“Agh,” he said, waving a hand dismissively. “Girls are trouble…”

I giggled. “But have you ever had a girlfriend?”

“G-girl…” He paused, frowning. “Saira is a girl friend.”

“No. By girlfriend, I mean like a lover. A girl you’re in love with.”

He furrowed his brows as though deep in thought. “No. I have never had that.”

“Then how do you know girls are trouble?”

He looked away from me, as though hoping that avoiding my eye contact would also avoid the subject. His expression was not unlike a four-year-old trying to hide from an uncomfortable question.

“Well?”

“Fights always start when they’re around.”

“That doesn’t have to happen. There are lots of couples who don’t fight.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t know about girl ogres. They’re mean.”

There wasn’t much I could say to counter that argument. Brett was the only ogre I’d come across, and from what I’d learned about ogres so far, Brett was an anomaly. Most ogres were cruel-hearted beasts, and that was why Brett was an outcast. He didn’t like violence.

“Sometimes,” he continued, “it’s better to be alone. There’s no fighting. It’s peaceful. No troubles.”

I bit my lip, looking out at Brett’s view of the sea. We were both quiet for a few minutes, listening to the waves crashing against the shore.

“You have a boy-lover, don’t ya?” Brett blurted.

I frowned and shook my head.

A grin spilt his face and his eyes narrowed on me. “Yeah, you do. Don’t think I haven’t seen you with that Micah boy.”

“Oh,” I said. Now it was my turn to blush. “Micah is just a friend. I barely even know him.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He thinks you’re his girl-lover.”

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh at Brett’s turn of phrase or be mortified that even an ogre had picked up on this. My expression was likely somewhere in between.

“Well, what do you think of Micah?” I said, eyeing him with amusement. “Do you think he would make a good ‘boy-lover’?”

Brett paused and furrowed his brows, clearly taking my question as no light matter.

“Yeah, I think he’s a good fella.”

“Anything else you can tell me about him?”

Brett thought for a moment longer. “He’s a good fish-catcher… though he doesn’t roast them as well.”

“Uh-huh.” It was clear that this was all the insight Brett was planning to offer. “Well, thanks for that, Brett. I’ll bear it in mind. Because roasting is important.”

“Yes.”

“I should probably be getting home now.”

“Oh, princess. You could stay for dinner if you wanted.”

“I would love to, Brett. I truly would. But my parents want me home early.”

He looked mildly disappointed, but was probably expecting that answer. I doubted there were many on this island who spent dinner alone with Brett, unless they couldn’t be bothered to cook.

“Well, thanks for visiting, Princess Rose.”

“I promise I’ll visit you again soon,” I said as I left the cave, and I meant it.

“I’d like that. I will try to have the chair finished in time for you. Can’t have the princess sitting on my straw again,” he mumbled.

“I’ll bring my brother Ben with me too, if you don’t mind. And we don’t mind sitting on the straw.”

He positively beamed at the thought of two visitors.

We said goodbye and I climbed down from the cave across the boulders and back onto the sandy beach. I didn’t know how it would ever happen, but I was determined to make it my personal mission to one day find a companion for Brett.

Chapter 28: Caleb

I sat in my bedroom the following evening, waiting for Annora to knock. It turned out I was right in assuming that her nightly visits would resume now that I’d had some respite.

She arrived at the stroke of midnight, in her usual black silk coverall and lingerie.

I stood up and as she approached me, I gripped her arms and sat her on the bed while I towered over her, looking deep into her steely gray eyes.

“What?”

“I’ve put it off long enough.”

She frowned at me. “Put what off?”

“I want to become a warlock.”

She blinked, her lower lip twitching.

“Warlock?” she breathed.

“Not just any warlock. I want to become a Channeler of the Ancients’ power.”

“Y-you’re serious?”

I nodded slowly, studying every flicker of emotion that crossed her face. What I saw confused me. She looked shocked at first. That I could understand. But now she looked disturbed. Worried. Desperate even.

Her hands began to tremble and she stood up, gripping my forearms.

“Why? Why don’t you want to remain as you are?”

“For the same reason as you. Power. Influence. Surrender to our cause.”

She began shaking her head.

“No.” Her voice cracked. “No, Caleb. I-I…” She clasped a palm over her mouth. She sank back down on the bed, her chest heaving. “Caleb, no.”

I didn’t know what game Annora was playing by refusing something she herself had coaxed me to do for so long. I bent down to her level, gripping her jaw and forcing her to look directly into my eyes.