Chapter 21 · Frontier Lord - Chapter 21: The Prisoner With a Crown Seal

Klaus was sitting in her storage shed like he owned it.

Ava stopped three steps inside the doorway. Rain was behind her, close enough that she could feel the shift in his breathing. The wagon drivers had unloaded the grain sacks in neat rows—Klaus's people, efficient as always—and now her ex-fiancé was perched on one of those sacks, legs crossed, smile easy.

"You look surprised," Klaus said. "I did say I'd deliver personally."

She wasn't surprised. She was furious. But she kept her face still and her hands loose at her sides. "You said you'd send a caravan. Not camp in my storage."

"Semantics." He stood, brushing dust off his coat. It was tailored, dark wool lined with silk—nothing a merchant should be wearing this far from the capital. "I wanted to see what you'd built. It's impressive. Honestly. I didn't think you'd last two weeks."

Rain moved half a step to the left, angling his body between her and Klaus. She touched his wrist once, light. Not yet.

Klaus noticed. Of course he did. His smile widened. "Still keeping guard dogs, Ava? I thought you'd learned to stand on your own by now.