Russel didn’t say anything for several, long seconds. He knew he had to be careful now. If he approached this delicate situation in the wrong way, Lola would run and then he wouldn’t be able to protect her. And he wanted to protect her. He realized that simple fact more and more each day. The magnetic pull she had over him had only grown stronger during their time spent traveling. He didn’t just like having her with him, he loved it. The simple fact that he knew she would be there in the morning made the days brighter. More bearable.

He took a silent moment to think of something plausible that wasn’t the actual truth and wasn’t an easily spotted lie.

“My father sent me as an envoy to Sarchi to start talks of alliance against Harvenk,” he said. “He thought sending the fifth-born son alone would send them a clear message that he meant peace. As you know, I got a bit delayed.”

He winked at her.

“Your father must have a lot of faith in you to trust you with a mission like that,” she said. “It sounds important.”

“Unfortunately, it will have to wait,” he replied. “Something a little more urgent happened to come up. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

Russel, of course, knew that his father absolutely would not understand. But, he was still trying to come up with some sort of game plan once they crossed over into Oclan. Despite the fact that the king wanted Lola dead, Russel still felt confident that was the best place for her. It kept her firmly out of Drake’s clutches. While the insane moron had the gall to enter human lands, he knew he would never get away with coming into Oclan territory. He would be found and slaughtered in short order.

Their host came back with the wine and two glasses. He set the glasses down in front of each of them and then opened the bottle. He poured a generous amount into their glasses and bowed again.

“Please,” he said. “Enjoy. This is a superb vintage from a local winery here in Wrexon.”

“Thank you,” Lola said with a cheery smile.

Russel simply gave him a tiny, almost indistinct nod of his head.

“Of course. If there is anything else you might wish before your food arrives, do not hesitate to ask.” With that, the host left and attended to the other patrons of the restaurant.

Lola picked up her glass and sniffed the wine experimentally. She’d never had the stuff before. Most of the alcoholic drink she had gotten back in Gloucester had been home-brewed mead or beer, both of which were not very pleasant. She held her glass up toward the center of the table and waited for Russel to do the same.

“To the success of future endeavors,” she said, not really knowing what else to say. “Cheers.”

Russel chuckled a little.

“Cheers.”

They both drank experimentally at first, testing the wine to see what it tasted like. It had a slight bitterness to it that lingered but overall, it had a pleasant sweetness with a hint of fruit, minerals, and tannins. It was, in her estimation, a much better drink than what she was used to.

“I’ve never had wine before,” she said. She could feel a little heat entering her cheeks. “It’s…pleasant.”

“Yes,” he replied. “It is very good wine. But be careful. It’s easy to get carried away.”

“I’ll be okay,” she replied. “I just want something to dull…things. For a time.”