Casteel joined me, folding an arm around my waist while I stroked the side of Setti’s neck. As I watched Kieran mount his horse, I asked, “Is the bowing thing going to happen often?”

“Yes,” he answered, taking the reins of his horse.

“Why didn’t your mother do that?” I wondered out loud. “Not that I wanted her to, but I’m curious. Is it because she’s pregnant?” I doubted she would’ve been able to drop into such a position.

“I told her it would make you uncomfortable if she did,” Kieran answered. “Just like I told my father not to do it.”

My chest warmed. “You know what?”

He raised a brow as he looked down at me. “What?”

I reached over and patted his chest. “You’re more than okay.”

“Now that I know you think I’m more than okay, I can sleep well at night.” His tone was as dry as the Wastelands, but I grinned.

“By the way, when it happens again, you can say ‘You may rise,’” Casteel said as he nudged Setti into motion. “Or if you would like to use something less formal, you can simply say ‘Yes’ or greet them by name if you know who is before you. And before you ask them to cast the formality aside, please know that I have also asked that of many, and you’ve seen how well it worked for me.”

Not very well at all.

Sighing, I leaned against Casteel as we rode out of the courtyard. The wolven, now four of them, followed at a discreet distance.

“We won’t have to ride through the busiest parts of the city to get to the estate,” Casteel told me as we veered onto a paved road surrounded by tall, lush cypress trees. The wolven quickly disappeared into the thick foliage. “We can follow the bluffs straight to it. There will be people, but nothing like when we entered the city or yesterday.”

While I’d thoroughly enjoyed my all-too-quick visit to Saion’s Cove, my mind was already a twisted mess, focused on the upcoming meeting with Casteel’s parents. “Thank you.”

He dipped his head and kissed my cheek as Kieran sent him a wry look. “Don’t let him convince you that his motives are completely altruistic. He also doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of shouts and long looks of admiration.”

There had been a lot of them the day before.

“It makes me self-conscious,” Casteel said.

“Really?” I asked, and when Casteel agreed, I looked to Kieran for confirmation. “Is he lying to me?”

“A little.”

“He has no idea what he’s talking about,” Casteel claimed as the hand that had been resting on my hip inched across my lower stomach. His thumb moved, idly drawing circles around my navel.

“I think I’ll believe Kieran,” I decided.

“How dare you?” he teased, and I felt the nip of his sharp teeth against the curve of my neck. I jerked as a rush of heat flooded my system. “I am very shy.”