Rom grins and kisses my forehead. “Let’s get you some food.”
I link my arm through his, and we traipse to the feasting table. I reach for a piece of chocolate cake while he grabs a plate and begins filling it with slices of roast and some glazed carrots.
“Dessert first is a bold move,” he says.
“You’ve inspired me with your courage.”
His smile broadens. “I have to say I am surprised firstly because they weren’t that frightened. Secondly, because I didn’t think the impromptu interrogation would end in chocolate cake.”
I take up another piece of chocolate cake and slid it onto his plate for him. “Difficult situations should always end with chocolate cake.”
“Hmm.” A wicked glint hits his glowing eyes. “Ican think of something even better to indulge in this evening.”
Before I can flirt back, Spark soars into my side, rolls backward, and lands near Rom’s left foot. He growls and spews sparks onto Rom’s boot and then at me, too. I kneel and take his snout gently between my hands.
“What is it, Sparkler? Something wrong?”
He licks me once on the nose, then shoots into the air and flies toward the dark forest beyond Rustion’s grounds. His orange fur and green-scaled body disappear into the night.
“I’m following him.” I set my cake down. “This isn’t normal behavior.”
Rom places his plate beside mine and grunts approval. “Let’s go.”
“I can’t believe you’ve been hiding away this whole time!” A sweet but loud voice says behind us.
I turn to see Betilda, the middle-aged orc female who runs the perfumery. She’s wearing a diaphanous dress made of multiple layers of silk, and she’s slicked her large lips with pink gloss. Her orc muscles show under her nearly transparent sleeves, and I’m reminded that she was once a warrior.
“Good to see you, Betilda. May I introduce you officially to my date, Romulus?”
I want to get moving, to chase Spark, but I don’t want to insult Betilda.
She giggles and flaps her eyelashes at Rom. “Oh, please do.”
Rom’s black eyebrow lifts, but he bows shallowly and says, “Nice to meet you.”
“Though you could get away with anything with that face,” she says, eyeing not his face but his arse and wings, “I do give dancing lessons on the side after my shop closes. You are welcome to try a class anytime, handsome.”
Chuckling, he nods. “I do need some professional assistance in that area.”
I can’t help but smile at Betilda flirting openly with a male who is half her age and also my date. She’s incorrigible, but she’s great anyway. She kept Spark for me when I was on a trip to a tapestry tutor.
“We will definitely get in touch,” I say, eyeing the place where Spark flew into the woods. “Thank you so much, Betilda.”
She smiles around her large tusks and gives my shoulder a soft squeeze. “You two have fun tonight. Don’t let the old grouches or young fools bring you down.”
“I love you, Betilda,” I say, hugging her.
“Yes, yes. And I love you too, lovely girl.” She breaks away and looks at Rom again. “I might want to create a cologne based on you. Would that be all right?”
Rom puts a hand on his chest. “Me?”
“Yes,” she says emphatically.
“As long as you don’t have to sniff me to do it,” he says in a deep, gravelly voice, giving her a wink.
She laughs loudly, beautifully. “I will keep my expert nose to myself. I think your scent should be jasmine, river rock, and um, maybe…”
I jump in. “Something spicy. Maybe like clove?”
