Twenty: After smooshing Kate's cheeks, Cyrlen kisses her forehead.
Cyrlen rapped his knuckles against the thick wooden door, kicking his foot against the floor as he settled in to wait. The door refused to budge, and he heard no noise from inside, so he tried again, knocking louder. Again, there was no reply.
He chuckled, imagining her face down on the rug, happily snoring away, or curled up in a chair with a cup of tea in one hand, so deeply engrossed in the drink that she failed to notice his pounding on the door. But she wasn’t getting away that easily. He had a free evening, there was an extraordinary pink sunset covering the horizon, and he had an overwhelming desire to share both of those things. With a burst of enthusiasm, he grabbed at the handle and threw the door open, swinging into the apartment with happy abandon.
“Kate?” He called, glancing around at the sparsely yet carefully decorated room for any sign of her. There was a blanket tossed haphazardly across the sofa, and two tea mugs lying discarded on the table, alongside a pile of neatly stacked papers. A vase of flowers cast a shadow from where it sat on the window sill, filling the room with the mild scent of dawn lotus. The fireplace was empty, though warm, and the kettle that hung above it was full of water, as though it were being kept there on reserve. A tin of cocoa sat on top of the mantle, the lid slightly open.
Cyrlen frowned pensively, wondering for a moment if perhaps she had decided to spend her evening elsewhere. But Cullen would not be finished with his meetings until well after 7, and she only visited the Herald’s Rest when everyone else went. That left one other place where she would spend her leisure time.
He crossed the room to the thin stairwell that lay nestled by the bedchamber. Taking the stairs two at a time, he made his way up to the roof of the tower. The door to the outside required a little shoving, but he managed to move it after a good strong push. It creaked nostalgically as it opened, and he was greeted with a face full of the evening breeze and the light of the sunset that peaked through the mountains, bathing the world in a juicy pink that breathed a quiet life into everything it touched. And there, stretched out on a velveteen blanket, one arm crossed over her eyes as she soaked up the sunset rays, was Kate, dark hair spilling out over the ground in a soft mass of waves.
Cyrlen hung in the doorway for a moment, considering his options as he watched her. Finally, no closer to making a decision, he called out softly, “Is this…a good time? Or would you prefer I came back later?”
She shifted, pulling her arm away from her face and rolling over to blink at him. “I’m like 99 percent sure you were going to yell at me about the sunset anyway, so now is fine.”
“You know me too well.”
“Please, you were never an enigma.” She slowly pulled herself upright and spread the blanket out a little more, inviting him to sit down as he approached. He did so, crossing his legs and resting his palms on his knees in a comfortable position. For a while, they sat there in silence, content to only breathe and watch the slowly fading light. Cyrlen was just starting to feel the chill of the wind beneath his skin and considering creating a warming spell for the two of them when Kate spoke.
“Looks a bit like ice lollies.”
Cyrlen scrunched up his face, searching for the word in his catalogue of memories she had shared with him. “Ice lollies are the…frozen juice treats, right?”
“Mhmmmm.”
“So, what here looks like ice lollies?”
“The mountain caps,” she replied, pointing at the snow covered peaks that were drenched in sun rays.
Cyrlen studied the scene in front of them, then turned to her, narrowing his eyes with a smirk. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”
Kate growled goodnaturedly, and blew a hair out of her face with a short gust of air. “I can say something nice without it meaning that I’m hungry, you know.”
“Can you?” Cyrlen questioned dubiously, earning him a swift punch in the arm. “Ow.”
Kate snickered, then leaned back where she sat with a contented sigh. “Did you hear? Your Inquisition increased by three today. Yours truly delivered triplets via a successful cesarean.”
“It’s not my Inquisition, but I happily accept the babies.”
He bit back laughter, his face growing red as he tried to maintain a straight, neutral expression. Kate blinked at him, surprise emanating from her gaze as she waited expectantly, all while clearly trying very hard to pretend that she was not waiting expectantly for anything.
“I…yeah. They’re all a little small, none of them over 3 kilos…” she glanced over at him, and he nodded with interest, still holding his neutral expression in place. She smiled half-heartedly and kept talking. “I thought we would have more complications, and it didn’t go completely smoothly, but we handled everything really well…”
Cyrlen kept nodding. Kate’s words trailed off. She blinked out at the sunset, practically radiating confusion.
Cyrlen cracked, almost spitting out his laughter. “Kate! Kate, I’m just teasing!” He exclaimed, leaning in closer to her, then immediately leaning away as she turned on him with a glare, her hair flinging in all directions. “Seriously, Kate,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender, though he kept giggling. “I’m very proud of you. Surgery is hard enough but three babies? You never cease to amaze me. The Inquisition relies on you.”
She smiled rather smugly, crossing her arms against her chest. “Well…you’d better, I guess.” She snorted at herself. “But I really am happy to do it, and I’m glad you approve.”
“‘Approve’,” Cyrlen mimicked with a snicker. “You just live for the applause.” He stretched out his hands and pressed them to her cheeks, smooshing the soft skin there teasingly as she laughed. He paused, suddenly, and looked intently into her eyes. “You know I’m proud of you, right?”
Kate nodded, as best as she could with his hands still resting on her face. “Yeah, and I’m proud of you.”
“I’m being serious, Kate.”
“Oh and I’m not?”
“Ugh, Creators, just shut up,” he exclaimed, darting forward and pressing a long kiss to her brow. “Now…” he said slowly, leaning back and lowering his hands from her cheeks. “I’m freezing, and you’re hungry. Shall we go see if we can find some hot soup?”
“As ever, oh mage, you have read my mind.”
