He’d drifted closer at some point. Not close enough to touch, but close enough that she could see the fine threading details on his tunic.
“And what do you feel you need to make this work?” Cethin asked,
“I need you to help me know what I should be doing, and to do that, you need to spend more than mealtimes with me,” she answered, tensing as he moved closer still.
“Are you going to admit you miss me yet?”
“It has nothing to do with that.”
He hummed, slowly lifting a hand. His magic came first, as it always did, brushing along her jaw before his fingertip followed. That single point of contact an icy balm to her heated skin. It skated down until it slipped under her chin, tipping her face up even more.
“I need you to stop going places and doing things with a male who is my rival in every way,” he said.
“He’s my guard, Cethin.”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
Her eyes widened in understanding. “You are jealous.” His lips pressed into a thin line, and for once, it was all she needed for confirmation. “I thought it was clear you are my husband, not him.”
“By Arius, Kailia, that doesn’t always stop someone, and I wouldn’t put it past Razik to… He knows what he’s doing,” he said, removing his touch and moving to the sofa.
Kailia followed, making the conscious choice to sit closer rather than at the other end.
Start small.
“I asked Razik about the animosity between the two of you. He said to ask you,” she ventured.
She knew what it took to get two people to this place. For two people to hate each other so greatly, something unforgivable and traumatic had to have happened. She’d tracked down the people who’d done unforgivable things to her, vowing to rip vengeance from their blood. Someday, she’d have extracted her vengeance from every single one of them. But Razik and Cethin had to live with each other every day, andthatwas something she couldn’t understand.
Unless it wasn’t by choice?
In which case, she understood not having a choice very well.
“Razik believes I am the reason he was abandoned to this realm,” Cethin said, the wariness returning to his tone.
“Are you?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Then…?”
“There are things at play. Ancient traditions,” Cethin said. “Many have tried to coerce him into compliance over the centuries, and each time he resisted— Well, it’s not hard to see how we became what we are.”
“And this tradition involves what? What could be so terrible that it would cause such a rivalry?”
Cethin eyed her as he said, “It involves a bond that would force him to protect me and give his life for me if required.”
“Oh,” Kailia whispered. Her feet were tucked under her, and she ran a palm over her thigh. “Then I suppose I understand the animosity on his end, but are you simply upset he will not agree to this?”
“It’s more complicated than that,” he answered. “At this point, I don’t want it either, but he still blames me. For all of it. My mother was very insistent. She went to some extremes in attempts to get him to agree to the bond.”
She was quiet for a long moment. Cethin had never voluntarily discussed his mother. Or his father, for that matter.
King Tethys had been dead for over a year before she’d found her way to these lands, and Queen Selinya was rarely spoken of. When she was mentioned though, it was usually in reverence.
But beyond all of that, none of Cethin’s explanations gave her any insight as to why the Oracle would have appeared as Razik when she visited all those years ago. She’d been hoping there was a common thread buried in the reason for his hatred.
But perhaps there was.
