inn, I was starving.
We found a small table near the window and ordered breakfast, and I dug into mine almost immediately while Rhaevan sat across from me.
But something felt different.
He was unusually quiet. Not his usual quiet, either.
This was the kind where his attention seemed to be somewhere far away.
He barely touched his food, occasionally moving things around his plate without actually eating much.
I watched him for a while, trying to figure out what was going on behind that calm expression.
"Rhaevan?" I finally asked. "Is everything okay?"
He looked up, and a faint smile appeared on his face. "Yes. Everything is fine."
I narrowed my eyes at him. He looked perfectly calm, which, in my experience, usually meant absolutely nothing was fine. Still, I decided not to press him. If he wanted to tell me, he would.
Once he finished breakfast, he stood, paid the innkeeper, and looked back at me. "I'll wait outside."
I nodded, and he walked out of the inn.
I remained seated for another moment before my eyes wandered toward the counter. Beside the jars of dried fruit and freshly baked bread sat a small tray of sweets. I glanced toward the door through which Rhaevan had disappeared, then back at the sweets.
An idea struck me.
I walked over to the counter and pointed toward the tray. "How much for those?"
"Two bronze," the innkeeper replied.
I handed him the coins, took two small packets, and slipped them into my satchel before joining Rhaevan.
I had no idea what was wrong with him, but I wasn't going to leave it at that.
We continued along the road toward the forest and the Sanctuary of the Fallen, but Rhaevan remained unusually quiet.
I glanced at him several times as we walked.
He was doing that thing again, wearing that thoughtful, distant expression that made me want to poke him just to make sure he was still functioning.
I sighed.
Fine. If he wasn't going to tell me what was wrong, I would simply have to fix it myself.
I stopped walking.
Rhaevan took a few more steps before realizing that I was no longer beside him. He turned around, his expression immediately questioning.
"What is it?"
I placed one hand over my chest and gave him an exaggerated bow. "My lord, the High Arcanist of the Magic Tower of Kingdom Eryndor."
One eyebrow lifted in bewilderment, "Cassiane?"
"Please accept my deepest gratitude for saving me from the terrible inconvenience of starvation." I straightened and continued. "I shall forever remember your heroic sacrifice. Truly, no one else could possibly have endured the burden of carrying that satchel."
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Encouraged, I stepped closer and pulled one of the little packets from my satchel before holding it out to him.
He looked at it, then at me. "What is that?"
"A peace offering."
"For what?"
"I haven't decided yet."
A quiet amusement appeared in his eyes as he took the packet from my hand. "Then why are you offering it?"
"Preventative measures."
That earned me the smallest smile, but I could still see the sadness lingering behind it. For a moment, I simply looked at him. The teasing expression on my face softened before I could stop it.
"I don't know why you're sad," I said quietly.
His smile faded slightly, and I could almost see the instinctive denial forming before he had a chance to speak. I continued before he could.
"But you don't have to be sad when I'm around."
The moment the words left my mouth, I realized exactly how they sounded.
My eyes widened.
"I mean, not because I'm some magical cure for sadness or anything."
I waved my hand awkwardly, trying to repair the damage.
"I just mean..." I searched desperately for something that didn't sound quite so embarrassingly sincere.
"If you're going to be miserable, you might as well have someone around to annoy you out of it."
For a moment, he simply looked at me. Then something in his expression softened.
The sadness that had been sitting behind his eyes all morning seemed to ease, and his lips curved into a smile.
Not the polite smile he had been giving me since breakfast.
A real one. Warm. Unrestrained. Entirely his.
I stared at him for a moment, caught completely off guard by how different he looked when he smiled like that.
"There they are," I said before I could stop myself.
His eyebrows drew together slightly. "There what are?"
I pointed at his face.
"Your cute dimples."
Silence.
The realization hit me a second too late.
Oh. Oh, no.
I immediately slapped a hand over my mouth, my eyes widening as heat rushed into my face.
"I mean your smile."
Rhaevan stared at me.
"Not the dimples."
His lips twitched.
"Not that they aren't good," I continued helplessly. "They're cute. Not that I find them cute, obviously. I mean, I noticed them, but noticing something doesn't mean you find it cute, although they are objectively-"
I stopped myself and lowered my hand.
"I'll probably just shut up now."
For a heartbeat, he tried to hold it in.
Then Rhaevan laughed.
Actually laughed.
The sound caught me completely off guard, and I stared at him as his shoulders shook with quiet amusement, the very dimples I had so disastrously pointed out appearing again.
Despite the embarrassment burning through my face, I couldn't help smiling.
At least I had succeeded.
His dimples were back.
I slipped my arm through his and gave him a small tug forward, unable to keep the smile from my face. "Come on. We have ruins to explore and ghosts to ignore. Lead the way, my lord."
He glanced down at our linked arms, then back at me, the amusement still lingering in his eyes.
"As you wish, my lady."
And just like that, we continued down the road toward the forest, leaving the inn behind and setting off on our third expedition.