Wait… withothermen?
How many others?
All at the same time?
Did I care?
I did.
Fuck.
Izzy was… pure, her spirit untainted by this world and its horrors. I wantedthatIzzy, and I wanted her all to myself. I needed her to myself, so she could fix what was broken inside me. Who she’d been with before didn’t matter, as long as she was withmenow. But if she was with other men at the same time… could she truly give me the love I needed to heal? I didn’t want to be just another love affair for her.
“I… I don’t know,” I admitted. I couldn’t agree to her terms, but I couldn’t push her away either.
She sighed and was off me in an instant. “When you figure it out, let me know.” She stood. “Because thereareother men in my life, and they won’t be going awayany timesoon. But…” She let that word hang, a beacon of hope. “I’m open to more… I think…” She sighed heavily, brow furrowing: confused, conflicted.
I wanted to soothe her, hold her, but I hadn’t earned that right yet.
“Does that mean you trust me?” I asked as I rose to stand next to her.
“I trust that you hate Saldrea,” she said, honest. “I’m working on the rest.”
We made our way back to her dorm. At the outer door, she turned to me and whispered, “If you want to be with me… youcan’tbe with her. Stop working for her andmaybewe can talk.”
And there it was.
I’d said I was done with Saldrea, but I hadn’t left her yet.
Could I leave Saldrea? Could I risk it? Could I live with the consequences: what it would mean for me, my family, but most importantly… for Izzy?
I didn’t know yet, and that indecision tore at me long after I’d dropped her off and returned to my rooms.
KOARTHANDRIS
Vyns was in a bad place,I was worried.
And it was all that vexing nymph’s fault.
My friend — perhaps the only man I’d call such — paced our shared living area in Saldrea’s residence on campus.
“I need to be with her, but… she… doesn’t trust me, and rightly so!”
I growled, but he didn’t seem to notice. No manneededa woman. Most of the women I’d known were trouble and nothing more. Though… that hadn’t always been true. Long ago I’d known a woman of beauty and kindness. She’d treated me with respect and admiration, even if I’d only been a guard within her household. Hyessa, my old master’s wife had been a lady in truth. And her daughter…
A sense of shame and furious self-loathing swept through me as I remembered Mynrial’s radiant face. I’d failed her, and Hyessa, and my master Talmarion. I’d failed them all and I’d never do it again. I had to protect the crown at all costs, even if that meant protecting the petulant Saldrea.
Because ever since Hyessa and Mynrial and the previous queen had passed from this world I’d not met a single woman worthy of praise. I served Valnea and Saldrea only out of my undying loyalty to the crown. I served in hopes that someday, perhaps their daughter or granddaughter might be worthy of respect and admiration.
And until then, I kept to myself. I needed no woman in my life. Even if there wassomethingabout the nymph Vyns was infatuated with. She… intrigued me. And I didn’t like it one bit. I pushed the curiosity down and focused on my duty.
“I know we’re meant to be together, but… if so… why has fate conspired to bring other men into her life? Am I to wait? But she said it wouldn’t end with them anytime soon. My life won’t be as long as hers. What’s soon? Gah!” Vyns threw up his arms in frustration.
“Just dump her and fuck a whore,” I said. It seemed like good advice to me.
Vyns spun on me.
“Have you been listening at all?”
