"It's a strange friendship, isn't it?" Ajari asked with a crooked smile.
Eva hummed an agreement. It was, indeed.
"I didn't think I would like you as much as I do," Ajari confessed.
"You thought you could use me and move on."
Ajari inclined his chin.
Not surprising. The using her part. She'd long known Ajari had an agenda even when she didn't understand what that agenda entailed.
"Be careful with my cousin," Ajari finally said after several seconds. "If anything were to happen to her, you and the Trateri would be blamed. No matter whose fault it was."
He strode away, leaving Eva staring after him in confusion.
"Wait. That's it?" she called.
That's all he had to say?
Ajari shot her a closed mouthed smile over his shoulder. "The young are always the most open minded. Remember that."
He raced for the face of the cliff. He planted one foot on its side, leaping up and catching a hand hold before propelling himself upwards again.
A cliff that would have taken a human several minutes to climb and Ajari did it in a few seconds.
"Son of a bitch," Eva said with feeling. "You told me absolutely nothing."
About why he'd come. What he was hoping to accomplish. Nothing. He might as well not have even been there for all Eva learned.
Shaking her head, she started toward Jason and the others, muttering about arrogant Tenrin and their fondness for being mysterious.
Brisa gave her a sympathetic look. "Didn't tell you anything while making a lot of insinuations, huh?"
"You got it," Eva said.
"Yeah, he does that."
Eva puffed out her cheeks before forcing herself to calm. It wasn't like getting upset would change the situation.
Besides, as annoying as he was, she'd take Ajari's vagueness over the Kyren's silence any day.
Eva decided to put the question of Ajari and his end goal out of her mind for now. From the looks of things, the Trateri were planning to move out soon.
Ollie was already at work, moving from horse to horse and checking their bridles.
Jason waited for Eva, his expression open and anticipatory. Sebastian stood next to him with a bored look on his face.
As Eva and Caia moved toward them, Sebastian snapped open one wing.
Jason ducked to the side, barely avoiding getting his face bashed. He shoved Sebastian's wing away from him. "You have a serious problem."
Sebastian lifted his head.You are the one with a problem. I am perfect.To Eva, Did you have fun with Ajari?
"That's not how I'd describe it."
Jason looked between the two of them. "It's quite irritating only hearing half the conversation."
"If you could hear what they're saying, I'm not sure you'd think that," Eva informed him.
