KAYDEN LIONHEART
This woman would be the end of him. How could one person talk this much? The loss she’d suffered hit him hard, and that pig of a king pissed him off, reminding Kayden too much of his own father. Although Elio hadn't been that barbaric and cruel, which was saying a lot about that sorry excuse of a king.
When she asked about her future in Adasea, in his country, Kayden took a moment to reply because her options were limited and from the never ending babbling he got that she wouldn’t deal well with belonging to a man. Not even if it was for her own good.
"You're not a citizen. You're a refugee." Which wasn't necessarily a good thing, but Kayden didn't say that. Men wouldn't care about her political status as long as she was unclaimed. And Kayden wouldn’t risk his life for a stranger. "If you have any skill in teaching you can be a teacher at the Providence Academy for girls. There are positions in the library too." He shrugged. "Or you just ask a woman what they do. If nothing else, my grandfather will take you in as his servant. As terrible as it sounds, it's one of the best options. He’s a good man."
Arelyn didn't respond immediately. It seemed like it didn’t matter what he said, it was the wrong thing to say. It either resulted in more questions and monologues, or she fell into an offended silence. Not that he minded the quiet after this demon hunting mission, but this one was uncomfortable and he could feel the judgment radiating from her.
Kayden didn't force small talk. He had enough of that during meetings, at boring galas, and other official events.
Since he was deep in his thoughts, Kayden tried to rest in the saddle, letting Thunder go at her own pace. She was well trained and didn't need much direction.
Arelyn finally spoke, dragging him out his peace. "I used to teach the children in my village for a few hours in the morning before I had to deal with things involved in my leadership position." Not that she'd been keeping that a secret but now she made it clear that she had been a leader. "I enjoyed it and wished I had more time. Perhaps if there is room in the Providence Academy?"
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Kayden laughed. "I'm sure you will." There was a huge amount of sarcasm in his voice. "How to make a man happy is part of their education."
"How to make a man happy? That's… disturbing. What do they do? Teach girls how to satisfy a man? Or is it only cooking and cleaning and making themselves pretty for a man?" Her disgust was evident in her voice.
“Sexual education is part of it, yes.” He changed his grip on the reins. Explaining it to someone who wasn't familiar with their traditions made the whole thing shine in a worse light than it was. “I never really dived deep into the topic.”
“Does your daughter attend the Academy? How old is she?"
"Do not ask about my daughter," he hissed. It had cost him a great deal of influence and power to keep Phoebe's existence hidden. It was better for both of them. "Don't even mention her." In a lower voice he added, "She's eleven."
Arelyn stiffened, but of course his words hadn’t been enough to shut her up. "I would never hurt a child. No matter how rude, obnoxious, or infuriating you are, I would never do anything to harm your child."
"Just stop talking," Kayden growled, allowing his vocal cords to change and make his voice more animalistic. How could one person talk this much? Arelyn was the most annoying woman ever.
He gritted his teeth as he rode, quickening their pace a little. The sooner they got to the oasis the sooner he could get rid of this woman and let someone else entertain her.
He had enough problems as it was. He really didn't need a woman on top of everything. Why had he gone and checked the portal activity? He should've left it alone.
Thankfully Arelyn didn’t talk after that. But her scent, her arms around him made it impossible for Kayden to forget that she was there. Attractive, annoying, smart. His thoughts wandered, imagining a scenario where he gave in to his attraction and wooed her into his bed. Which of course didn’t help him get into a better frame of mind.
It was Thunder who signaled him that it was time to stop and rest by slowing down. A glance at the sky told Kayden that it was past noon, so he ordered a stop for lunch.