the castle to join Titan, who beckoned from his office.
Whereas she had plenty to think about when she took over the princess’s protection from Anita.
“Can we practice with the knives again?” Charlie asked, her expression eager. “I did all my lessons this morning, and I won every game I played.”
“Because you were lucky? Or did they let the princess win?”
The girl smiled. “Because I cheated.”
Casey blinked. “That’s not nice.”
“Neither is Merrysue.” Charlie’s chin tilted. “I promised Papa I wouldn’t poke holes in people. I’m being shuttle.”
“I think you mean subtle.” Casey shook her head.
“So, can we?”
Smiling at the princess, Casey nodded. “Let’s see how well you do today.”
They took turns knife throwing, which Charlie excelled at. Her laughter was boisterous and amazed every time she hit the ring.
Until she almost hit her father as he appeared, clapping. “Bravo! Excellent shot.”
Good thing he could still move quickly. The knife he startled from Charlie’s grip sailed harmlessly past. The poor princess gaped with horror-stricken eyes.
“I don’t need to shave that badly, do I?” he quipped.
“Papa!” The girl squealed and ran for him, letting herself be swept into the air and swung around. Casey envied her in that moment because it looked quite fun.
He hugged her close. “You’re getting to be quite good with knives.”
“Because Casey is the best teacher.”
“Indeed, she is. Given the amazing progress you’ve made, I think you’ve earned this.” He held out a sheath, and Casey trembled with as much excitement as the princess. Charlie reached out to grab the present and clutch it.
“Aren’t you going to look at it?” he teased.
The little girl pulled the hilt free, and the sharp dagger gleamed, the metal dark instead of bright. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed with reverence.
“No sticking it in Xarek or any of the boys who pull your braid.”
“Only demons and enemies of the kingdom!” she yelled, brandishing it.
“Why don’t you show it to Anita while she takes you for a bath before dinner.” He gestured toward the stairwell, and Casey leaned enough to see the guard waiting discreetly out of sight.
Charlotte pranced off, crowing about her blade, leaving Casey alone with Roark.
“The blade is a good idea.”
“Because you think she might need it,” he stated flatly.
“More because she’s ready for the responsibility. She’s a capable girl, and you don’t want to put her in a position where she can’t defend herself. It’s a dangerous world.”
He sighed as he strode closer, hands tucked into pockets. “I’d rather we lived in a world that didn’t require giving knives to children.”
“If we lived in that kind of world, then we wouldn’t need a Deviant king.”
His lips quirked. “True. Then what would I do? Live amongst the masses, perhaps as a hunter?”
“You wouldn’t have to work that hard. You could always use your magic to tell fortunes. Maybe have a business finding lost baubles.”
His smile hit her in a spot that required pressing her thighs together. “A magician to entertain?”
“Just making suggestions of career choices you could have made.”
“Could have but didn’t because freedom and security mattered more to me.”
“The world will never be a nice place.” Casey stared because it was the simple truth.
“Then you know humanity’s history.”
Not quite, but she wasn’t about to explain her education came from people instead of books. “What happened to Titan? I thought you’d be with him a while.”
“My captain has things under control. Everyone does. Leaving me with some free time.” He tucked his hands into his pockets and kept eyeing her.
“You shouldn’t be wandering around alone.”
“I’m with you. Surely you’re a match for anyone who might appear.”
“So you admit to being unable to defend yourself.”
His lips tugged. “I never said that.”
“Your magic is still gone.” A guess and yet he nodded.
“My psionic abilities are still recuperating, but I am not completely useless. I can fight, you know.”
“Can you?” She arched a brow. She pulled a knife and began to flip it hand to hand. A maneuver meant to distract. He kept his gaze on her face.
“So we’re doing this with weapons?”
“Why, were you hoping for some wrestling?”
“Can you blame me? You’ve been in my bedroom. Eaten my bacon.”
“That’s your fault for not eating it faster.”
“Is that the rule then? The fastest wins?” He rolled up his sleeves, revealing strong forearms. “I can be fast.”
“Prove it.”
She almost swallowed her words as his sudden lunge gave her only a half-second to evade. He spun, and it was on.
It took only a few grudging feints in his direction and rapid ducking and swaying to stay out of