I don’t feel like it. So, hearing Noire say that floods me with warmth. “Really? You think that?”
“Absolutely. I think it’s a good sign you are fit to be a General. Not all Ezkai fare well when it comes to dealing with the nobles, or common folk. Also, despite your human roots, our nobles are warming to the idea of you ruling.”
I glance around the room. “I hope so.” I turn back to Noire. “I’m not sure I’ve said it to you before, but thank you. I appreciate you choosing to support me, even if not directly.”
He awards me with a kind smile. “My pleasure. You made your mark when you saved Kitajo’s life while being a mere cadet.”
I nod, lost in thought. That mission while I attended Ezkai Academy was wild. All of us barely made it out alive. But it helped prepare me for what it means to be an Ezkai. Well, except for what it feels like to lose a fellow Ezkai, a friend…
Noire snaps me out of my brooding. “A question, Ezkai Phoenix. I might know your past, and I might anticipate your future. But what I want to know is the present.”
“You have a peculiar way with words,” I say with a little smile and a frown. “What is it you would like to know?”
He pauses for a brief second, his eyes all-knowing, before he says, “Are you comfortable with sacrificing love to put the future of our country and the well-being of our people above all else?”
A startled laugh escapes me. “Comfortable? No. But…” I pause, searching for the right words. I must be careful about the way I speak. The right answer comes to my mind, and I stand a little taller as I say, “I understand honor, Taaslord. I understand duty. Probably better than most, due to my upbringing. So, while it pains me to sacrifice my heart’s desires, I know my honor and duty require it, and so I’m willing to make the sacrifice.”
There. The perfect fucking answer. One my Dad and Mom would be proud to hear coming from me.
From the way Noire’s eyes glimmer, I know my words hit the mark.
“Another proof Vera and I have chosen right,” he says and lifts his glass in a toast.
I’m not as confident as he is. But still, I lift my glass to his and we cheer.
While I chat with Noire, Vera and Uringi disappear.
I spot them in the corner of the room. Uringi sits on the armchair, and Vera’s perched on the armrest, her hand restingon his shoulder. They’re close, but not too close. I’m curious to hear what they talk about.Oh, to be a fly on the wall right now…
I scan the room for Jax once again. He’s here, after all. He’s leaning against a far wall, almost hidden in the shadow while talking with a noblewoman in a mustard-yellow silk tunic. She’s blushing and smiling, and there is no mistaking the gleam of desire in her gaze when she looks up at him.
That bastard…I refuse to believe his charms do work on other women.
Yet, after a few more minutes, Jax pushes a strand of loose hair away from her face. She throws a careful glance over her shoulder and then loops her arm with Jax’s before they disappear behind the corner.
“Unbelievable,” I murmur into my glass.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
JAX
The same people I surveyed from afar at the Golden Dragon, the same people I mingled with during the Black Night, are at Nobleman Uringi’s party tonight.
None remember my face, but I’m still careful. Especially when it comes to Taaslord Noire.
The big shadow man is intimidating.
A gentle voice comes from behind me. “Jax Kregger?” I freeze, then slowly turn around to see Noblewoman Genji standing there, in all her noble silk galore. “I thought I recognized you from the Black Night. What is a friend of Daegel Talbot doing here?”
Ah, not all nobles only listen to the sound of their own voices. When we met during the Black Night, I told Noblewoman Genji I was here to celebrate my friend, Daegel Talbot.
It was the first time I had learned Ghost’s true name, thanks to Ri and her girls.
I need to start keeping track of the lies I spin. At this rate, I may drown in them.
I flash her my most dazzling smile and run a hand through my hair.
“Noblewoman Genji, what a pleasure to see you again,” I say and take her hand. I bow at the waist and press my lips lightly against the back of her palm while keeping her gaze. She bats her lashes at me. “I have plenty of friends around the city. One of them happens to be Vera D’Argent.”
