There was no way I’d be able to take another bite. I set the saucer and cup down on the table beside me as I stood. The gentlemen in the room all stood with me. I shook my head, not daring to make eye contact with any of them again. “I’ll be back in a moment. Just want to freshen up.”
I darted into my bedroom, pressing my back against the door once I shut it. If I was going to be traveling with such a crowd as this, I’d have to watch everything I said. Young men were not always as civil as Seth, Declan, or Kyle. I’d forgotten.
Once I’d finished getting ready, the boys lead me back out into the usual court yard. Outside, we were surrounded by many of the people who were there to see us off on our journey. I hugged Henry when he came running up to me.
“Be safe,” he said in my ear and then kissed me on the cheek.
My heart warmed at the gesture. I’d seen him do the same for Kyle just before Kyle went out on a patrol. It made me feel as though Henry loved me as family. The only family I’d ever had were my best friends, Seth and Sydney. But Kyle’s family had made me feel more welcome than any before them. After hugging me, Henry ran over to Kyle and did the same.
Afterward, Kyle pressed his forehead to his little brother’s. “Keep me in your prayers.”
Henry nodded vigorously, knocking his forehead against his brothers twice before they both pulled away. “Of course,” the younger brother answered.
Other family members bid their farewells to the young men who would join me on the journey ahead, then I noticed that Declan stood alone. Did he have no family visit him on his departure?
I frowned and stepped toward him. Declan stood a full six inches taller than my own five-feet-seven inches, my head barely reaching the top of his wide shoulders. He held his chin high, and fixed his gaze in the distance, barely noticing my approach.
“Declan, are you alone, like me?”
He blinked, and deep wrinkles appeared in his forehead as he peered down at me. “Flora?”
“I don’t have a family. Do you not have one either? I’m sorry I didn’t notice sooner.”
His expression softened, and he shrugged. “It’s quite alright.”
I didn’t know why I did it, but I followed my own urge. My arms moved of their own accord and wrapped themselves around his waist. I placed my head against his chest, hearing his heart beat wildly beneath my ear. Then I pushed myself back and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Be safe, Declan.”
His face reddened, and his gaze had returned to the distance. Stoic, as always. It made me smile.
“Unfair advantage to the Talamh,” Liam called out from behind me. “I’d like the same treatment to my clan, if you please.”
He stepped beside me.
My jaw tightened, and I glared at him. I took the back of my hand and smacked him in the chest with it as hard as I could. “I don’t encourage perverts.”
Liam blinked, rubbing his chest where I’d smacked him. “Princess!”
Then above my head, I heard the most unusual sound. It caught me by surprise. When I glanced up at Declan, I found him laughing.
Kyle stepped closer to Declan, a wide smile on his face as he met eyes with me.
I shook my head. “I don’t believe, I’ve ever heard you laugh, Declan.”
“Honestly, me neither,” Kyle gave his friend a gentle punch on the shoulder. “You should do it more often.”
The signature frown that usually resided on Declan’s face returned and he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. He peered over his nose at Kyle. “Hit me like that again, and you may lose a hand.”
His words were violent, but his deep voice held no malice. His olive skin hid the pink tone in his cheeks, but not entirely.
Niall stood upon a rock outcropping nearby and raised his voice to be heard above the murmuring crowd. “Let’s get going. It’s already more than two hours past sunrise, and we need all the daylight we can get.”
Without waiting for an answer, he hopped down and headed for the boat tied to the pier.
“A boat?” Kyle’s brow wrinkled.
Liam laughed. “We’re going after Poseidon’s horse. Did you think we’d be going to the desert for that? Don’t worry, Talamh, I won’t let you drown.”
Kyle’s jaw tightened. Declan’s face mirrored his. The two of them didn’t look pleased to find out about this leg of the journey. Liam laughed, looped his arm in Seamus’s and skipped down the hill with him, following after Niall.
It didn’t seem to change the way Kyle and Declan felt about the journey. But when Kyle’s eyes met mine, his face softened and he set a hand on my shoulder. “Things will be fine, Flora. Nothing to worry about.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I wasn’t worried. It seemed he needed to reassure me in order to reassure himself.
The calm blue sea met the sky on the horizon so smoothly it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. Growing up in the desert climate, I wasn’t used to seeing the ocean like they had here in Talamh. When I first caught a glimpse of all the blue from my bedroom window, I got excited. “So, the people of Talamh live near the sea, but never sail it?”
Kyle shook his head, his brown eyes still filled with worry as he watched the boat on the edge of the water bob in the gentle waves. “The Fae don’t often go across the sea. The waters are full of dangers even the Uisce are unable to overcome. It’s not like they can control the weather… like you can.”
I frowned. Did I really make the storm that hit Vegas the night my friend Sydney died?
