“Training.”
I hurried through the underground complex to find him. Like the last time, he was stripped to the waist, sweat covering his body as he attacked a wooden dummy overand over with a series of strange martial arts moves and fire.
“You!” I shouted at him and he stopped, turning.
I marched over to him, Koar waiting by the door.
“Avoid me all you want but at least tell me why!” I hissed at him, poking him in the chest. A hard-muscled, glistening, sexy chest.
No… stop that! I’m mad at him.
“You want to know, fine,” he said, voice strained as those fiery eyes focused on mine.
I was suddenly very hot, but it definitely wasn’t because of those eyes, or his sexiness, or anything like that. No… it was from the fast march over here and my fury… yes… that’s why… nothing more…
“Suddenly you’re a princess, an elf, and that changes everything,” he said, worked up. “Before, I could be your friend, we could have some fun and it wouldn’t hurt anything, but now… being seen with me… I’m a lower race. Right now, you need to be showing the world you can be an elf, a ruler, and having an incubus on your arm would only tarnish your reputation. I’m bad for you. It’s that simple.”
I hope she buys that. The thought was faint, but I heard it softly in my head.
Right… he could communicate with me telepathically, though I assumed he hadn’t meant for me to hear that.
“And…” he went on, “that night when you found out you were a princess, before all of that, you’d yelled at me and I honestly wasn’t sure where we stood, or if you wanted me back as a friend or anything more.”
I blinked.
There was no thought to accompany that, he seemed honest enough.
Ihadyelled at him, but only because he’d been a dickabout me seeing an angel, Vyns. I had the feeling he didn’t mind now, but since our communication was clearly off, I asked him,
“Are you okay with me having Vyns in my life?”
He blinked. “Ah… yeah… sure, I guess. If you don’t need me, then?—”
“That’s not what I said!” I yelled, frustrated. “Are you okay with me as a friend and fuckbuddy if I’m also doing an angel!”
Wow… that hadn’t come out quite liked I’d hoped.
Rook shrugged.
“Whatever, sure, but like I said. I shouldn’t be seen with you.”
“Yeah, tarnishing my ever-so-bright image, I heard you… and I don’t believe a word of it.”
He flinched back.
“I don’t give a flying fuck about my reputation. I’m going to change this world. Once I’m queen, there won’t be any restrictions on who people can be with. I’m going to change all of that. So why would I care about being seen with you?”
He grimaced. A guilty look. He’d known all of that.
“Which means you’re not avoiding me for my sake, but for your own.” Though as for why, I had no idea.
Does she know?I only barely caught the stray thought.
Did I know what?
“I… just can’t… be with you,” he stammered. Something flashed in his fiery eyes. Was that… fear?
Fear of me?
