Page 26 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope
"Okay."
She smiled. "That's my brave guy." Her fingers flew over the screen as she typed the message.
The reply came only seconds later.
"Kyra is heading to the café. She says you can meet her there."
Arezoo was working in the grocery store today, but he would have still preferred a more private setting for his talk with Kyra.
Ingrid closed the box of pastries, stood, and offered it to him. "Take the pastries to Kyra."
He shook his head. "These are from The Pearl. Kyra can get as many as she wants from her sisters. I brought them for you."
His resolute tone must have convinced her that he wasn't going to budge, and she took the box back. "Fine. Have it your way." She smiled. "Good luck, Ruvon. Tell me how it went."
"I will."
As he walked toward the café, Ruvon wondered how Ingrid always managed to steamroll him into action.
The female was a force of nature, and Atzil was lucky to have her even if they weren't fated truelove mates. They had love, the regular kind that wasn't mystical, and it worked just fine for them.
Were he and Arezoo fated for each other?
It certainly felt that way, but since it was the first time either of them had been in love, neither knew the difference between regular love and the fated kind.
Finding Kyra sitting at the back of the café enclosure, he was grateful for her choosing a spot that would afford them some privacy.
"Ruvon," she greeted him, gesturing to the empty chair. "I ordered coffee for you. I hope it's okay."
"Thank you for the coffee and for agreeing to see me so quickly." He sat down and reached for the paper cup so he would have something to do with his hands.
"Of course. You are practically part of the family."
That surprised him. "Am I? I don't think your sister thinks that I am."
Kyra smiled. "I assume that you mean Soraya. She can look intimidating, a mama bear, but she's not as terrifying as she seems. Well, she is, but it comes from a place of love."
"I know she loves her daughters. That's what makes this so intimidating. She sees me as a threat."
Kyra didn't bother to refute his statement. "Arezoo is young and inexperienced, and Soraya worries that she chose you because you chose her. She needs proof that you are worthy of her daughter."
"But how do I prove that? I can't even give her grand gestures or flowery speeches. I have plenty of money, but I don't think that she is concerned about that."
Kyra lifted her hand to stop him. "What Soraya wants to hear is not platitudes or the size of your bank and investment accounts. She wants to know that you'll love her daughter more than anyone else ever could. That you'd give her the moon if she asked for it."
At her words, Ruvon's anxiety spiked. "But I can't actually give Arezoo the moon. That's impossible. And I don't know how to talk like that."
Kyra laughed. "It's not meant literally, Ruvon. It's a figure of speech that means to convey the depth of your feelings. When someone says they'd give you the moon, they mean they'd do anything within their power to make you happy."
"Oh." He was relieved. "Still, I'm not good with metaphors or those kinds of declarations."
"You don't need to be a poet. You just need to be honest." She leaned forward, looking into his eyes. "Tell me something. Why do you love Arezoo?"
The question caught him off guard. "I... she's beautiful, obviously. And smart. And?—"
"No." Kyra shook her head. "Those are facts, not feelings. Why do you love her?"
Ruvon was quiet for a moment, thinking. "She makes me feel like more," he said finally. "When I'm with her, I feel stronger, smarter, like I could face anything. She sees something in me that I don't always see in myself. And she..." He paused, searching for words. "She makes ordinary moments feel important. Just sitting with her, talking about nothing important, are the moments I treasure most. I want thousands of these moments, millions, I don't want to be away from her."
