I lifted my chin and turned my face away a little, muscle memory for when people were saying nasty things about me within my vicinity. It was more common than I cared to admit. Ignoring it was now second nature.
Hadriel straightened up with an incredulous expression. He stared at the man for a brief moment.
“Real fucking nice, Chuck, you miserable weeping cock.” He threw out his hand to indicate me. “She’s standing right fucking there. If you’re going to bring up a possible execution, at least have the class to joke about it.” He shook his head, moving packages out of the way to get deeper into the wagon. “Who taught you social etiquette, the fucking demons? Next you’ll be trying to give her a dick flavored lollipop.”
The man straightened, crossing his arms over his chest. “I never much liked you.”
“I know, you tell me that every time you see me.” He opened up a package and pulled out a shirt. Holding it up, he nodded and then held it out to me. “Drab as they come. Just like you like it.”
“It’s better not to stand out,” I mumbled, taking it. “People think you’re putting your lack of magic in their faces if you stand out.”
“I get that,” the man said, studying me again. “That’s not the sort of thing you need to advertise. It makes people nervous.”
My gut twisted but I kept the familiar pain from showing on my face. He wasn’t wrong.
“Spank me and call me mama,” Hadriel muttered as though talking to the gods. He stood, facing the man again. “That is the dumbest fucking thing you have ever said, and given you say almost exclusively dumb things, that’s an achievement.”
A swell of gratitude rose in my middle. No one hadeverstuck up for me like that. Granny had never made me feel inferior, unlike some in her employ, but she’d never backed people down when they said something like this man had. His opinions were common, as good as fact. No one had pushed back on someone saying what everyone was thinking.
Until now.
“With her face, she can’t help standing out,” he finished. He rumpled his brow at me. “Is that why you starved yourself, to try and erase all your curves?”
“I didn’t...” I looked down at my loose clothing. “I’ve always had plenty of food.”
He quirked an eyebrow at me, as though knowing it was a lie and wanting the truth, as though willing to actually listen to the truth, like he cared what it was.
Something uncomfortable tightened me up, realizing he was right. The lie was so well-rehearsed, said confidently whenever Granny asked, it had kind of stopped feeling like a lie at all.
Another part of me, though, had loosened within this exchange. He’d just defended me, a non-magical stranger—a prisoner, of all things. He’d done it so vehemently. I felt like I owed him that truth.
Or was that a lie, too? Did I actually just want someone,anyoneto hear my pain? Pain I hadn’t been willing or able to tell Granny without her doing something to make matters worse? Writing it in my journal was therapeutic, but it hadn’t ever been completely enough.
I shrugged, a little uncomfortable, opening my mouth to respond.
He held up a finger. “Hold that thought. We don’t need this butt plug listening in and passing it around. He’s an awful wanker.”
He pushed the package back into the wagon.
“You’re one to talk,” the man said, bristling. “How many times did you get caught whacking off behind a tree?”
“Not as many as within the tents, I’ll tell you that. If only someone with a firm grip would take over, I wouldn’t have to do it myself. Do me a favor, Chuck. Go stick your head in a pond and try to breathe. That would save us all a lot of heartache.”
The man’s chest puffed out, his arms flaring at his sides. “Get bent, you little runt.”
“Fuck a cactus.” Hadriel closed up the wagon and ushered me in front of him. “Come on, love, don’t worry about him. There’s a reason he’s back here tending the supplies. Mediocrity would be a step up for the likes of that cock drip.”
At the end of the line of supplies, he pointed me to a grouping of thick-based trees. “Just pop behind there and change your shirt really quickly. Please don’t run. My nerves are fried, and I really don’t want to chase you. I certainly don’t want to deal with a feral alpha.”
I did as he said, handing back the ripped shirt when I was done.
“And thanks,” he said, ushering me toward the front of the line again.
“For what?”
“For letting the alpha finger bang you. I would’ve gotten my ass chewed for letting you wander away. Here we go.”
It took Hadriel and someone else to get me onto the horse. There was only a padded sort of blanket, something he mentioned had to do with two people. I wouldn’t fit in the saddle with him.
