Nira’s smile grew, and she leaned closer to Nilson like she was going to tell him a secret, but answered loud enough for us to hear, “I caught Kiena and Ava kissing.” My face shaded darker, and both Nilson and Akamar snorted with laughter.
“Kissing!?” Nilson exclaimed. “Mum, I told you Kiena fancied her!”
“Indeed,” my mother chuckled, “you did.”
Akamar was giggling with his hand over his mouth, but he lowered it to point at us, snickering, “They were kissing.”
“See what you’ve started?” I asked Nira with a mock glare, and then looked at Ava, “I told you she’d never let me hear the end of it.” All both of them did was smile wider.
“Come on, boys,” my mother laughed, rising from the table as someone brought food to Ava and me. “Let the girls eat in peace.”
Nilson and Akamar stood, but before Nilson walked away, he came around the table to me, blinking his hazel eyes hopefully. “Will you come and play after?”
I had no doubt he’d noticed how my mood had improved these last few days, and he deserved my time and attention as much as Ava did, especially because we’d be leaving soon. “Of course,” I answered, reaching over to comb my fingers back through his hair. Then I nudged Akamar’s chin, because he’d come to stand by Nilson, “But no more talk of kissing, you hear? Or I’ll get my revenge when either of you have got a girl.”
Akamar’s eyes widened, and he pointed an accusing finger at Nira. “It’s her fault!” Nilson’s head bobbed in agreement.
Nira gasped in feigned offense. “Squealers!” she exclaimed, trying to hold back a smirk as she shot out of her seat. “The both of you!” They screamed and took off running toward the exit of the cavern, my mother rushing to catch up with them. Nira sat back down, laughing and muttering to herself, “Caught you two doing more than kissing.”
Even Ava was giggling beside me, and I turned sideways in my seat to squint my eyes at her. “Think it’s funny, do you?”
She tried unsuccessfully to wipe the smile off her face, and reached up to pinch my still colored cheeks. “I can’t help it, you get so red.”
“Right, then,” I teased, “should I tell Nira what you thought about us?” Ava’s eyes widened, and she shook her head.
“What did she think?” Nira asked me.
I took a breath to answer, but Ava threw an arm around my neck to cover my mouth with both her hands. “She thought,” I chuckled, trying to pull sideways to speak. Ava followed, and I had to wrestle her hands away through my amusement in order to say, “She thought you and I were something of a couple.”
Nira snorted, bursting into loud laughter. “A couple?” she repeated on a breath. “Me? Court this cheeky shit?” She was still laughing so hard that she smacked her hand against her knee. “Not in this lifetime!”
Ava groaned, her dark cheeks flushing a rare shade of pink as she dropped her forehead onto the table. “It’s not that funny.”
“It is,” Nira cackled, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself down. “Oh, dear sister,” she sighed, still entertained enough that she was grinning. “As if anyone could get Kiena to cast a mere glance in another woman’s direction.” She spooned a bite of porridge to her mouth, shaking her head. “That was a good laugh.”
Ava picked her head up and rolled her eyes, giving me a sporty nudge with her shoulder. We both pulled our bowls of food closer to begin eating, and Nira gave us a few minutes of silence while she finished her own breakfast. The dining cavern was busy today, likely because of all the supposed festivities that would be going on—eating and celebrating, giving the warriors time to spend with their families before going off to fight at Cornwall. It was something I was glad for as well, because it had been too long since I’d spent happy hours with my mother and brother. If I never made it back from this battle, I wanted this joyful day to be what they remembered, to be the me that they remembered. Not the me that I’d been the last six months.
“There’s an archery contest at midday,” Nira said, pushing aside her empty bowl. “The winner gets a brand new bow made specially for the occasion.”
“Oh?” I asked. “Are you going to participate?”
She nodded and said, “You are too,” with her lips curling into a smile. “I’ve got to win the bow fair and square.”
“If you want to win the bow at all,” I told her, “you shouldn’t want me to compete.” I shrugged easily to add to my teasing. “Besides, I like my bow.”
Nira scowled at me, clearly trying to come up with some witty retort, but Ava laughed and asked before she could, “Will there be other contests? With swords?”
“Yes,” Nira answered, brown eyes lighting with interest. “In a couple of hours. Are you experienced with a sword?”
I gave an earnest nod in reply, and Ava passed me a proud and grateful smile before admitting, “It’s been quite some time. Competition should be an exciting way to revive my senses.”
“Well, let’s go then!” Nira said. “You can warm up before competition, and I’d love to see what you can do.”
Ava glanced down at her nearly finished food, pushed the bowl away, and then looked at me, as if to ask if I was coming.
“I need to speak with Kingston first,” I told her, and she nodded in remembrance.
“What about?” Nira asked.
I opened my mouth to reply, but Ava answered, “About going to find a dragon.” I glanced at her in shock, because I hadn’t thought she’d so thoroughly deciphered my thoughts last night, and she passed me a beaming grin.
“A dragon?” Nira repeated, eyes growing wide. “Say you could even find a dragon, what are you going to do with it besides get eaten?”
“Make a friend of it, I hope,” I said.
“With her magic,” Ava added.
At that, Nira seemed a bit less skeptical. Her eyes went from me to Ava, and then back to me with deep consideration. She stared at me for a long minute before her chin dropped with a sharp nod. “Splendid! When do we leave?”
I sighed, knowing there was no possible way I could convince Nira not to come if she’d made up her mind about it. It wouldn’t matter to her that it was dangerous. If anything, it was encouraging. “First thing in the morning,” I answered, “if Kingston agrees.”
Nira set to scanning the dining hall, no doubt searching for Kingston amongst the crowds. “There he is!” She pointed. “He’s just sat down, come on.”
I managed to shovel down one more bite of food before they both dragged me from my seat. Upon reaching Kingston, Ava and Nira plopped me down on the bench between them, both of them grinning.
“Morning, Commander,” Nira greeted.
Kingston looked up from his bowl of porridge, eyes going back and forth between the three of us. Though I felt rather calm, he could clearly read the excitement on Ava and Nira’s faces, and he already looked exasperated about the request we hadn’t yet made—it was nowhere near the first time these last five months that Nira and I, mostly Nira, had requisitioned him for something outrageous. He held up his index finger to make us wait while he swallowed down a couple bites of food.
“Good morning,” he said finally, and looked at me. “How are you feeling?”
“Good as new,” I answered.
His eyes wandered to Ava. “Kiena’s mother explained your situation with Haztlitt’s magic. Are you doing well?”
“Very,” Ava answered, and I wasn’t sure when my mother had even been told about Ava’s situation, but it must have been when she brought Ava food last night. “It’s a great peace of mind, my will invariably being my own.”
“I imagine so,” Kingston agreed. When Nira opened her mouth with an excited breath, he held up his index finger again, slowly taking a few more bites. Part of me imagined he was doing it just to mess with us, and I couldn’t help but smirk as Nira’s heel began to tap. After another minute, he lowered his finger and set his spoon aside, giving us his full attention. “What have you sought me for?”