BERT STARED AS Cat wormed her way out of her leather boots.

  They had found some water that had pooled in between some larger rocks by the stream near their campsite. Yellow had lit small fires nearby and heated the rocks with short bursts of flame. The water held in by the rocks was now more than warm enough to bathe in. Bert had washed his face quickly to test the water, but insisted Cat go first.

  Bert watched as she piled her belt, cloak and dagger in a neat pile on a log and unbraided her hair. She mixed some wood ash from their fire with water and rubbed it into her skin and hair. She had a small pile of it ready near the water as well. Bert watched and found his imagination taking over…

  “I said, hey!” she shouted, snapping her fingers in the air.

  “Huh? What?” he replied, coming back to the real world.

  “You’re staring. Turn around, Bert,” she raised her hands halfway up, asking, what do you think you’re doing?

  “Oh, I’m sorry Cat. Of course. I’ll clean up what’s left of our camp. Call when you’re done.” He did as promised, giving her one last look before turning around. He was delighted to see a sly smile on her face. It had been ungentlemanly, but she knew he didn’t mean anything by it. Plopping down beside a resting Yellow, he sat and whispered to his friend, thanking him for heating the water. He had learned that Yellow enjoyed when he found a thin stick and used it to clean the dirt and muck out from around his talons. He searched around the camp looking for a stick that looked just right. He smiled as the dragon’s eyes tracked him despite the head staying still. As soon as he picked up a stick that looked just right, Yellow suddenly sprang into action, jumping up on all fours and then rotating quickly, exposing his belly and waving his front feet in the air. Bert laughed and climbed on board and got to work.

  Time passed quickly before Cat yelled that she was done.

  Bert walked down to the stream and whistled when he saw her. Her hair hung clean and free, the sun shining on her still-wet skin. He had her breeches and tunic on, but had left it open near the top to let her skin dry further.

  She turned her head at him, admonishing him for the whistle, but also gave a half-curtsy in response and laughed. “Your turn, dirt merchant!” She tossed some of her ash-mud at him.

  It struck him on his arm and he laughed, rubbing it in. It felt slippery as he rubbed it in a bit, but took the grime with it. “Not bad, Princess!”

  “Enjoy your bath, Bert,” she smiled, walking away with the rest of her clothes to continue dressing elsewhere.

  Bert scrubbed the muck from his body and held his breath as he dipped his head under. As he cleaned, he wondered what Keelwick would be like. He had been to smaller towns near Wyrmgate and remembered seeing some larger ones with his father when he was young, but that was a long time ago. Moreover, what would it be like to meet Darian’s parents and what would they think of their daughter-in-law-to-be traveling the wilds with some guy her age? As he hopped out to shake-dry himself before dressing again, he came to the conclusion he’d let Catrin deal with it. He’d just listen and keep his mouth shut. He was a little wet still, but put on his breeches and tunic.

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  “Ready to go, Cat,” he yelled to the trees.

  She came out carrying their meager possessions, Yellow walking behind her, being careful to avoid knocking down any trees. To his delight, she let out her own whistle when she saw him standing clean.

  “Clean enough to meet a queen and king?” he asked, giving her a mock bow.

  “Absolutely,” she smiled. Her face turned serious for a moment. “Listen, Bert. I know I promised a conclusion to…our feelings. I know what I said, and I wouldn’t take it back for the world. I also know I asked you to promise me two days, and you gave me that. For me, nothing has changed…” she trailed off, fidgeting with her hands.

  Bert decided to give her a way out. “Until everything changed. Your father and Crowe returned and flipped the story on us. I was there, remember?” He smiled and took her pause as a sign to continue. “I know enough about you to know you stand on your honor. You made a promise to Darian, and that means something to you. I get it. I feel the same. A promise is something you should always keep, especially to people who matter to you. Darian Storme is a different man that I’m used to knowing. He’s got a one-track mind on battle, but he’s a good man. It’s not fair for you to break your word to him. As much as my heart wishes you would.”

  Cat pursed her lips, clearly holding in her emotions. Finally she spoke. “You’re doing a better job of this than I might have, Bertram Dragontongue. Perhaps I should have named you Silvertongue instead. You do not know how happy you make me. The fact you understand me so well…it’s something special. It means a lot.”

  “A casual, friendly handshake, then?” He walked to her and raised his hand. “An agreement to focus on making the next steps to peace, and leaving feelings aside for now?”

  She smiled widely. “An agreement,” she said, shaking his hand. “Oh, Bert, thank you. We also need to keep his family in our good graces for now. They are the key to our plans moving forward. I won’t let that control my choices in this life. I want to live more free, like Dray and Mira and Nock. I need to find a balance. But, for now, that’s the focus. I will talk to Darian when I can. Perhaps making a deal with his parents will lead to a swifter conclusion to these dramatics. Until then, I am happy to have you as my…partner.”

  He gave her a nod. “Partners.”

  She nodded back and smiled. “With that settled, let’s make our way to Keelwick. I don’t think landing a dragon in the middle of the town will be a good way to ingratiate ourselves. I know a hilly area we can land Yellow and walk the rest of the way. I’d like to look around before announcing ourselves.”

  “A good plan, as always,” Bert agreed. He grabbed Yellow gently by the horns. “Will you allow Cat to lead you today, my friend?” He couldn’t say exactly how he knew that Yellow assented, but something in his eyes and the tilt of his head told him exactly that.

  Cat slid past him, climbing up and sitting on his neck. “We already talked about that while you were bathing, Bert!”

  “And here I thought I was your partner,” he joked.

  Rather than reply, she patted Yellow gently in the space behind her.

  Sighing, he climbed up and settled in for the ride.