“He looks well,” Nick noted.
“Mini performs every task he is set to with excellence,” Kit agreed. They began walking in a different direction than Nick expected. “I have moved my quarters to the outskirts of thetown. A school is nearby, so it’s easier for me to go next door for lessons.”
“How are all the kids?”
“Adapting well.” Kit led him through the streets, not releasing his physical touch of Nick for even a step. The dead trees that had lined the road on his last visit had been replaced with green-leafed saplings, brown soil heaped around their roots. “I have tracked down suitable relatives to take them all in…apart from Mini. He’s staying with me. He had no interest in being settled elsewhere.” Kit paused a beat. “I did not wish for him to go either.”
“I had a feeling it was going to end up that way.” Nick hummed. “I’m glad. I worried you might end up by yourself. I should have guessed Mini would stick with you.” There were so many who adored Kit, but surprisingly few who Kit seemed willing to rely on, and the last time Nick had been in Aridia, his trust in his uncle, Valor, had been completely broken.
They finally stopped on the outskirts of the town. As far as Nick could tell, this was the furthest house upriver, surrounded by newly planted saplings. The house was one storey, with the front door leading into a large main room containing a dinner table, a study and a kitchen. On one side of the room, chairs were neatly arranged around a large table, a blank slate, and chalk at each spot. Kit’s wooden trunk from the ship was tucked against the wall, and a second, smaller table was covered in paperwork. An upright wooden pallet held a collection of wooden swords of varying lengths. A smile tugged at Nick’s mouth. “I thought you had the school for lessons?”
“There are often kits seeking instruction outside of school hours,” Kit said. “I have an arena for swordplay out here. Come.” He led Nick through the large room and outside once more. A finely raked sand pit was lined by tall garden walls, a gated archway leading to the river only a stone throw away. Three tallbushes lined one of the walls, ripe red berries weighing down their branches.
Nick stared at the familiar red cherries, understanding coming slowly. He sucked in a sharp breath, eyes going wide. “Wait—Kit—how?”
Chapter Forty-One
Kit smiled, tail sweeping from side to side in excited swishes. Hooking, curling, then swishing the other way to hook again.
“They are healthy, yes?” Kit checked.
Nick stared at the bushes in a state of shock. Never mind healthy, they were huge! “Coffee plants take five years to produce beans, how on earth?” He examined the branches to make sure that he hadn’t mistaken the bush for a foreign local plant. But no, he hadn’t. He peered closely at a bundle of harvest-ready red cherries.
Kit leaned in alongside him, chest pressed against Nick’s arm. He spoke in a conspiratorial tone. “I fertilised the plants with the god’s ashes. I believe that helped.”
Nick dropped his hands, casting a disbelieving look over his shoulder. “You didn’t.”
Kit bore an expression like he didn’t see the problem, jaw set, eyes bright and challenging.
Nick tried to adapt his dad’s mindset of accepting things as they were, something he’d got better at over the past few months. But some things, like his boyfriend fertilising their coffee plants with acorpse,stretched that acceptance to itsutmost limits. Still. Nick’s gaze was drawn back to the brilliant red cherries, wonder slowly overcoming his horror. “Do you know how long I’ve been trying to grow one of these at home? I’ve planted coffee plants in greenhouses, next to heaters, next to sunlamps, on top of radiators—I’ve tried everything; they wouldn’t even sprout. And this—ah, this is justamazing. Can we brew a cup?”
Kit nodded eagerly.
“One cup can be made from one hundred cherries,” Nick explained. He had three books on the yacht detailing the entire process start-to-finish, but he had them read and memorised already.
“I will fetch a container.” Kit was gone only seconds.
Nick marvelled at the size of the cherries as he picked them, delighted as they counted out two hundred, and it seemed they’d hardly made a dent at all in the remaining cherries. “The average tree produces two thousand cherries in a harvest, but I feel like there’s more than that here.” Nick looked admiringly at the branches heavy with their bounty.
Inside, they worked together to free the beans from the cherries, clean them, and get them roasting in the oven. Kit kept the back doors open wide to keep the room from overheating with the stove fire burning. Nick leaned against the counter, staring outside.
“I didn’t realise you still had the plants,” he said. “I assumed after we were taken from the ship, that was it. They were gone.” He grinned. “Mini, right?”
“Mini,” Kit confirmed.
After the beans were roasted, Nick ground them in a mortar and pestle, and Kit fetched a tea filter to repurpose. The boiled water darkened to a rich brown. A nutty aroma filled the air, and Kit shut his eyes, breathing in deeply.
“Some people add milk and sugar to sweeten it.” Nick lifted the nearest cup, breathing in the scent alongside Kit. He was overly impatient as he waited for it to cool enough to sip. When it did, Nick groaned in delight, the flavour rich and sharp on his tongue. “It’s perfect.”
Kit sipped too, his tail twitching. His expression showed immediate pleasure. “It is good,” he agreed. He took another exploratory sip. “I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything like it.”
Nick studied Kit’s expression, deciding whether he was being polite or not. But Kit’s tail swished happily, and his face was honest. And really, he didn’t think Kit was particularly suited to telling lies. His body was too expressive.
They sat together at the table, drinking the coffee.
“How has it been?” Nick asked.
Kit studied Nick over his cup. “Easier than I anticipated.” His lips tugged down. “I do not forgive Valor for handing you over to Desre, but I admit he knows how to lead. He operates the city as he did his stables, and it goes smoothly. None are left starving. None have been punished for any role they performed for the council.”
