We crossed the wide-open courtyard that housed the training yard. We used it to train new guard recruits. They practiced with simple wooden or blunted weapons and provided with all the armor they needed. The tools were housed in the castle’s newest building—the weapon’s center at the heart of the courtyard.
Sirena wore faded blue pants the translator informed me were called ‘jeans.’ They were tight and hugged her shapely legs. She wore a white t-shirt that showed off her bare shoulders and trim waist.
Only one word could adequately sum her up.
Wow.
Sirena looked a little distracted as we crossed the open lawn in the direction of the Northern Wood.
“Is something wrong?” I said.
“No,” she said, shooting me a smile. “Nothing’s wrong.”
We walked along in silence. She kept casting furtive glances at the guards behind us and Zes ahead. I guessed it must get some getting used to. I still wasn’t entirely used to it myself.
I had a guard with me at all times long before I became a lord but I had some degree of freedom. Now that I inherited the title, I had given up any hope of privacy.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Sirena said.
“You should see it during summer,” I said. “The leaves turn multicolored like rainbows.”
“Really? Wow. We have beautiful trees back home but nothing like that.”
I spotted something. I took Sirena’s hand and lowered her into a crouched position. The guards followed suit. I pointed at the Pegadeeran. They stepped out from the wood and peered around nervously.
“They look like deer,” Sirena said.
“They’re very young,” I said. “They haven’t fully come into their wings yet.”
“Wings?”
Something snapped in the wood and startled the young deer. They leaped forward and flapped their dainty wings. They floated for a moment above the ground before landing—clumsily—back on their feet.
I chuckled.
“They need to work on their landing a little,” I said. “And look there.”
Now I pointed at the sky, where two full-grown Pegadeeran sailed high above us, spinning around each other in an effortless dance.
“They’re like Pegasus… but deer!” Sirena said.
I admired the wonder on her face. I must have had the same expression on my facing looking at her. I felt a little self-conscious of the guards and tore my eyes away from her.
I missed the simple pleasure of taking a walk with someone and enjoying nature. It was even better when it was with someone who looked upon everything with a sense of wonder—because to her, it was all a wonder. The same way it would be for me if I were to visit her planet.
I felt something brush against the back of my hand, stroking it. When I looked down, I found her thumb gently caressing me. She didn’t look at me. She was still gazing up at the gorgeous creatures overhead.
That tiny sensation trickled like soft water over stones and brought pebbles to the surface of my skin.
I missed this.
We got to our feet and pressed on, heading into the woodland. Tiny creatures, invisible to our eyes, scurried beneath the undergrowth and disappeared before we could see them.
We came to a crest that broke, giving a spectacular view of the shimmering lake on the other side. Two rowboats floated on its pristine surface.
A bird sang on a branch and I pointed him out.
“He’s called a Love Bird,” I said. I listened to the translation but it didn’t sound right. “The translator strip calls them Love Birds but that’s not quite right. They’re soulmates. They mate not only for life but for all their lives. When one dies, its partner finds a nearby egg and sings to it, calling its partner’s spirit back so he can return to her.”
“Does it really work?” Sirena said, unsure.
“What’s so hard to believe? We all die and come back again as the trees and grass. So why not guide it?”
“That has to be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” she said.
No sooner had she said it than Zes waved a Love Bird away.
“Away with you!” he said. “Damn pests!”
Sirena’s wonder shrank before my eyes. That’s when I realized what the problem was. She didn’t like to be surrounded by guards—to be fair, who did?
“Can’t you go anywhere without them?” Sirena said in a hushed but annoyed tone.
“With the recent conquest, they think they need to watch me more closely,” I said.
“I understand in a busy city,” Sirena said, “but it doesn’t seem very dangerous out here.”
“It might not at the moment but there are plenty of armed brigands, kidnappers, and highwaymen who might do us harm.”
Sirena pursed her lips.
“Well, I can’t see any brigands or kidnappers out here,” she said. “If I can get them to leave us alone for a while, would you go with me? We don’t need to wander far.”
A smile curled my lips.
“Sure,” I said. “But I can’t see how—”
“Leave it to me,” she said.
She took my hand and led me over the crest at a jog. Her skin felt so soft I daren’t squeeze too hard.
She led me to the first rowboat tethered to the shore and, using our bodies to block the guards’ view, kicked both sets of oars from their fastenings on one side, letting them slip into the water. They floated toward the middle of the lake.
“Let’s get in this one!” she said, hopping into the next boat.
It wobbled beneath our feet. She dropped down on a plank board and seized a set of oars.
“Let’s go!” she said.
Sirena began to row before I even got situated and almost pitched over the side. I took the bench behind her. Her rowing style was a little… unorthodox. I tried to make up for her lack of coordination but it proved impossible. One minute she rowed leading with her left arm, the next minute, she rowed with her right.
I reached forward and pulled on the oars and fully extended with my legs, using every
