Camelot's Crow | ✓ [BOOK 3]

~ 40 ~

KIT AWOKE BENEATH MORGANA, with Chalice's back to his arm. Giselle had her head on his thigh, and Selene had her face buried in the princess's stomach, sound asleep. Eurion had the most personal space of all of them, draped over Chalice's side, head resting on her crossed arms. Kit didn't want to leave this position. It felt nice, to lay at peace with those closest to him.

He couldn't stay there forever, though. His stomach grumbled loudly, making Morgana stir, and Chalice turned to look at him, already awake, apparently.

"I bet they've got food out there already," they told him in a quiet voice so as not to wake the others.

Kit ran his hands over his face, then gestured vaguely to Morgana and Giselle preventing him from getting up. Chalice gave him a knowing grin, then brought their fingers to Eurion's inky black hair, stroking it away from her face. The thief murmured to herself before her eyes fluttered open, looking sleeping at Chalice.

Kit hated to wake the others up, but his stomach was aching in hunger. He brought a hand to Morgana's back, tracing shape up his spine, caressing his hair with his other hand. The faery twitched, but didn't yet wake up. "Morgana," he whispered. "I need to get up."

Morgana groaned, but he didn't move. Kit rolled his eyes and pushed himself up into a sitting position, turning Giselle's head and dumping Morgana off of his lap and properly waking him up this time. The princess didn't budge.

"Sorry," Kit said, pushing Morgana's messy hair out of his face.

Morgana gave him a sleepy smile and leaned forward, laying his head on his shoulder.

"Oh, come on," he muttered. "Morgana, I can't get up when you lay on me."

Morgana laced his arms around Kit's middle. "Don't get up, then," he said.

So he didn't. Kit sat there for several minutes, stomach turning in its emptiness, until Morgana finally sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning," Kit told him.

Morgana yawned, revealing his lightly pointed canines. "Morning. Has he come yet?"

Kit shook his head. "I don't think so. We should eat, though, in case he does."

Chalice and Eurion were already out by the time Kit and Morgana got to their feet, and they left Selene and Giselle to hold each other until they woke up. Kit closed the door quietly behind him, then took Morgana's arm, leading him to the center of the village, where the smell of delicious pie filled his senses. Kit inhaled his own in a matter of minutes, while Morgana took his time.

"Heavens, Kit," Morgana said as Kit finished. "Take a moment to breathe."

"What? I was hungry."

"So am I, and I still have manners."

Kit rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He brought his fingers up to his long hair then, raking through the strands of black and white as Morgana ate. "Can I braid it for you?"

Morgana gave him a sidelong glance. "Do you know how to braid?"

"Of course I do, I'm not an animal." His mother taught him young, and when they would stay up until the late hours of the night talking, he would put her hair into intricate, decorative braids. He liked his hair shorter, though, so when she passed, he fell out of the habit.

Morgana moved so he was sitting on the ground in front of Kit, resting between his knees. "Nothing too fancy."

Kit chuckled. "Of course not."

Morgana's hair was impossibly long, it reached past his waist, giving him a lot to work with. He focused first on pulling the hair out of his face, save for a rebellious strand of white that refused to behave. Two braids turned into one long, simple braid twisting down Morgana's back. It took him long enough that the faery had finally finished his food by the time he was done.