“Relax, Sutara. It was before she was even announced as your betrothed. And I made sure her face was hidden. Well, until the brawl. Then her hood slipped back, but no one knew who she was yet,” Razik said, far too casually for the way this conversation was about to go.
“It doesn’t fucking matter, Greybane!” Cethin yelled. “Why would you even put her in that position?”
“What position? Getting her out of this fucking castle? Letting her get to know all sides of the capital city? She’s the godsdamn queen, and you want her to simply stay locked away,” Razik spat, his eyes glowing brighter than they had before and smoke furling with each exhale. “And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, she’s perfectly capable of protecting herself. Fuck, she protectsyouhalf the godsdamn time.”
“You’re done, Greybane,” Cethin snarled. “I’m demanding Tybalt remove you as her guard.”
“No!” Kailia interjected, speaking for the first time since they’d returned.
She pushed her tiny frame between them, wincing at the physical touch but shoving at them both anyway. In the next blink, she held a dagger in each hand, one pointed at each of them.
“Razik, can you leave, so I can speak with my husband?” she asked, every bit of her amber glare directed at Cethin.
“Sure thing,” he all but drawled. Then he added while smirking at Cethin, “See you in the morning, Lia.”
Before Cethin could respond, Kailia was pressing the point of her dagger to his chest, and she held it there until they heard the door close behind Razik.
“I do not want another guard, Cethin,” she said, the words steady and firm.
“Too bad, wife. He’s proven time and again that he can’t be trusted with your safety.”
“My safety?” she repeated. “Cethin, it was one of my first days here. He got me out of the castle and took me with him on an errand, and I’m grateful he did. The only reason I get out of these walls is because of him. You are always tending to your duties, and I’m left to… I get restless,” she finished, as if that explained everything.
“You got in the middle of a godsdamn brawl, Kailia,” Cethin gritted out. “That was irresponsible of him to?—”
“Someone grabbed me,” she interjected. “He grabbed me and tried to pull me onto his lap. I panicked and shoved a dagger through his hand. His companions were not happy with my actions.”
“Someone grabbed you?” he asked, the words low and dark for an entirely different reason now.
“It wasn’t intentional. The stabbing, I mean. I think the grabbing was definitely intentional.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to clear his mind enough to converse with her properly, but between the exhaustion and now the thought of someone grabbing her. Touching her. He couldn’t see past it.
He’d have to deal with that later. “I still think another personal guard is in order, Kailia.”
“No,” she repeated, a thread of panic in her tone as she pressed the dagger point a bit more firmly to his chest. “It takes me ages to become comfortable around someone. I find it incredibly difficult, but the thought of starting that process all over again is overwhelming.”
Godsdammit.
He stepped back before turning and heading to the bedchamber.
“Where are you going?”
“To change,” he muttered, not stopping until he was in the dressing closet. He quickly slipped into looser, lightweight pants. He left his shirt off, contemplating a hot bath, but he needed to have a conversation with Kailia first. One he wished he were far more rested for, but fate was rarely on his side.
“That is not dinner attire,” Kailia said when he emerged into the bedchamber.
“We will not be at dinner tonight,” he answered, leaning against the doorjamb. “We need to figure all this out.”
Surprise flitted across her features. “You are staying here for the rest of the day.”
“I am,” he affirmed.
“With me?”
A small smile tugged at his lips. “If that is amenable to you.”
“It is, but you are always…gone,” she finished.
