“Shit.” He laughs, and the sound warms me as I flip my spear and jab the tip into the ground to hold it in place. “You’ve gotten stronger.”
I shrug, sending a smile his way. “Couldn’t let you continuously be referred to as the strongest in our kingdom, now could I?”
He laughs again, and the familiarity eases that invisible tightness in my chest. “Should we head ba—”
“Hey! Daxel!”
Nox’s eyes shut as his shoulders tense, and though I recognize the voice, I peek around him to confirm my suspicions.Arin. He marches over a small hill towards us, a longsword already gripped in one hand, the other clenched into a fist. And at his side, her gaze shrewd as she glares at me, is Haylee.
“Well, it seemsHis Highnesscan crawl out of hiding every once in a while,” the asshole says as he comes to a stop a few feet away from us, ignoring me entirely while he stares at Nox. His eyebrows dance up his forehead, a cruel smile tilting his lips. “You look like shit.”
“Arin,” Haylee snaps, jutting her hip out as she folds her arms over her chest. “He is yourking.”
“Right, yes.” He mocks a bow, the sun reflecting over the short strands of his blond hair. “Excuse me, I tend to forget to show respect to those I find weaker than myself.”
Nox laughs, his head cocking to the side. “How many hours of practicing in the mirror did it take you to come up with that one?”
Arin growls as he takes a step towards Nox, only to find the end of my spear now blocking his path. He finally notices me, his gaze flicking my way with utter disdain. I send him a wink. “Get your fucking weapon out of my face.”
“Or what?” I taunt.
“Bahira, don’t egg him on,” Haylee chides, her hands wrapping around Arin’s arm as she tries to tug him back.
“If you haveanyself-preservation skills, you’ll be mindful to not speak another fuckingwordaround me,” I seethe. While Haylee’s reaction is a subtle jerk of her head, Arin’s is much more aggressive. Wrapping his hand around my spear beneath the dark metal tip, he yanks it towards him. I go with it, sending the heel of my boot down on the top of his foot when I’m close enough. He howls and drops my spear, both hands clamping the hilt of his sword as he raises it above his head. My blood ignites at the idea of fighting him, of sending the tip of my spear through his gut until blood paints the end of it. I’ve never been a fan of his, but for Haylee’s sake, I had always been cordial.
There would be no more of that. No more dancing around how much he annoys me with his petty jealousy of Nox and his need to feel likeheis at the top of the proverbial food chain. He grits his teeth as he stares down at me, eyes flaring wide with feral rage before he swings his sword down directly over me. “Don’t ever speak to her that way again!”
I laugh as I block, planting my feet and pushing against the momentum he created. I lean in closer, enough to see my own reflection in his sword. “How noble of you to stand up for a woman who doesn’t even want you.”
“Guess you would know a thing or two about that, wouldn’t you?”
Fuck. I walked right into that.
“Enough!” Nox’s raised voice draws the guards’ attention but he waves them off. I use the distraction to slide my spear down the length of Arin’s sword before snapping the body into his torso. It won’t break skin, but it will at the very least knock the wind out of him. His breath hisses out between clenched teeth, and satisfaction surges through me as I step back, meeting Nox’s exasperated gaze. “That is enough. Arin, go the fuck home and take Haylee with you. Bahira, come on.”
“I want my rematch!” His voice bellows over the training grounds, but neither Nox nor I stop as we give Haylee and Arin our backs. I should have known that the following silence would be a precursor to nothing good. “Did Rhea tell you she danced with me?”
Nox comes to a stop, every line of his body going rigid.
“It’s true,” Arin continues when I glance at him over my shoulder, his feral gaze even more twisted with delight. “Gods, she looked beautiful that night, didn’t she? That dress fit her so perfectly, showing off every single curve. No wonder you protected her so fiercely. I would too if her pussy was any bit as lovely as her face.”Fucking gods.
“Nox—” But he ignores me as he turns slowly to face Arin again, and my stomach sours when Arin gives us a look that screams,I win.
“I can see by your face you’re surprised, but of course she didn’t tell you that I held her close enough to catch her scent. Lilies, right?”
My brother takes a step towards him, rotating the sword in his hand. Godsdamn it, Arin is goading Nox, and it’sworking.
“Her body in my hands felt so…right—as did the parting of her lips when I leaned in close. Do you want to know what I saw in those gorgeous green eyes, Daxel?”
“Are you going to shut him up?” I ask Haylee, drawing an impressive frown from her. “Or does the humiliation kink go both ways?”
“Oh, fuck you, Bahira!”
“It wasfear,” Arin proclaims, dropping his voice on the last word. “You weren’t there for her, and something dangerous found her.” He traces his lower lip with his tongue, shaking Haylee off when she tries to guide him away. I might feel bad for her, for the way hurt flashes across her face, if it weren’t forthe fact that all I’ve pictured since she confessed to using me is punching her square in the jaw.
“Nox, he’s trying to rile you up. Don’t let him.” But one look at my brother tells me that he isn’t listening, and so I hold my spear more tightly and angle the sharp tip in Arin’s direction.
“Where is she now,Your Majesty? Did something dangerous find her again?” His brows lower, the sound of Nox’s heavy breathing bisecting the thick tension in the air.
