He rolled his eyes. “Well, the people of Camp HaveHeart are throwing a feast in your honor tonight, so you’ll get to see firsthand just how much they believe in you.”
Yeah, no, that wasn’t a thing that was going to happen. “Oh no,” I said. “Would you look at that. I have something else to do tonight that involves not going to a feast and being stared at. Darn. Of all the rotten luck. Maybe next time. Though probably not then either.”
“Oh?” Ryan asked, arching an eyebrow at me and, combining that with his beard, making me really want to smack my dick against his mouth. It was unfair just how good he looked. I was going to go dashing and immaculate all over his ass later. “Really. And what exactly do you have to do tonight?”
Curses! I was going to have to lie. My greatest weakness! “Um. I have to go. To that. Meeting.”
“What meeting?”
I broke. “Damn you and your unbelievable interrogation techniques! I cannot withstand your barbarism and must now admit to all that I just don’t want to go to a feast because that sounds terrible. For shame, Knight Commander, for shame. How do you sleep at night?”
Barbarism, Ryan mouthed to Tiggy, who shrugged.
I could be merciful. “Fine. I guess I shall attend this feast in my honor where people will ooh and aah over me and essentially beg for my forgiveness, and maybe, just maybe, if they’re lucky, I’ll consider bestowing upon
them my forgiveness, for I am a wizard now, and a wizard should show both mercy and magnanimousness, both of which I have in spades. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to retire for the afternoon, as today has been exhausting and I deserve rest. I say good day to all of you.”
“Yeah, you didn’t just spend a year in the woods with Kevin or anything,” Gary muttered.
I moved to leave.
“Sam—”
“I said good day!” I called over my shoulder.
And I was about to leave the barn when I remembered I had no idea where I was staying.
I sighed and had to acknowledge that my dramatic exit was ruined.
I turned, and the others were staring at me, looking entirely too amused for my liking.
“I don’t know where I live,” I mumbled.
“You’re with me,” Ryan said dryly. “Like you would be anywhere else.”
“Well, then, hop to it, Foxheart. I haven’t got all day. If I’m going to be greeting my adoring and repentant public, then I need to put on my face.”
Ryan sighed but walked toward me.
It was when we left the barn that he took my hand in his and leaned over to whisper, “I missed you, I’m still furious with you, I love you, and I’m so happy you’re home,” that I knew I would fight like hell to make sure everything turned out okay.
Even if that meant working with Lady Tina DeSilva.
WHEN I’D arrived at Camp HaveHeart I’d been unsure what kind of reception I was going to receive.
But now?
Nothing says we’re sorry for being racist assholes and trying to get you killed and a whole bunch of other bad stuff like a party thrown in your honor so people could grovel and eat large slabs of pork.
Camp HaveHeart was lit with brightly colored lights hanging on strings about the center of the camp. Fires were roaring, cooking meats that sizzled and crackled as the fat split. There were tables of fruits and vegetables, bread in bowls illuminated by candlelight. Casks of wine were rolled out, mugs filled and sloshing as people sank themselves in drink. A stage had been set up next to the tables, lined with knights standing at attention, and a quintet of musicians sat upon it, a jaunty tune flowing brightly into the cool night air. Men and women danced, children laughed and clapped, and everything seemed merry and light. I wondered if this was for them as much as it was for me.
It also felt like they were trying too hard, because I saw the looks on their faces as we approached, Ryan next to me. He made a wonderful vision, handsome and strong, shoulders squared and head held high.
And I was at his side, adorned in something I hadn’t had to wear in a very long time: a long flowing robe, green like the forest and covered in crystals that reflected the firelight like stars. The hood was pulled up and over my head, the sleeves so long they almost covered my hands. It’d been a gift from the King when I turned eighteen. Ryan had saved it during the exodus from Castle Lockes, though I was sure there were many other important things he could have grabbed.
But it didn’t stop there. Gary had decreed that I needed makeup around my eyes, black lines that caused my eyes to seem bigger than they actually were, smoky and dark. I told him that I wasn’t trying to look slutty, that I needed to be respectable. Then I’d seen the look on Ryan’s face when he’d walked into the room, and demanded that Gary do my other eye as quickly as possible, because I planned on getting motherfucking laid when this party was over.
Ryan had blushed.