“A bit early, isn’t it?” she asked with a raised brow.
He didn’t look up as he continued to pack it with a pale looking herb she wasn’t familiar with. “This is my morning herb. A different sort from that of yesterday evening.” A match was pulled from his pocket and he struck it against the stone as he’d done the night before. It illuminated his face as he pressed his lips around the pipe and took a long draw, head leaning back against the stone upon his holding it in his lungs for a moment. A long O of smoke exhaled from his mouth. She watched him take a long, deliberate, look over her body as his eyes opened, and he pulled his knees into his chest.
“I take it you had a pleasant night,” he said.
Aydra felt her brows raise at the memory of it, and then did a double-take at the smug look on Draven’s face. Her jaw clenched. “The herb?”
A gentle huff of amusement left his lips, and he shook his head. “No idea what you mean.”
Her arms hugged tighter against her chest. “That would explain a few things,” she mumbled. “I haven’t come that quickly with Ash in ages.”
He choked on the inhale he’d just taken and doubled-over coughing, gripping to the stone floor. She felt a smirk on her lips.
“Did I say something?” she asked.
He clenched his chest and then shook his head, attempting to regain his composure. “No, I just—I wasn’t sure you knew how to joke.”
“Who says it was a joke?” she asked, finally meeting his gaze.
A quirk of a crooked smile rose on his lips and he stood from the ground, crossing the space between them to lean over the wall as she was. He extended his hand with the pipe towards her, and she eyed the green herb in it, not entirely trusting that this was a weaker brand as he’d said it was.
“I smoke that now and I won’t be able to manage the rest of the day,” she told him.
He puffed on it again and nodded towards the east. “I think we have a bit of time we could take care of any…urges… you might have.”
Her lips pursed in his direction and she almost rolled her eyes at his raised brow. “You’re disgusting.”
He scoffed under his breath and straightened up. “Have you any word if they found the Infi?”
“Nothing. But I was watching them some during the night. Rhaif’s men are completely useless,” she answered. “You’ll show me proper disposal when it is found, not the others.”
Draven paused a moment and stared at her. “Why are you the one beheading criminals?”
“I refuse to give orders of which I am not comfortable taking care of on my own,” she answered simply. “I am in charge of the security within this kingdom. I will be the one to take the lives and quell the punishments of any who we see fit to take.”
Draven’s eyes fluttered closed, jaw tightening, and she swore she heard a low growl emit from his throat, but she didn’t have a moment to ponder it. He inhaled the herb deeply, fist clenching and unclenching at his side as his eyes opened once more and met hers. Her weight shifted beneath the intense weight of his gaze, and her brows raised at him.
“What?” she asked.
He straightened and leaned over the banister again. “Nothing,” he said quietly. “This title… it’s new, is it not?” he finally asked.
“It was given to me upon my discovering the Infi the first time. I brought him before Council and then took care of his execution myself.”
“And exactly how many of these punishments have you had to fulfill?” he asked with a tilt of his head.
Her jaw clenched. “The inner workings of our kingdom is not your concern.”
“So two, then?” he dared to say.
Lex appeared at the doorway then, and she raised her brows between the pair standing on the roof. “My lady, your horse is ready.”
Draven gave her a long look. “Where are you going?”
Aydra pulled her riding gloves from her belt and began pushing them on her fingers. “Would you like to stand here getting high and gazing at the fog on the beach or would you like to join us on hunting the beast this morning?”
“Beast…” Draven’s amused voice trailed and he shook his head. “The Infi is but a man. Not a beast.”
“A wretched man that should never have been allowed to walk this land on two feet,” she argued.
