I knock his hand away, but my smile widens. “Stop it.”
“Grey should have told me to drag you away from the palace weeks ago.”
That’s a reminder I didn’t need. The genial expression slips off my face. I’ve been irritated since I made the decision to skip the turn to Briarlock, and I can’t seem to shake it.
Jax may have forgotten about me, but I haven’t forgotten about him.
“Oops,” Jake says. “I broke it.”
“I don’t need a guardian, Jake. I’m not a child.”
He pushes a platter of food toward me. “Who said you did?”
I give him a look. “You’re here.”
“I really did want to see my sister.”
I finally pick up a chicken leg of my own. “You can see Harper anytime you want.”
“Maybe I wanted the pleasant company.”
I grunt and eat my food.
“Just like that,” he agrees.
I say nothing. We eat. The inn is packed with people trying to escape the rain, making the space too warm when combined with the heat from the hearth. No one draws near our table, though. Jake is a good four or five inches taller than I am, and broader across the shoulders. He’s not imposing—at least,Idon’t think so—but he’s got a solid build,and eyes that promise a willingness to brawl at any given moment. Strangers usually give him a wide berth.
I’ve always liked him. As a couple, he and Noah couldn’t be more different. Noah is coolly practical and has no taste for violence. Jacob would step into a tavern fight just to stave off boredom. That bellicose spirit is part of why he’s so good with the recruits—and why he and the king are such close friends.
I have no doubt there’s a reason Grey chose him to accompany me instead of one of the palace guards. It’s the same reason I’ve been pushing the pace and keeping my mouth shut: Jake will tell Grey everything I say and do.
At this point, I would have preferred a reprimand.
“He doesn’t think you need a guardian,” Jake eventually says.
I take a second slab of meat. “Good. Go home.”
“Wow!” His eyebrows go up. “First you beat the crap out of me, and now—”
“I didn’t beat the crap out of you.”
He doesn’t respond to that. I keep my eyes on my food.
Eventually, his voice drops, and he says, “Why would you break into a tourney?”
I swear. “Is that why he wasn’t sending me anywhere? Does he think there are chained-up scravers all over the countryside?” As I say the wordcountryside, I think of those three ewes the men were talking about in the stable, and I have to shake it off. “Iisak was your friend, too, Jake.”
“Iisak was. Nakiis wasn’tanyone’sfriend.”
“I just let him out of a cage. He’s scared of being bound by a magesmith. He wants nothing to do with Grey.”
“You hope.”
He’s right. I do hope.
I still don’t regret what I did.
Jake is studying me. “Grey is also worried that Alek is going to spread rumors that you can’t be trusted with magic.”
