Rowan sat in the living room of his parents' mansion, reading a book about dragons. Specifically, Audric's dragon. He had gotten closer to narrowing down the different species of dragon it could be. He knew that it was a fire dragon thanks to Jesika's account of the battle, but there were hundreds of different types of fire dragons.
Today though, he found it increasingly difficult to focus on the material. His mind kept wandering to his talk with Aquila the night before. Specifically, the part about Jesika.
Groaning, he lowered his head into his hands, giving up on any hope of focusing.
"She is the last thing that should be on your mind, Rowan," he said sternly to himself. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Rowan jumped, looking towards the door. His heart leapt at the sight of the person standing behind it. Jesika.
Slowly he stood, his stomach twisting as he approached. He opened the door, smiling at her. "What's this about?"
She grinned wryly, but it seemed forced. "No 'hey, it's good to see you!'?"
Rowan chuckled, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, Your Majesty. My bad. It's good to see you again."
She shook her head, her grin softening into a smile. "Please, Rowan. For the last time, call me Jesika."
He averted his eyes, scared if he continued to look at her, he would drown in their amber color. "That's a bit too familiar for my liking," he said quietly.
She huffed, bringing his gaze back to hers. "That's an order, Rowan. Call me Jesika. Got it?"
He grinned, stepping closer and leaning against the doorjamb. He looked down at her in their close proximity. "Or what?" he asked, no longer trying to keep the flirtatiousness out of his voice.
A grin came to her face to match his. "Off with your head," she said, a flirty edge in her tone too.
Feeling the ground beneath his feet become shaky, he let out a deep breath, stepping back. "Alright, Jes. What's going on? Why are you here?"
She crossed her arms, the smile disappearing from her face, her rare lightheartedness being replaced by her usual serious expression. "I need to ask you for a serious favor. You have a minute?"
Rowan swallowed, his mind going back to what Aquila had said. He nodded. "Of course. My parents are away for a couple hours, so you're free to come inside."
She nodded back, stepping inside. She looked around the house, a look of impression on her face. "Not bad. I like it."
He chuckled quietly as he went into the kitchen. "I forgot that you haven't been here before. How'd you even know where I live?"
She shrugged as she looked around the living room, wandering around like a kid in a candy store. Cute, he thought to himself.
"I have plenty of informants, Rowan."
Slowly he came back in the living room, two cups of coffee in his hands. He arched a brow as he handed her one. "Should I be worried? How many other things do you know about me?"
Her wry, flirty grin slipped back onto her face. "Only what's necessary," she said quietly before taking a slow sip of her coffee.
He rolled his eyes, laughing lightly. He took a seat on the sofa and gestured for her to sit next to him. She did so, sitting her coffee on the coffee table. She crossed one leg over the other and straightened her posture, ever the professional.
"There has been a serious breach in security in our prison. I don't know if word has spread at all, but upon visiting Audric's cell with Sir Reven, we were shocked to find that he has escaped. Almost like he's disappeared. We have no idea where he would go to hide since we didn't even know until recently that he was king of Grumor. Of course, we need to find him as soon as possible and return him to his confines. And to do this, I am gathering a small group to go undercover to Grumor to investigate and ask around."
