tall, dark hair, face cut with sharp angles, and mysterious. The god of death was always a popular character. In some books, he was the savvy villain; in others, he was the cursed lover. Could Devon be anything like that?
Kianna shook her head, expelling such thoughts from her mind. “You startled me.”
“I’m sorry.” Devon stopped a few feet from the bench. “What are you doing out here?”
Kianna shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. What about you?”
“Same.” He took a step closer. “Is it okay if I sit down?”
Kianna scooted to one side of the bench. “Of course.”
Devon sat down beside her. “Thanks.” He glanced out to the water. “It’s peaceful here at night.”
Kianna chuckled. “You mean, it’s peaceful here when the kids are sleeping.”
Devon laughed.
Kianna couldn’t help but noticed his face brightened whenever he smiled. Her stomach tightened. Grasping for another subject, Kianna frowned. “Hm, what happened tonight? I mean, back at the festival? Where did you go?”
He had worried her. He vehemently told her to stay with her family, then disappeared. She had thought he would come back soon, but he never did. The festival ended, they dismantled the stand, packed away their things, and came home without any sign or note from him.
That was the other reason she hadn’t been asleep, but she didn’t want to admit that even to herself.
Devon ran a hand over his hair, messing up his ponytail a little. “I … I thought I saw a band of thieves going around the festival. I went to find the village guards to arrest them.”
Kianna narrowed her eyes. “But … you weren’t back all night. Was it hard to find the guards?” She was sure she had seen a few guards strolling up and down the festival.
“Yes, it was,” Devon said quickly. “But it was even harder to locate the band of thieves after I first lost them. Since the guards thought I was playing a joke on them, they wouldn't let me leave until we found them.”
“So you did find them? And the guard arrested them?”
Devon nodded. “Yes. We found them in an alley, escaping the festival with their pockets full.”
She watched him for a moment. She had never thought he would be the kind to go out of his way to aid strangers. Well, he had helped her and her family many, many times, but they weren’t really strangers anymore, were they?
“That’s good,” she whispered.
Despite herself, her gaze landed on her hands, folded in her legs. Kianna wasn’t shaking anymore, but the memories of that dark feeling still lingered. Would she ever be able to go back to sleep, or would that feeling scare her to the afterlife?
Devon twisted his body her way. “I can see something is bothering you. What is it?”
Slowly, Kianna lifted her hands again. “I’m not sure,” she said, a little startled that she wanted to tell him. “Back at the festival, right before you left, I felt something.” She pressed her hands to her chest. “Right here. Something …” She shook her head. “I’ll sound like a crazy person. Never mind.”
Surprising her, Devon reached over and grabbed her hands, pulling them away from her. He cradled her hands in his. “Whatever you say, I can assure you, I won’t ever think you’re a crazy person.” His dark eyes stared into hers, so intense, so raw. Those kind of looks had been few, but right now, she found herself wanting more of them.
“I’m afraid you’ll stop looking me like that if I tell you,” she whispered.
One of his hands moved up. His fingers slid across her cheek, and he cupped her face. His hand wasn’t as callused as she thought it would be, and she found herself leaning into his touch.
“Impossible,” he said, his voice low. He leaned into her. “Kianna, I—”
“Kianna!”
Kianna jumped up from the bench, almost knocking Devon away and falling on her wobbly feet. “Y-yes!” She glanced up the hill and found Calvin on the front porch, hugging his blanket. She raced up the hill. “What is it? Why are you up?”
“I had a nightmare,” the little boy said.
“You’re okay now.” Kianna pulled him to her arms. “Want to talk about it?”
She felt Devon’s presence a few steps behind her. Of course, he would have followed her. Why wouldn’t he? It wasn’t as if she had been running from him or whatever almost happened by the cherry tree.
Calvin shook his head against her stomach.
Devon knelt beside them. “Hey, you know what I do when I have a nightmare? I