Koar nodded. “That’s fair. But consider: I could easily bash through this wall and go tell someone about this illicit meeting. There’s not a single one of you who could stop me,except maybe Izzy, but she’s still new to her power.” He looked at me. And I couldn’t say what exactly was in that look, except for maybe some of that hope he’d spoken about. “And Vyns knows me, knows I serve the true crown to a fault. Up till recently, thatfaultwas following Saldrea, but I’m done with her. I serveyounow, Izzy.”
And something about how he said it made me want to believe him. And something in the rumbling admission also made me want to climb that sexy AF body of his and find out how dedicated he was.
Wow, girl, slow your roll. You barely know him!
That’s how we like our men, remember, unknown,I reminded myself.
True. But he was also threatening you just last week. We can’t trust him… yet.
We rarely trust any guy we fuck. Trust is for relationships, which I don’t do… or didn’t… until recently.That had all changed in the last few days, now I was bonded to two men and had a third fuck-buddy on the side.
Fair. Where were we?
Got me?
I listened to see where the conversation had headed while I’d been chatting with myself.
“Maybe you’re waiting to hear our plans,thenyou’ll report us to Saldrea,” Safir accused Koar.
Koar sighed. “Why would I wait to hear your plans? What purpose would that serve when Hana can rip them from your minds?”
“He’s right about that,” Vyns added. “He has no reason not to report us if he’s working for Saldrea. There’s no point to a long con here, that would only make Saldrea mad.”
That sounded like the truth to me.
Time to end this argument.
“Safir!” My stern tone got the shifter to turn toward me. Looking at him still made me see red, but not as much as it had a moment ago, more like a deep rose, not quite crimson blood, enough that I could speak to him without exploding.
“I don’t trust him either, but Vyns does and Vyns is bound to me and that’s good enough for me. That means it’s good enough for you, if you serve me. Got it?”
Safir nodded. His disgruntled expression told me he didn’t like it, but he didn’t argue.
And since I could look at him without combusting, perhaps it was time to find out more.
“Why did you wait to tell me who I am? I’ve been in this world for several days now, which admittedly isn’t too long, but still… you knew exactly where I was. Why couldn’t you tell me who I was?”
Safir met my gaze with an intensity I was staring to understand was at the very core of the old man.
“For your own safety.” His tone was level, unemotional.
That irked me even more. I hated the tired male trope of using “protecting women” as an excuse for not being honest with them. Also… how could he be so calm at a time like this?
“Please explain how me not knowing made me safer?” I said.
“I don’t doubt you could have kept the secret, but it’s inevitable: knowing things changes people. Others may have sensed a difference in you and if Saldrea’s mind-reading sylph companion had caught one glimpse of your thoughts…”
Ah, yeah. Hana, that damned sylph and her mind-reading. And if Saldrea knew who I was… I’d be dead, plain and simple.
Safir finished with, “The fewer people who knew the truth the better.”
Well fuck. That made a lot of sense. Still, others were playing games with my life and that royally pissed me off.
Royally… ha!
I sighed heavily. “Okay yeah, fine. But I’m still mad at you.”
“Understood Your Maj— Izzy.”
