“I know. I, I wanted to …” But I can’t find the words. Was this a mistake? Does he think that?
Tully, Argos, Laini, and Rom walk out and stop to stare.
Tully sniffs the air. “I’m going to need to hear the story,” she says to Cyrus.
He faces the clouds, shoulders dropping. “I might have overreacted.”
Laini comes to my side. “Where is Devin?”
I grimace and try to find the right words. “He isn’t the nice guy we thought he was, unfortunately.”
Tully steps toward me, her hand on her wand. “What did he do?”
Rom and Argos look into the night-cloaked town like they might spot Devin.
“He ran off,” I say.
Rom looks from me to Cyrus. “What happened?” His voice is quiet, but danger laces his tone. I know the threat is aimed at Devin, not me.
“Well, I was trying to leave and he grabbed my arm. I kneed him between the legs, then Cyrus showed up.”
Chuckling, Tully gives me a grin. “Good work, friend.” She strides toward Cyrus. “Did you burn him into nothing? Please sayyes.” She clasps her hands like a supplicant at the throne.
“I did not.” Cyrus’s voice is far less subtly dangerous than Rom’s; his voice is thunder and lightning right here on the road. Even Tully backs up a step, eyeing him warily. “But only because Kaya’s kind heart stopped me.”
“Thank the Blessed Stones,” Laini says. “You would have been brought to the king’s court.”
I nod. “That’s what I was worried about. Devin is not worth the trouble.”
“I’m so sorry he was a waste of good air, Kaya,” Tully says. “What can we do? How can we help?”
“I just want to go to bed. It’s been a long night. As you all know, this is way past my bedtime.”
“Want to have some tea with me?” Cyrus asks quietly as the others bid us goodnight. “I have something to show you.”
I’m exhausted. I feel exposed. My feelings for Cyrus have been brought out of hiding, and now he’ll discard me like he always does with lovers. There is no way I could recover if we let this relationship bloom and he cut it down afterward. But I’m curious about what he wants to show me.
“What is it?” I ask.
He takes a scroll from his belt. “I went back to the ruins.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did.” He grins at me. “Reckless. Remember? You won’t be able to see anything out here in this dark, though.”
“Let’s go to my place then.”
I unlock my bakery’s front door, and we settle at a front table where I light a few pillar candles. Cyrus spreads the scroll out.
“It’s a map?” I lean in to eye the inked rivers, mountains, roads, and villages. “This is Leafshire Cove,” I say, pointing to a small representation of our hometown.
“Yes.” He pushes his hair back, and I can’t help but appreciate the roll of muscles under his slightly scaled flesh. If only he was hideous. “But you won’t believe how I found it.”
The wood grain of the table presses into my fingers as I grip the edges of the surface. A chill gallops over my back. “The dragon shifter?”
“Aye. The ghost of one. He appeared to me and took me into his library. He wanted me to have this map, but I have no idea why.”
“That’s incredible! Didn’t he want to tell you?”
