Chapter 126

Kayla

The dinner table was laden with a feast, everything from glistening roast ham to tiny, buttery potatoes. Trays of various roasted vegetables wafted fragrant steam into the air, and the fresh bread that Grace had baked was practically begging us to slice into it and eat it with thick slabs of butter.

It was strange to see the tiny cabin that was once only meant to be a safe house for a political prisoner so full of life and joy. But it was also beautiful.

Everyone gathered around the table, the warriors included. Jade was already filling her plate with bread and potatoes, Marcus was pouring champagne into glasses, and Grace was standing at the head of the table, her eyes sparkling and her hand clutching the tiny necklace at her throat.

Emma and Nicholas entered a moment later, smelling like cold air. I glanced at Nicholas, noticing the way he slipped something into his bag by the door before he hurried over and took a seat beside me.

My cheeks heated at the sly look he gave me as he took his seat. I wondered if I had inadvertently walked in on a discussion about solstice gifts earlier. What did he get me, I wondered? And most of all, would he like what I made him?

Once everyone was seated, Grace picked up her glass of champagne for a toast.

“Thank you all for coming,” she said, blinking away fresh tears as she looked around at all of us. “This is my first solstice in…” She hesitated and looked down at the plate in front of her. “Well, in a long time.”

I felt my chest clench painfully at the thought of her spending so many years locked up in a cell with no one to keep her company. How strange and wonderful it must feel to have her first solstice in so long be filled with so much love and cheer.

Grace went on, “Anyway, I’m glad you’re all here.” She raised her glass with a watery smile. “To new friends and found family.”

“To new friends and found family,” we echoed, raising our glasses in unison. Beside me, Nicholas’s knee bumped mine under the table. When I glanced over at him, there was something unreadable in his eyes, something that made my breath hitch although I wasn’t entirely sure why.

Without a word, he clinked his glass against mine, and the touch sent a jolt through me.

Nicholas and I hadn’t said a word to each other about whatever our relationship was at this point, or where it was heading. Not that we needed to—I was content for now to just enjoy our stolen moments together—but something felt different today. There was something in his gaze, in his smile, that felt… changed.

But the moment quickly passed when he turned away and began to fill his plate.

That night, crammed around a table that was never meant for so much food and so many people, we feasted. We shared stories, we laughed, even cried a little when we’d had too much champagne.

It was lovely. Truly lovely. And I couldn’t wait for more solstices just like this one, although I hardly dared to consider a future in which Nicholas and I remained together even once our contract was fulfilled.

It was a tiny hope, but for once, I allowed myself to hold onto it. Just this once. Just for tonight.

After dinner, we cleaned up and made our way over to the living room area, our bellies full from all the food. We sat around the too-big solstice tree, and before we even had time to settle in, Emma was already kneeling on the floor beside the stack of presents.

“Take it easy there, Em,” Marcus sighed, shaking his head as his sister dug through the gifts—wrapped in various states, from pristine glittery paper to haphazard bags. Someone hadn’t bothered to wrap their gifts at all, instead opting for the cardboard boxes they’d been shipped in.

Emma just grinned at him over her shoulder. Finally spotting one of her gifts, she held it up and shook it next to her ear, then glanced at the tag.

“This one’s from Kayla,” she said, beaming. “Can I open it?”

I snorted. “Go for it.”

Emma tore into the wrapping paper and gasped when she pulled out the gift: a delicate, hand-woven camera strap. I blushed slightly as she immediately scurried over to her camera and replaced the old one, then slung it around her neck.

“This is perfect!” she cried, holding it up for all to see the vibrant reds and blues and greens woven into the strap. “My old one was getting so ratty. This feels so stylish.”

After that, we made our way through the pile of gifts, taking turns. I gave Jade a pair of warm mittens with a matching beanie since she was always taking walks in the forest, Marcus a new custom fountain pen because his had broken recently, Grace a book of knitting patterns, and Noah a leatherbound journal. I gave the warriors, Nina and Emerie, each a pair of woollen socks and hand warmers, which they both appreciated.

Soon enough, the room was covered in wrapping paper and ribbons. I was fully decked out in a new scarf from Jade, a handmade pair of socks from Grace, and a stack of smutty books from Emma. Noah gave me a new pair of sneakers, and Marcus’s gift was a new lens for my telescope.

Notably, Nicholas’s gift to Grace was… “A greenhouse?” Grace echoed, her hands flying to her mouth.

Nicholas nodded, smiling. “You said you’d like to garden, so I’m having the supplies for a small greenhouse shipped here tomorrow. We’ll build it before we leave. It shouldn’t take long.”

Grace leapt to her feet, throwing her arms around Nicholas with tears in her eyes. “Thank you,” she breathed. “Thank you so much.”

Nicholas simply chuckled, patting her back, and said, “You can make it up to me by growing some really good food for next year’s solstice.”

Grace giggled and pulled back, nodding. “It’s a deal.”

Finally, only one gift was left under the tree. I turned to Nicholas with an impish grin. “I think that one might be yours,” I said.

Nicholas stood and picked up the gift, tearing into the wrapping paper to reveal a cashmere scarf. He smiled and wrapped it around his neck right away. “Thank you, Kayla. I love it.”

I grinned even wider, but not because he liked the gift. That wasn’t really the gift I’d prepared for him; it was just a decoy.

As for the real gift… I couldn’t bear to give it to him in front of everyone else. It was… personal. And maybe a little silly.

Finally, with a satisfied sigh, Nicholas plopped back down on the sofa beside me. There were no gifts left under the tree.

“Happy solstice, everyone,” he said, raising his glass of whiskey. “This might have been the best solstice I’ve had since… forever, honestly.”

Everyone raised their glasses and set about chatting and admiring their new things, even scurrying over to the kitchen for more snacks even though we’d just finished feasting. Nicholas turned to Noah, laughing about the bright pink hat that Emma had given him.

But I felt my heart sink.

Nicholas hadn’t given me a solstice gift after all.

It wasn’t like he needed to; recently, he’d already given me the star charm to add to my bracelet as well as that beautiful dress I wore to the baby shower. He’d spoiled me plenty, and yet…

It still made my heart twist painfully. Mostly because now, I felt even sillier for the actual gift I had made for him.

I wondered, as I glanced over at my duffle bag sitting by the door, if I should give it to him at all.

If anyone else noticed Nicholas’s lack of a gift for me, they didn’t mention it. Although, I spotted Emma glancing at me on more than one occasion, and I couldn’t take it anymore.

Murmuring some excuse, I made my way outside, needing some fresh air. The cold winter wind hit my flushed cheeks, but it did little to cool the fire that had built up inside of me.

Did Nicholas forget, I wondered? Or did he deliberately choose not to get me something for solstice—maybe because he didn’t want to give me the wrong idea about our relationship?

The very thought sent a shudder through me, and as I stepped out onto the crisp snow, I wrapped my arms around myself. Perhaps I’d gotten too comfortable with the tentative affection we had for each other, and I’d read too much into it after all.

Perhaps this was his way of reminding me that it was just sex. Temporary. Nothing more.

And perhaps—

Suddenly, before I could finish that thought, warm hands covered my eyes. I gasped at the unexpected sensation, and a familiar scent overwhelmed me.

“Hold out your hands,” Nicholas murmured, his voice low and rough against my ear.

I obeyed, and he placed something in my palms.

“Happy solstice, Kayla.”