Without breaking his song, he reached back in his pack and withdrew a small satchel, handing it to her with an obnoxious wink.
Against her better judgment, she took it and undid the knot, careful to balance atop Cinnamon. A collection of fresh berries gathered at the bottom of the navy napsack, and Luci’s stomach let out an alarming growl. Torn between accepting the offering and being stubborn, she looked over at Prince Ira, who shrugged, a small smile pulling his dimples loose.
“Quest snacks,” he said, leaning over and snatching a blueberry.
He plopped it into his mouth and grinned.
Shaking her head, Luci gave in to the grumbles of her stomach, and after a few berries, her mood was already improved. That also could have been because he stopped humming, though.
“We’ll be passing by Lake Eldora soon, so we can stop and let the horses have a drink,” he said.
Luci nodded and reached back to tuck the empty knapsack into her pack, but her hand brushed against silken fur. Heart leaping out of her chest, she pulled on Cinnamon's reins and muttered a half-prayer, half-curse as she dismounted.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Please let her be wrong. Never in her entire life had she wanted to be as wrong as she did right then. Fighting to remember when she last saw him, she knew the likelihood of her being wrong was not good.
Sure enough, when she flipped open the basket strapped to Cinnamon, wide green eyes met hers. His fur was standing on end, and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth while he sat up hesitantly, desperately seeking some semblance of comfort.
The clothes he was lying in were packed down as if he’d been in there for some time.
Prince Ira stood next to her and laughed when he saw Calcifer’s disheveled form.
“You know, I wondered why you packed so much when I carried it down. This makes much more sense,” he said.
Calcifer. Brielle’s most precious of cats.
He let out a pitiful cry that she had no empathy for. The little stowaway.
“We’ve already been traveling for hours. We can’t turn back,” she said.
Brielle didn’t have time for that.
Prince Ira reached in, scooping Calcifer into his arms. The little beast cried out, but within a minute of head scratches and pets, he stopped panting, and a hesitant rumble of purrs replaced his previous anxiety.
“Well, we have two options. Either we bring him the whole way with us, or we make for Hazelbrook and leave him with someone moderately trustworthy,” he said.
“That’s thirty minutes out of our way,” Luci said, folding her hands over her chest.
He nodded. “Something tells me Brielle would rather have her cat back than a cure.”
“She has poor judgment,” Luci grumbled.
“I think I’m offended,” he said, his smile anything but offended.
Luci shot him a mild glare as she tapped her foot, trying to think. There was no way to bring Calcifer and ensure he wouldn’t run away or be eaten by something. He was an overgrown house cat with no survival instincts.
“We will make for Hazelbrook then,” she said. “Do you know someone there?”
“Absolutely not, but I have money,” he said.
Princes.
A sound more like an earthquake erupted from said prince as he sneezed into his arm. Calcifer’s eyes shot open, and it was like he was being reminded of his predicament all over again. Wide eyes searched the greenery around him, and he curled in tighter to Prince Ira.
“Give me the cat,” Luci said, holding out her arms.
Instead of complying, he lifted Calcifer up underneath his arms and pressed his face against his. Calcifer narrowed his eyes at her as if it were her fault.