“I know,” he said calmly. “I said it was uncalled for.”
“I suppose that’s the closest thing to an apology I’ll get from you.”
A mix of humor and arrogance danced across his face. “It would seem.”
Maeve sighed and relaxed. She suppressed a smile.
Damn his charm.
“At least allow me to continue training you,” he said.
Maeve laughed softly. “You are so accustomed to getting your way.”
Mal’s face scanned hers meticulously. Her stomach flipped as a quick breath rose up in her chest.
When his eyes landed on hers he spoke. “No one fights me quite like you do.”
The words slipped from his mouth like it made him hungry. She grinned.
“Someone has to,” she said.
A small laugh escaped his lips. “And you think you’re the one for the job?”
“The alternatives are grim.”
His brows raised.
“Let’s see,” she continued, passing him by and continuing down the hall. He remained in step with her. “Abraxas, the gossip, will ever only tell you what you want to hear. Roswyn, the hothead, will react without thinking things through. Kash, Merlin love him, will only ever bore you with his blind loyalty. Hendrix, though I favor him, is too much of a rule follower to follow without hesitation.”
“You speak of my closest friends with certainty.”
“Of them I am certain,” she said.
“Ah,” he said casually. “And what of my friends that have graduated? What of Alphard Mavros?”
Maeve’s smile faded slightly.
Mal stopped walking and asked sharply, “what about him are you certain of?”
Maeve turned towards him. “Of Alphard I am unable to speak poorly.”
His expression was relaxed. Carefree. But behind that was the feline way he looked down at her. Like she was trapped.
“Why is that?”
“He was my brother’s best friend,” she replied without hesitation. “And he never laid a hand on me when I was. . . intoxicated.”
He was still for a moment. Then he nodded subtly, like he was determining how honest she was being. “I know that,” he said finally.
Maeve opened her mouth and the snapped it shut.
“Speak,” he said tauntingly with a flick of his brows.
So she did. “When you were apologizing, or whatever, were you sorry you used my cousin and I against one another or sorry for your comment that I use to frequent those parties?”
Parties that three years ago Alphard Mavros had kissed her. Where she drank. And used whatever drugs Abraxas provided. Whatever made her forget Antony.
Mal rounded her and continued down the corridor. “I never said I was sorry.”
