And now he’s an encyclopaedia.
“Becomewhat, exactly?” I press, leaning in, watching him shift.
“Well, they can become… more,” Julien’s voice is tight.
I quirk a brow. “And bymoreyou mean—”
“Mayday! Mayday!”Sai eyes dart to Ezekial.“Save him, Zeek.”
“If that’s what you think you need,” Ezekial intervenes, stopping my question from fully forming.
His eyes are a calm silver, his posture relaxed as he leans back.
I want to change that.
I lace my fingers together, placing them under my chin. “But what doyouthink I need, Ezekial?”
His small smile drops, and he turns stoic. “I think you need...a lotof things.” The words come out staggered.
Wow.Mr. Eloquent, cool and calm—Lord—is struggling to string a sentence together.
I wet my lips and lean forwards just so, holding a soft, uncertain furrow between my brows. “Oh, you do? Such as?”
Ezekial blinks, but is otherwise frozen. “For us to accept your offer of friendship,” he says robotically.
I barely stop my smirk. The burning sensation must be agony right now, and I find myself not wanting to make it worse.
“What about you, Sai?” The sudden switch has them all tensing.
I cant my head, sweeten my voice, and indulge in the nervous apprehension blooming from the others.
“My dearest friend, pleaseconcentrate,”Julien pleads.“Think before you speak a word.”
I glance at Kane and instantly, the tendril trapping Sai’s mouth disintegrates, revealing a smirk.
“Baby, you can call us whatever you want. Friends, enemies, lovers, whatever. I’ve told you, as long as it comes from your lips, call me—call us—whatever you want.”
“Oh, but it does matter.” I push. I’m not having him escape this with vague, flirtatious answers. “We’ll be friends in every context of the word. Friends and friends only. Like how you’re all friends. I’ll just be another friend. A fifth friend. Understood?”
“Sure.” He mirrors my head tilt. “I’ll just change my definition of friends.”
He’s infuriating.
“Why?” I push again, frustration creeping in.
Sai’s eyes sparkle, and his smirk widens into a grin. “Oh, because I don’t normally want to fuck my friends.”
I try to stay composed. I really do. But my heart’s fluttering and my darkness is humming and the way he saidfuckis just sinful.
Ezekial sighs.“We should have left you at home.”
“It could have been worse,”Julien murmurs.
But Sai’s smile never fades.
I can’t even be shocked at his honest response. Isn’t this exactly what I wanted by bringing the serum? The truth. Whilst the others try to hide behind ambiguous remarks, Sai is just being… Sai.
I settle my breathing, straighten my spine again, and level my most serious look at Sai.
