Page 17 of A Winter Redemption
“What?” Ketho asked, his stomach sinking.
“Aryn was seeing a man in Bordertown, and his brother stole him and married him!”
“I see,” Ketho said. He held in a sigh. “His brother’s name is Jarne, isn’t it?”
“How did you know?”
Footsteps sounded in the hallway. Ketho turned.
And there stood Jarne.
Ketho doubted he’d been up long, but Jarne stood in his impeccable clothing, hair slicked back, ready to face the day.
“Ketho!” Jarne said. He didn’t smile, but his eyes seemed to light up.
What would it take to make the man properly smile?
Then the light from his eyes dimmed as he glanced between Mila and Ketho.
“You two know each other?” Mila asked.
“We met at the inn,” Ketho said.
“That’s a coincidence,” she said.
“And you two know each other,” Jarne said to them.
“Yes. And I’m here to return your jacket.” Ketho slid the jacket from his shoulders, holding it towards Jarne. He wore a shirt beneath it, unlike the last time they’d met.
“It’s a lovely jacket,” Mila said. “Very different from your other clothing, Jarne.”
“What did you do with my jacket?” Jarne asked, holding it up.
“I embellished it.” He’d sewn various golden buttons on one sleeve and placed a crest, with a butterfly and a sword, across one breast pocket. He’d picked it up at the Castle Evermore markets.
Ketho almost burst out laughing at Jarne’s horrified expression. “Do you like it?”
Jarne stared, open-mouthed, at him. Ketho didn’t know why he got a thrill from pushing the man’s buttons.
“You should put it on,” Mila said. “You’re so talented, Ketho. You always did such nice things with my clothes.”
“Well, if you have anything you’d like me to pretty up, I’d be more than happy to do it whilst I’m here,” Ketho said.
Mila opened her mouth to speak, but the door to the store opened.
Sero appeared in the doorway, carrying a tray of bread. He looked as beautiful as ever.
Ketho braced himself. Sero hadn’t seen Ketho yet. Sero smiled and spoke to someone behind him. But when Sero saw Ketho, the smile dropped, and he froze in the doorway, blocking the person behind him.
“What are you doing here?” Sero asked, tone cold.
ChapterTwelve
Apparently, Sero was still unhappy with Ketho.
“I’m here to return Jarne’s jacket,” Ketho said, unsure what else to say. He’d planned to apologise. But he’d pictured doing so privately.
“What?” Sero frowned.
