His arms were covered in black tattoos that flexed when he crossed them over his thick chest. From his close-shaved black hair to the way he held himself in such rigid positions, everything about the man was hard—and not in a fun way. He stared down his nose at me with hawk-like eyes, as if he thought I was the reason for every bad thing that had happened in his life.
Luckily for me—while being simultaneously bad for Steele—I’d already had a really fucking rough day and wasn’t going to allow anyone to push me around. Physically or mentally.
“I’m going to assume he’s in charge?” I asked Gabe, choosing not to talk to Steele just yet, despite him being directly in front of me. Partially because he was an ass and I didn’t want to talk to him but also because I could tell from the growl he let out that it annoyed him to the umpteenth degree.
“I’m going to assume you’re a brat who doesn’t understand the extent of the massive security risk your appearance is for thousands of my people?” Steele rebutted, eyes trained on the side of my face as I continued to ignore him.
I wasn’t going to dignifythatwith a response. His tone and choice of words had gotten us here. If he would’ve just been civil from the start, I’d be singing an entirely different tune.
“Yes,” Gabe admitted to me on a heavy exhale before turning to the new bane of my existence. “I’m sure if Kieran brought all of them, there’s a perfectly good reason for it.”
Ah, shit.Not this again. Gabe was really going to bat for me, and I was going to have to explain myself eventually. My fingers found their way into my hair as I tried to spin this in my head.
“Doubtful,” Steele muttered under his breath. “You’re more than a bit biased in this situation, Gabe. While I understand that you invited her here, the breach in portaling directly to us without going through security at our entrance, paired with the company she brought into the camp, is completely unwelcome.”
My lips thinned, but I tried my best to keep my expression otherwise neutral. He didn’t deserve to see just how much that hurt me.
Gabe’s gaze narrowed as he offered Steele a dark look before grabbing my hand and squeezing tightly. I hated how much that simple move meant to me at the moment. “You’re treating them like they’re the enemy, yet she was vital in helping me with my damn mission, Steele. You know this!” he yelled, throwing his free hand in the air. “They gave up everything to come here!”
Ronan let out a grunt of acknowledgment.
Bastian’s humming resumed, completely unbothered.
My heart practically leapt into my throat at Gabe’s defense of not only me but my three companions as well. He didn’t need to do that, yet he was—for me.Fuck.This man was really worming his way into my heart at an alarming rate.
“They are the enemy, Gabe!” Steele yelled, matching the energy he’d received. “You mentioned nothing about anyone else, and I absolutely do not trust them.” His gaze darted to Niz who had flown back to Ronan’s shoulder.
Why was his focus on the wyvern when he said that? I had to assume it was due to his lack of experience with beasts, as I’m sure they didn’t have any of their own here. Which, to be fair, Nizwas an imposing threat at full size and wyvern were rarely ever seen, even in Alfemir.
“I didn’t mean to cause any problems, Gabe,” I expressed to him directly as he shook his head, clearly not caring how worked up Steele was getting. “I’m so?—”
My words were cut off,again.
“But you are,” Steele bit out as his arms dropped to his side and he prowled closer to me. “And for the record, helping Gabe with his mission means nothing to me. You haven’t proven shit to me. Showing up with two strangers actually shows me howlittleyou care about the Rebellion. Are you willing to swear on your life to vouch for these two?”
I think that was the moment my patience wore out.
I took a step forward, just like he’d done to try to intimidate me, but Gabe caught my hip, preventing me from getting in Steele’s personal bubble the way I wanted. I let our eyes clash and hold in silence for a few beats, tipping my head up to do so. My voice dropped to a low tone as I clarified, “I am not putting anyone in danger. Neither are Ronan or Bastian. We are here to help your cause.”
I couldn’t help but shove my finger into Steele’s chest, drawing a momentary flash of shock in his eyes that was gone as quickly as it appeared. “It wasyourplans andyourmission that put Gabe in danger. Actually…that even got me involved in any of this in the first place. Or am I wrong that you were the one who assigned that particular mission?”
I knew I wasn't. He’d made it abundantly clear he thought he had the biggest dick here and everyone needed to bow down to him. Well, I had a newsflash for him, my metaphorical dick was ten times bigger right now.
A glint of malice flashed in Steele’s gaze at my challenge. He seemed preoccupied with his thoughts for a moment beforehe shook his head, dismissing me. “Gabriel, muzzle your plaything.”
Bastian’s hums stopped, and Niz let out a tiny roar in warning.
I blinked twice in momentary stupor. Did he…did he seriously just say that?
“Absolutely not,” I hissed, rage snapping me out of it as I held out a hand to stop Ronan’s advance. I could handle my own battles. “You donotget to talk to me like that, you absolute ass!”
Hushed whispers and gasps of surprise flew around us as Steele's jaw clenched so hard I was concerned it would actually shatter. A girl could dream.
“This is beyond unnecessary,” Gabe growled out at him. “She’s here because she wanted out. I have no doubt she brought the dagger with her, which we desperately need in case you suddenly forgot that little fact in your haze of irrational anger. Clearly these are the individuals who helped her escape, so let’s be fucking thankful they didn’t get caught.”
“Your judgment is clouded,” Steele murmured, ignoring all of the logic Gabe tossed his way before raising his voice to announce, “I want them apprehended and brought to holdingnow.”
Chaos exploded as the men and women around us surged forward, moving like the trained soldiers they likely were. Ronan let out a sound that seemed almost as animalistic as Niz’s roar just as I snapped my head back to see him apprehended by three men. I knew that would never have happened if his attention and focus wasn’t on me. I hissed in anger as a sword was pressed directly to his chest and Niz flew from his shoulder, circling the space above us with a panicked shriek echoing over and over.
