“You do. Razik and I can stay,” she argued.
“No,” he ground out.
“It’d probably be better if you go anyway,” she continued thoughtfully. “Those things only show up when you’re in the company.”
“That’s not—” But he stopped speaking as he thought about her words. That couldn’t be true. Could it? Yes, they always focused on him in the fights, but were they only showing up where when he was present?
Then again, when he’d asked that phantom what it wanted, the answer had been crystal clear.
You.
Kailia said nothing else before she turned and went into the bedchamber, and Cethin made his way back to the armchairs, taking the one across from Razik.
“Is she right?” Cethin asked idly. Not really speaking to Razik, just speaking out loud.
“The only time you weren’t there from the beginning was the first time we saw them,” Razik replied, rubbing at his jaw. “But as soon as you showed up, you were all they cared about. It’s been that way ever since.”
“But all the Fae deaths these last decades,” Cethin argued, trying to make the connection.
“Maybe…” Razik released a heavy sigh before he said, “Maybe they’re not related at all.”
And Cethin couldn’t stomach the thought of that. If that were true, then they were dealing with two separate threats. He’d garnered this arrangement with Kailia under the belief that these beings were the threat to the Fae. Having her weapons to fight against them was to protect the Fae and his people. If it were true they were fighting two separate enemies, it would appear as if he forced her to his side simply to protect him.
“Do you really need Niara for that?” Razik asked, jerking his chin at the wound.
Blood had soaked into the fabric around it, and he was still filthy from the first fight. Maybe he could take a bath and clean it well…
“Tell her we’ll come back in a few days,” Razik suggested when Cethin didn’t answer.
“Zayan had a fit when I rescheduled these two days. I can’t imagine if I blow off the next several,” Cethin muttered.
“That’s odd,” Razik said.
Cethin glanced at the male. “What is?”
“Thought you were the king.”
Cethin sent him a bland look. “If you understood anything about responsibility, you’d understand why my duty has to be put first.”
Razik’s answering smile was razor sharp. “I understand responsibility just fine. I’m the one who spends my days with your wife while you’re fulfilling your so-called duties.”
“Only because you wormed your way into the position using your relationship with Tybalt,” Cethin bit back.
Razik shrugged a shoulder in that apathetic way of his. “Better than forcing a marriage using the power of my title.”
“Fuck off, Greybane,” Cethin snapped, more of his darkness appearing and drifting across the floor like the fog outside.
Razik smirked, black flames appearing at his feet.
“My jilted lovers theory stands,” Kailia announced, garnering both of their attention.
She wore a robe, the sash cinched tight at her waist, and her wet hair was braided over her shoulder. Cethin stood, crossing the room to her.
Guilt churned in his gut, but he refused to leave her here alone with Razik. The phantoms were one thing. The other creatures that prowled around Shadowfen were something else completely. More than that, this wound wasn’t even beginning toheal. He could still feel a steady flow of blood, which meant he definitely needed Niara. And sleep apparently.
“I’m sorry, tiny fiend,” he said with a sigh. “We need to go back to Aimonway.”
The disappointment was evident, her features falling and lips pursing. But she nodded, saying simply, “Fine.”
