The question was... what does Ethea want?
Soren turned it over for a moment, then accepted that he had no answer. He had been living in the same house as her for weeks now. He had cooked for her every single day and sat across from her at every meal, yet he still did not know something as basic as what she actually enjoyed.
That was a problem worth fixing.
He waited until Ethea woke up on her own. Once they had settled into breakfast, he set down his spoon and looked across the table at her.
"Ethea."
Ethea glanced at him.
"I was thinking of taking you out today." He kept his tone casual, as if the idea had only just crossed his mind rather than occupying his thoughts since dawn. "Anywhere you'd want to go?"
Ethea, who had been watching the steam rise from her bowl, slowly lifted her gaze to meet his. An unfamiliar look crossed her face, as if he had asked a question she never expected to hear, leaving her entirely unsure how to respond.
A long silence stretched between them.
