Can't Spell Treason Without Tea: A Cozy Fantasy Steeped with Love (Tomes & Tea Cozy Fantasies Book 1) by Rebecca Thorne

Author:Rebecca Thorne [Thorne, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rebecca Thorne
Published: 2022-09-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter twenty

Kianthe

The evening dragged without Reyna. Kianthe tabled the thought of dragons, and stopping dragon raids, and investigating a missing dragon egg—or whatever was below that church—, but quickly realized that deciding to table it and actually tabling it were two different things. Couple it with the fact that Queen Tilaine may have found Reyna so much earlier than expected, and now her girlfriend was out there alone, at the mercy of that ridiculous lord, possibly already at sword-point—

Kianthe growled and plucked a random tome from the shelves, throwing herself in one of the armchairs beside the fire. With the setting sun came the evening cold, and the barn creaked under the wind. She tugged a heavy knitted throw over her shoulders, glaring at the book in her hands.

Tabled. Dismissed. Moved on from. Reyna was fine and capable and Kianthe didn’t want to think about this, damn it.

The customers had sensed her discontent earlier and quietly vacated. Gossley ducked out shortly after, barely offering a goodbye on his way to Tarly’s smithy. In the echoing solitude, Kianthe almost wished one of Tilaine’s spies would arrive and challenge her.

It didn’t happen, of course, and as the night wore on, her chest tightened dangerously and her hands started to shake. Where was Reyna? This was taking too long, wasn’t it? She should—

Kianthe forced herself back into the chair. No, she shouldn’t. Reyna would poke her with the moonstones if she needed help.

Unless Wylan had taken the moonstone.

No. Reyna wouldn’t let that happen.

Her thoughts spiraled until she was on the edge of her seat, novel forgotten on her lap—and she was just about to stalk into the night when the barn doors slid open, and Reyna stepped inside. They’d hung heavy curtains over the front windows for evening privacy, and her girlfriend wasted no time drawing them.

“Apologies for the wait, love.”

Kianthe’s pounding heart finally settled, although the lingering tendrils of anxiety had her pushing off her chair, wringing her hands. “How was Wylan?”

She didn’t make the obvious joke. She wasn’t in the mood.

Reyna sagged a bit, exhaustion rimming her eyes. “Fine. He received a visitor today: Venne.”

That did not help Kianthe’s disposition. Venne was a nice guy on the surface, pleasant and reliable, but he pined for Reyna in an almost possessive way. There were many times in the grand palace where Kianthe ached to intervene at his pointed touches, the way his eyes roamed Reyna as she entered a room, but she couldn’t manage it without revealing their relationship.

“Let it go, man,” Kianthe muttered. “Stars and Stone, can’t he survive without you orbiting his ego?”

Reyna pulled her into a tight hug. Her fingers were icy cold, and she raised them towards the fire when they separated. “You know the answer to that. According to Wylan, he’s unsure if I’m still in Tawney, but it won’t be long before he finds this shop.” Her inflection changed to apprehension, and for the first time, her voice wavered. “I’m… not sure where this leaves us, Kianthe.

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