Moonbound Mates

Chapter Twenty-Seven

By the time Rowan and Kael returned to the inn, the afternoon sun had begun its slow descent toward the horizon.

The coffee shop below was busier than before.

The scent of fresh pastries drifted through the open doorway as they climbed the stairs.

Rowan adjusted the books tucked beneath her arm.

Three.

She had purchased three.

Kael had opinions about this.

Incorrect opinions.

The moment they stepped inside the suite, Rowan stopped.

A wooden crate sat neatly on the counter.

She blinked.

Then blinked again.

"That seems excessive."

Kael followed her gaze.

His expression immediately turned suspicious.

Slowly, he crossed the room.

Set his books down.

And examined the delivery.

Rowan watched.

Curious.

Then watched his eyebrows climb higher.

And higher.

"Oh."

That was rarely a promising response.

"What?"

Kael picked up a bottle.

Then another.

Then another.

Rowan counted.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

A pause.

Then—

"You ordered six bottles of wine?"

Kael looked offended.

"I ordered one."

Rowan stared.

Then looked at the bottles.

Then back at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Rowan."

"I'm just asking."

"I ordered one."

The answer came with enough long-suffering patience that Rowan immediately believed him.

Mostly.

A reluctant smile tugged at her mouth.

Kael sighed.

The sound suggested he was already regretting this entire trip.

"Apparently there was a misunderstanding."

Nyra sounded delighted.

"I like this misunderstanding."

Rowan chose not to respond.

For everyone's sake.

Mostly her own.

Kael set the bottles back into the crate.

Then shook his head.

"We'll take some home."

"All six?"

"Probably."

Rowan laughed.

The sound came easier than it used to.

That realization should have concerned her more than it did.

Instead, she set her books on the small table near the window and wandered toward the kitchen.

"What are we making?"

Kael glanced over.

A faint smile appearing.

"Dinner."

"Very informative."

"I try."

The smile widened.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

For the next hour, the suite filled with the sounds of cooking.

Knives against cutting boards.

Pots clattering softly.

The scent of herbs.

Garlic.

Fresh bread warming in the oven.

At some point, Rowan found herself leaning against the counter watching him work.

Again.

She was beginning to suspect she enjoyed it.

A troubling realization.

Kael noticed eventually.

"You're hovering."

"I am not."

"You are."

"I am observing."

"You're hovering."

Rowan narrowed her eyes.

"You're very confident for someone handling sharp objects."

A faint laugh escaped him.

And for some reason, the sound made her smile.

Outside, the sky slowly shifted from gold to orange.

Then orange to pink.

The town below settled into evening.

Lanterns flickered to life along the streets.

Fernhaven looked like something from a dream.

Inside the suite, dinner finally found its way to the table.

And for a little while, everything felt strangely simple.

Just food.

Conversation.

And the quiet comfort that had somehow become normal between them.

A realization neither of them seemed eager to examine.

Dinner turned out even better than the night before.

Which Rowan was beginning to find deeply unfair.

She took another bite.

Then pointed her fork at Kael.

"You realize you've ruined restaurant food for me."

Kael didn't even look up from his plate.

"Again?"

"Again."

A faint smile appeared.

"I'll try to live with the guilt."

"Good."

The answer came immediately.

A little too immediately.

Rowan didn't seem to notice.

The evening settled around them comfortably.

The windows stood open, allowing the cool Fernhaven breeze to drift through the suite.

Lantern light glowed softly along the streets below.

The town hummed quietly beyond the glass.

Peaceful.

Safe.

For a while, they simply ate.

Talking about small things.

The bookstore.

The town.

The ridiculous number of books Rowan had purchased.

"It was three."

"It was excessive."

"It was three."

Kael took a sip of water.

Unmoved.

"It was excessive."

Rowan narrowed her eyes.

"You're impossible."

"So I've been told."

The warmth in her chest returned.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Dinner eventually came to an end.

The plates remained on the table.

Neither seemed particularly eager to move.

Then Kael's gaze drifted toward the crate sitting beside the counter.

A crate that still contained far more wine than either of them reasonably needed.

A faint smile appeared.

"Well."

Rowan followed his gaze.

Then laughed.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes."

He stood.

Crossed the room.

And returned a moment later carrying a bottle.

"You know," he said, "it would be a shame to let it go to waste."

The bottle uncorked with a soft pop.

Moments later, he set a glass in front of her.

Then filled it.

Deep red.

Rich.

Almost black in the evening light.

Rowan stared at it suspiciously.

Kael noticed immediately.

"What's wrong?"

She hesitated.

Then shrugged.

"Nothing."

That was a lie.

His expression said he knew it was a lie.

"Rowan."

She sighed.

The sound dramatic enough that Lyra would have been proud.

"I don't really drink."

Kael blinked.

"At all?"

"Not really."

His eyebrows lifted.

"Never?"

"Once."

That seemed to catch his attention.

"Once?"

Rowan groaned.

Gods.

Now she had to explain.

"I was fifteen."

A smile immediately appeared.

Dangerous.

"Go on."

"I am not telling this story."

"You absolutely are."

Rowan pointed at him.

"See, that's the face."

"What face?"

"The face that means you're enjoying this."

The smile widened.

He wasn't even denying it.

Traitor.

Rowan sighed.

Again.

"When I was fifteen, I stole whiskey from my father."

Kael laughed immediately.

"You?"

"Unfortunately."

The laughter only got worse.

"I thought it would be impressive."

"To who?"

"That isn't important."

"It sounds important."

"It isn't."

Kael looked unconvinced.

Rowan ignored him.

Mostly because she was already embarrassed.

"It tasted like liquid fire."

His shoulders shook.

The traitor.

"I spent ten minutes coughing in the backyard."

The laughter finally escaped him completely.

Warm.

Real.

Gods.

She liked that sound.

"Alden caught me."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes."

Kael was openly laughing now.

"And?"

"And he laughed so hard he had to sit down."

That only made things worse.

For Rowan.

For her dignity.

For everything.

She groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"That's terrible."

"It was."

"A little funny."

"It wasn't."

"It was."

The answer came instantly.

The laughter lingered between them.

Comfortable.

Easy.

And somehow Rowan found herself laughing too.

A few minutes later, she took her first sip of the wine.

Then paused.

"Huh."

Kael looked over.

"What?"

Rowan frowned thoughtfully.

Then took another sip.

"Huh."

The smile returned.

"Good?"

She stared at the glass.

Confused.

"Actually..."

Another sip.

Gods.

That was nice.

"...it's really good."

The answer sounded slightly offended.

"As opposed to?"

"As opposed to whiskey."

Kael laughed.

"I think most things compare favorably to stolen whiskey."

"Fair."

Rowan took another drink.

Then another.

The wine was smooth.

Sweet without being too sweet.

Warm.

Comfortable.

Nothing like she'd expected.

Nothing like the horrible burning memory she'd carried for years.

She looked down at the glass.

Then back at Kael.

Then down at the glass again.

"I didn't know alcohol could taste good."

That earned another laugh.

And before either of them realized it, the first bottle was empty.

The second bottle disappeared much faster than the first.

Neither commented on it.

Mostly because Rowan was busy discovering that wine was dangerous.

Not dangerous in the way she'd expected.

Not like a rogue.

Or a Council hearing.

Or Lyra with an opinion.

No.

This was worse.

Because at some point, the room had become pleasantly warm.

And at some point, she'd stopped worrying about what she said before saying it.

And at some point, Kael had become very funny.

Which was ridiculous.

Because Kael wasn't funny.

Yet somehow she couldn't stop laughing.

"You laughed at your own joke."

"I did not."

"You did."

"I didn't."

"You absolutely—"

Kael stopped.

Then sighed.

Rowan pointed triumphantly.

"There it is."

"What?"

"That sigh."

"What sigh?"

"The one that says I'm being difficult."

A faint smile appeared.

"You are being difficult."

Rowan gasped.

Offended.

Then promptly lost her balance while trying to stand.

The room tilted unexpectedly.

Strong hands caught her shoulders before she could fall.

For a moment, neither moved.

Then Rowan looked up.

And realized how close he was.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

"You okay?"

The concern in his voice did strange things to her heart.

"I'm fine."

The words came out slightly slurred.

Kael's expression suggested he wasn't convinced.

At all.

The traitor.

Eventually, she settled back into her chair.

A little less gracefully than she'd intended.

The conversation drifted after that.

From stories about their childhoods.

To pack traditions.

To favorite places.

To dreams they'd once had.

The sky outside darkened completely.

Lanterns glowed beyond the windows.

The town below settled into sleep.

And still they talked.

At some point, Rowan found herself staring into her wine glass.

Thoughtful.

Quiet.

Kael noticed immediately.

"What?"

Rowan lifted her head.

Her thoughts felt fuzzy around the edges.

But one question remained stubbornly clear.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

She studied him for a moment.

Then—

"Do you think the Moon Goddess had a plan for us?"

The question hung between them.

Neither rushed to fill the silence.

Rowan looked down at her glass.

Then back at him.

"Do you think she had a reason?"

Her voice softened.

"To make us mates?"

A pause.

"To have us find each other when we did?"

Another pause.

"Knowing it would uproot both of our lives?"

For a moment, Kael simply looked at her.

The room felt strangely still.

Then he spoke.

"Yes."

The answer came without hesitation.

Rowan's heart stumbled.

"Really?"

Kael nodded once.

His gaze never leaving hers.

"Because if I'd found you five years ago, I wouldn't have understood what I was being given."

The breath left her lungs.

Silently.

Completely.

"And if you'd found me five years ago," he continued quietly, "you would've spent your whole life wondering what you were missing in Cedar Ridge."

Rowan stared.

Unable to look away.

Unable to breathe.

Unable to think.

The wine suddenly didn't seem responsible for any of this.

"I think..." Kael's voice softened.

"I think we found each other exactly when we were supposed to."

The room went silent.

Rowan's heart pounded.

Hard.

Fast.

Painfully.

Because that was not the answer she'd expected.

Not from him.

Not from Kael.

Not from the man who was still trying so desperately to keep his distance.

And suddenly all she could see was him.

The warmth in his eyes.

The sincerity in his voice.

The impossible tenderness in the words he'd just spoken.

Gods.

Nyra was completely silent.

For once.

Rowan stood.

A little unsteady.

A little brave.

A little stupid.

Kael watched her carefully.

Confused.

Curious.

She took one step forward.

Then another.

His eyes followed her the entire time.

"Rowan?"

The way he said her name nearly undid her.

She stopped in front of him.

Close enough to see the surprise in his expression.

Close enough to hear his breathing.

For one long moment, neither moved.

Neither looked away.

Then Rowan reached up.

Rested a hand lightly against his jaw.

And kissed him.

Everything else disappeared.

The room.

The wine.

The town.

The trial.

Gone.

There was only this.

Only him.

And for one impossible heartbeat, the world finally felt quiet.

Then Kael's hand lifted.

Settling against her waist.

And he kissed her back.