I guess,” he said instead. As little as he liked lying to Catria, he liked betraying Kalai’s trust even less.
Catria frowned. “Those pills seem a little too potent for headaches.” She lifted the tray and stepped past him to the front room. “Maybe you should suggest some wigglerose tea instead.”
“Right. Uh. Sure,” Tauran said, searching for a swift way out of the lie.
Catria set the plates on the table.
“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.” Tauran took a seat, gently placing the broken tiered platter out of the way.
Catria looked up, flashing him a brief but genuine smile. “No, not at all. It’s fine.”
Tauran hummed, feelingly slightly as if he was missing some key piece of context. “Anyway,” he said and bit into the sweet sugar bun. “You and Emilian. How long has that been going on? I have to admit, Emilian never really struck me as someone who would break guard rules so thoroughly.”
Catria chuckled, affection in her tone. “He’s not as uptight as he seems,” she said. “He’s just... private.”
“Can’t blame the guy for being careful with his trust after everything that happened.” Tauran shook his head. “Andreus was a good man. A great rider and an excellent commander. Until he wasn’t.”
Catria parted her lips, looking like she might say something before changing her mind. “I heard what happened with Albinus Coile,” she said. “Did you question him?”
“Yeah.” Tauran wanted to tell Catria about the saddle, that he was the one who had landed Albinus in that cell. Despite knowing Albinus was a traitor, a rebel, he couldn’t quite shake the guilt of it. “He sided with Andreus. You would think after years of Andreus being dead, support for his cause would fade. Whatever the hell kind of cause it was. Death and disaster and chaos. Power hungry piece of shit.”
Catria was quiet for a long time. “I don’t think anybody, not even Andreus, wanted that many innocent people and dragons to die.” She said it carefully, watching his face as if she once again feared he might crack.
Tauran hated that she felt the need for caution around him, yet he also couldn’t help the anger kindling at her words, the prickles running down his spine. He picked his words, careful not to snap. “Then he probably shouldn’t have turned on his own people in the skies above a crowded city.”
Catria made a soft sound of assent. She took a slow bite of her bun. “So tell me about Kalai.”
“Hm?” Tauran raised his head, feeling the heat of discomfort replaced with a different warmth. “What about him?”
Catria smiled. “I spoke with him at your ceremony. He seems fond of you. And I’m guessing you’re fond of him, too.”
Tauran’s smile betrayed him, and he looked down at his plate to hide at least some of how smitten he was.
“He told me you hatched Leyra together,” she continued.
Tauran nodded. “He knows a lot about dragons. A lot more than me. He spent years in Sharoani studying them.”
“And he speaks the old Sharoani language. That’s impressive.”
Tauran hummed in agreement.
“He studied in the temples?”
“No, he, uh...” Tauran shrugged. “I don’t think he likes heights. Guess we have that in common.”
“Here.” Catria stood. She stepped around the counter and rummaged through one of the drawers before finding what she was looking for. She held a small brown paper bag out for Tauran. “Wigglerose tea. For his headaches.”
“Oh. Thanks.” Tauran flushed when he took the bag.
After that, they spoke about nothing serious. Old times, family, Sorcha. Gradually, Tauran relaxed. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed this. Casually catching up with friends without having to navigate painful subjects.
It was dark by the time they said farewell to Villy and made their way along the lamp-lit streets to the guard grounds, Tauran’s arm slung over her shoulders.
“I had a good evening.” Tauran twisted one of her dark curls around his finger.
Catria rubbed his side with her hand around his waist. “Me too.”
The rumble of thunder made Tauran flinch. He looked up. The skies were clear, no sign of storm clouds. He was about to mention it to Catria when the screeching tones of the Wild Sky siren tore through the air.
It wasn’t thunder.
“That’s the Executioner.” Catria slipped from Tauran’s grip and ran for the guard ground entrance. “You head inside,” she shouted over her shoulder. “Falka wants us to drive the flock all the way to the Sharoani border this time, so we’ll be gone for a while. Don’t worry!”