“Pleasure as always, Greybane,” he said with a smarmy grin. His gaze skipped back to Kailia. Gesturing to the cards, he added, “Sure you and the female don’t want in? It’s quite the competition right now.”
“A competition?” Kailia asked, peeking around Razik.
“No,” he said sternly, taking a step back and reaching to bring Kailia with him.
Except the male on the other side of the booth also reached for her, grabbing her arm and pulling her down to his lap. Or attempting to as he said, “Aw, she can stay. Can’t you, pretty thing?”
Before anyone could so much as move, Kailia had spun, pulling a dagger from the gods-knew-where. The blade was pressed along his throat, and Razik didn’t understand why he was bellowing in pain.
Then he noticed the small knife protruding from his hand, pinning it to the table.
Shit.
Fucking shit.
“What the fuck?” MacMillan barked, on his feet and a dagger of his own in hand. “Who the fuck is this, Greybane?”
“Still none of your concern,” Razik answered. “Let’s go,” he ground out to Kailia.
“She stabbed Jenkins. I think she made it our concern,” crooned the female, climbing atop the table like a lithe cat, a knife in hand.
“Come here,” MacMallin snarled, reaching for Kailia himself.
“I wouldn’t—” Razik started, but it was too late.
Kailia had twisted away from his grasp, her dagger flying and embedding itself in the male’s shoulder as another knife flew at the female.
“Gods-fucking-dammit,” Razik growled, pandemonium erupting around them.
Because when Kailia had thrown her dagger, the other female had leapt to avoid the knife, sending a mug of ale flying from their table directly onto those in the next booth. Sticky mead spilled onto the patrons and their table. That guy had reached over the booth, smashing a bottle atop the head of the card game’s third male. Another had rounded the table, going for Jenkins, whose hand was still stuck to the table while MacMallin was going for Kailia yet again. And she?—
“Where do you keep getting these fucking blades?” Razik growled, looping an arm around her waist, more than prepared for the fit that was about to happen. He’d already summoned his black flames, using them to combat the ashes she was trying to rake down his body. He Traveled them out of the tavern a moment before another male was hit so hard, he stumbled back directly to where they’d been standing.
As soon as they appeared in his study at Tybalt’s home, he released Kailia, dropping her onto the rug. She was on her knees, gasping. Her eyes were wild and frantic as she took in the space.He lowered to a crouch before her, catching her wrist when she tried to strike out with her dagger.
“Lia, it’s me,” he growled, releasing her when she yanked her arm back.
Her ashes swirled around her, but she didn’t try to move in them from what he could tell. She did, however, cock her arm back again.
“Do not throw that at me,” he warned in a low growl.
But of course she fucking did.
His hand snapped up, catching it by the hilt. Flipping it, he threw it right back at her, aiming just to the left. She lurched to the side, not that she would have needed to, and then she spun back to him.
“You threw my own dagger at me,” she snapped, those ashes still vibrating around her in a frenzy, but there was a glimmer of clarity in her eyes.
“You threw it at me first,” he retorted, grabbing the sack beside him and getting back to his feet. “For the record, it wasn’t going to hit you because my aim isthatgood,” he added, echoing her words from the hunt.
She went quiet, and he let her be as he moved to his desk. Pulling open a drawer, he retrieved a thick ledger, flipping it open until he found the page he wanted. For several minutes, there was quiet while he let her collect herself. He put some books away that he’d been using for research while gathering some other ones, feeling her eyes on him the entire time.
Eventually, he said, “There’s water on the cart over there.”
She nodded, slowly getting to her feet and heading in the direction he’d indicated. Pouring herself a glass, she drank half of it before setting it aside.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, not looking up from the book he was searching through.
“Talk about what?” she asked.
