“You’re giving them a lot of credit!”
“More than you are, it seems.”
At that, I turned around to look at him, even though I only had one earring in.“I don’t trust any of them!”
“They’re our allies—”
“With allies like those, we don’t need enemies!”
“But we have them,” he said, hands on my shoulders, and just that small touch instantly made me feel better.“We have a lot of them.And yes, some of our supposed friends probably fit into that category, too, but we don’t know who.So we can’t afford to alienate any of them until we do, or else this is going to get ugly.”
“It isn’t already?”
“Not like it could be.We need to smile, socialize, shmooze—”
“I’m not in the shmoozing mood!”
“I know.”It was serious, and while the hands he slid up my arms were gentle, his face was firm.“Perhaps you should skip tonight.”
“Seriously?You’re trying toground me?”Cyrus rolled his eyes and somehow made it sexy.I wouldn’t mind staying in tonight if he were staying with me, but otherwise—
“I’m trying to protect you,” he told me.
“From what?It’sdinner—”
“Yes, with a group of people who are likely to provoke you—some deliberately.And from whatever the hell is going on with you.”I tried to interrupt, but he talked over me.“As far as the healer can tell, you’re healthy as a horse—or as a Were who hasn’t had to fight for her life for two days running.But that doesn’t change the fact that something is happening, and we don’t know what.And don’t tell me you’re fine again,” he added.“You don’t know that.”
“I do—”
“Really?”The dark eyes searched mine.“Is that why you’re stalking around the suite, muttering to yourself, and bristling with anger?Yes, some stupid people on the council, who wish this would all go away, had some unwise outbursts.But none of them are the type to do anything about it.They shoot off their mouths all the time—”
“Bad timing!”I snarled, and his frown tipped into a scowl.
“Yes, very.But is that really what this is—allthis is?I can feel your emotions.They’re so near the surface, they’re almost leaping out at me.You’re worried, scared, and defiant, all of which I understand.But there’s more—”
“Like what?”I said, turning away to hook up the other damned earring, but that still left our eyes meeting in the mirror, and Cyrus’s were as clever as his brother’s.
He had the reputation of being a laid-back pretty boy, a gambler, the hard partier of the Arnou royal house, too busy with his amusements to care about much else.That image had been cultivated by the two brothers for years, so that Cyrus could hear things that would have never been said in front of him otherwise.And so that anyone moving against Sebastian might try to recruit his wastrel brother first.
I suspected that it was one reason people weren’t giving our new little venture too much credence.Most probably saw it as a lark, Cyrus taking up a cause for a moment because it amused him, and likely dropping it just as easily later on.That might explain why the council hadn’t gone completely ballistic over the situation in the basement: some thought there was a good chance this would all go away on its own.
But it wouldn’t, because they didn’t know the real man at all.Cyrus hadn’t even flinched today in the meeting with Sebastian, no, not even at his crazy spouse bringing three hundred morevargulfsinto the picture.And out of freaking nowhere.
He’d had no more warning about any of this than I had, but he hadn’t hesitated to back me up.
Cyrus was the definition of ride or die, which was lucky, as I’d probably drive anybody else crazy in no time.But here he was, solid, on my side, and as loyal as the day was long—and yet concerned.It hurt me to see it in his eyes, to feel it through the bond that Were couples shared.
I turned back around and cupped his face, and felt him lean into it, craving that touch, that reassurance that I really was alright.He’d taken care of me today when I needed it the most, and now I wanted to return the favor, but I didn’t know how to reassure him.Except to tell the truth.
“I’m not just okay,” I admitted.“I feel good.Reallygood.Energized and alive and—” I broke off, because I didn’t know how to describe it, but Cyrus did.
“And protective.You’re angry on behalf of the clan,” he said, reading me so well through a simple touch that it startled me.Weres couldn’t read each other’s minds, not even mated pairs, but emotion—yeah.We were all about that.
And sometimes, that was enough.
“You’re not just worried about them; you’re terrified,” he murmured, cocking his head as if listening when what he was really doing was reaching out through the bond, and feeling what I was feeling.“That the council will rule against them, and take them away.You’re bonded to them already, as if you’ve known them for years, when you don’t even know their names yet—”
He broke off, frowning again, only this time from concentration.He grasped the hand I had on his cheek, increasing bodily contact, and when I tried to move away, he held firm.And his frown faded into an expression more like wonder.
