The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 19

When Elera and Rath returned, Char and Iris were on the sofa talking, with a respectable distance between them. Char's immediate tension at the sound of the door opening morphed into resigned irritation as Rath tromped toward them with a smirk and an armful of packages.

"Ready for a fashion show, Char?"

Char put the mental image conjured up by that question out of his mind and glanced at the clock. It was midday. He hadn't realized how much time he and Iris had spent talking after he got her to stop crying. While he would have loved to stay longer—and see what Iris looked like in clothes that actually fit—they were pushing their luck as it was.

He gave her an apologetic smile and stood. "We need to get back to the barracks."

"What?" Rath dropped the brown paper-wrapped packages onto the sofa in what had been the spot between Char and Iris. "Why?"

"We've been gone too long. I don't want Kelnor looking for us. Come on."

Elera cleared her throat, her blue eyes dancing. "I think you're forgetting something, Char."

"I didn't forget, Mother." He went to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye."

"And Iris?"

The back of his neck warmed. He looked over at Iris, whose head had jerked up from studying the packages to stare at him and Elera with wide brown eyes. She had been relaxed and comfortable with him when they were alone, and if his mother and brother weren't here, maybe he'd kiss her goodbye now. But maybe not. Reading her signals was still tricky.

He decided to keep it simple. "Goodbye, Iris."

She gave him a relieved smile that stamped itself in his mind and replaced any lingering imaginings Rath had planted there about a fashion show. "Goodbye, Char."

He headed out the door, smiling to himself. She was nothing like most of the girls he knew, but somehow, having to work at figuring her out made every step forward that much more rewarding. And her smile really did something to him.

"That's it?" Rath asked, jogging to catch up to him in the street. "No kiss?"

Char shot his brother a glare. "This isn't the place."

Rath groaned. "Fine. How about this? You give me a simple 'yes' or 'no' to the question you know I want to ask, and then we can save the rest until we get back to the barracks."

That seemed safe enough. Char knew the question Rath wanted to ask, too: did he kiss Iris?

"Alright, then. Yes."

Rath pumped a fist in the air, grinning from ear to ear. "Knew it!"

Char wasn't ready to concede Rath might be right about him being in love, but he had no trouble admitting the more time he spent with Iris, the more he liked her. Any doubts he might have had about putting his reputation, career, and maybe even life on the line for her had flown out of the mountain.

But he wasn't in love with her. Not yet.

"Rath!"

Char registered the excited female voice and shimmering silver hair in his peripheral vision a moment before Misa launched herself at Rath. If his brother had been less sturdy or more off balance, the couple would have ended up on the ground when she threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips.

Char cleared his throat and looked away.

But Rath was quick to recover. He gave Misa a smirk and settled his hands on her hips. "That's quite a hello."