Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

I found Kit with a stack of books in their arms so high that, if they weren’t the only person wearing full armor in this marketplace, I wouldn’t have seen them. “What are you doing?”

A muffled voice emerged from the bookstack. Sighing, I took the top five from them and rephrased. “Why did you get so many?” And how did they get so many? Where had they hidden the purse? Did they somehow get it all on credit? If I was a store owner, I certainly would not extend a line of credit to someone in armor and a fox mask. That was asking to be cursed, enchanted, or otherwise magically inconvenienced. It wasn’t safe just because our kingdom had been purged of evil—aside from the imp, who for all I knew was a complete and total coincidence. The little blighter didn’t seem like he had a heart as black as the bottom of the ocean. Gray was more likely. Maybe he had gotten into the kingdom because he truly meant no harm and just wanted to watch relationship drama unfold like a bad play.

I shook my head, forcing myself to stay on track and pay attention to Kit’s response.

“I couldn’t choose just one,” they explained, sounding as sheepish as a fox could.

“Then what about two? Or three? Or any number other than a dozen?”

“Because it’s a series,” they explained, dumping all but one of the books into my arms. My injured hand twinged but I managed to hold onto the stack. They held up the book and waved it in my face so I couldn’t even read the title. “What if she reads the first one all in one night and immediately wants the second? This author is terrible about cliffhangers.”

“And what if she’s already read some of them?” I countered.

“She hasn’t,” Kit replied, almost offhand, as if having that sort of knowledge of my sister was perfectly reasonable.

“Well, whatever, let’s head back to the castle.”

“Oh, are you done with your shopping?”

I froze, the weight in my arms dragging me down. Fuck. I had completely forgotten that the entire reason I’d come out here had been to get something for Brandan to wear. I shoved the books back into Kit’s arms and said, “Wait here.”

Instead of listening to me, Kit followed me the rest of the way to Madame Trousers’ Everyday Casual Wear and Occasional Day Formal Wear.

“Rick, darling!” a woman exclaimed as she bustled out from the counter. “It’s been absolute ages since I last saw you.” She managed to out-height both Kit and me by a few inches, and she had to stoop to kiss both of my cheeks. Turning to Kit, she added, “I see you’ve already done quite a bit of shopping today! Come, come, put those right here on the counter, we can’t have your arms full when we’re taking measurements!”

“Measurements?” Kit asked, a bit dazed as the books were swept from their hands. “No, I’m not the one shopping today—Rick is.”

Since Kit and Brandan were the same size, it’d be more useful to use their measurements than mine. “Madame Trouser likes to have everyone’s measurements on file, just in case,” I said lightly.

Madame gave me an appraising look before she said, “Sometimes people like to buy gifts without being obvious. So much easier if I already have the information.”

Kit perked up. “Do you have Princess Francesca’s measurements?”

Madame’s eyelashes fluttered furiously and she looked between Kit and I oddly. “The princess’?” she repeated carefully.

Out of Kit’s view, I shrugged and waved my hand, showing her it didn’t bother me at all.

“Yes, of course I have the princess’ measurements! Are you buying her a birthday present?”

“Wedding gift.”

I had to applaud Kit for sticking to their role so well. “This is Prince Brandan of Bane,” I explained, “Francesca’s fiancé.”

“It’s Brendon, actually,” Kit corrected.

Dammit, what did I say?

Madame laughed off her confusion. “An absolute pleasure to meet you, my dear! I’d love to help you select a wedding gift. But first, measurements!” She ushered Kit to the back of the shop, ignoring all their protests. “You’ll need to take the armor off, of course.”

Kit froze and although Madame was taller than them, they had more heft, forcing her to stop in place. “I can’t be seen before the wedding.”

Madame looked back at me with wide eyes, clearly broadcasting: Frederick Woeful, what kind of oddity have you brought into my shop?

I shrugged unrepentantly.

“That’s fine, dear,” she said through clenched teeth. “My tools will find a way.” She ushered Kit behind a curtained area, set her enchanted measuring tape into motion with a flick of her wrist, and then hustled back to me.

“Frederick Woeful, what kind of miserable creature have you brought into my shop?”

I’d almost deciphered her look correctly, I just hadn’t realized she’d be so upset about it. Despite ruining my plans, Kit wasn’t so bad. “Sorry, Madame, I know he’s odd.”

She harrumphed and crossed her arms, leaning one hip against the counter. “Is there a reason you brought him here to be measured? I assume you weren’t shopping for yourself, since there would be no reason to drag him along if that was the case.”

“The clothes are for someone else,” I explained, “they just happen to be the same size.”

“Ahh.” She drew the sound out for far longer than necessary. Her eyes softened and she patted my cheek. “Good, for a moment there, I was worried you had fallen in love with your sister’s fiancé. I like you, Rick. I’d hate for you to break your own heart.”

Kit and I spent a good hour picking out clothes. They refused to let me see the designs they had chosen for Francesca, which needed to be custom made. I wondered how Brendon would feel about his stand-in buying so many gifts for his fiancée, but I couldn’t say anything. I selected some readymade clothes in earth tones I thought would suit Brendon and Madame’s enchanted needles tailored them to fit Kit’s measurements. All the while she murmured bullshit like “this will compliment your eyes,” knowing I wouldn’t be the one wearing them.

We walked back to the castle, my arms overloaded with books and clothes. My hand throbbed, but if I clenched my teeth, I almost forgot about it.

“Are you alright?” Kit asked, slowing their steps.

How many damn times were people going to ask me that? “I’m fine.”

“You’re sweating.”

“This is heavy.”

Kit continued to watch me uncertainly until we reached the castle. I wanted to dump them onto someone else, but I still had half their books in my arms, so I had to follow them all the way to their room. “Thank you for letting me come with you today,” they said when we arrived at their door. “I know you don’t like me.” They handed their armload of books to the attendant.

“It’s not that I don’t like you,” I muttered as Kit took the books from my arms, “I just don’t know who you are.”

Kit looked me in the eye for a long moment before saying, “I think you know me better than you’ll admit.”

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

They excused themselves and closed the door in my face. The attendant let me gawk after them for a few minutes before clearing their throat pointedly and raising their eyebrows at me in a polite-rude-way of asking me to leave or state my business.

I turned on my heel and left, scratching at the bite marks until my whole hand felt numb.