“Because direct questions seem to get me nowhere with you.”
She huffed, dropping the bacon back onto her plate. Then she went rigid when the sound of footfalls echoed. She really was an anxious thing around…well, anyone.
Cethin already knew who was about to enter the dining room though, and despite the majority of his days starting this way, he was more than a little irritated at his time with her being interrupted.
Zayan appeared moments later, pausing briefly when he spotted her. His chin-length dark blond hair was tied back in abarely there ponytail, and his dark brown eyes skipped from her to Cethin.
“Good morning, your grace,” he said tentatively. “Am I interrupting?”
“No,” he sighed, because despite the irritation, it was the truth. The conversation with her was going nowhere other than in circles, but if she wanted to continue down this path, that was fine. He’d continue with her games. Gesturing to the male, he continued, “This is Zayan, Hand of the King. Zayan, this is tiny?—”
“Kailia,” she interjected quickly.
Fucking finally.
He almost muttered the words out loud.
“This is Kailia,” he finished, watching her lips purse slightly as her name left his.
“It is a pleasure, Kailia,” Zayan said with a nod of his head, studying her. “Did you two meet at the Esbat Festival?”
“We did,” Cethin answered. “After the address to the Fae.”
Zayan’s smile was tight. Cethin had expected him to be overjoyed at his having a female at the breakfast table. This is what he and the advisory council had been pushing for, after all.
“And will we be seeing Kailia around the castle more often?” the Hand asked.
By Arius. He didn’t need to bethatpainfully obvious. Then again, it did work in Cethin’s favor with his current predicament.
“You will,” he said simply, holding Kailia’s stare the entire time. “We were finishing our meals before I showed her around the castle and grounds.”
“Well, don’t let me interfere,” Zayan said quickly, taking a step back. “The matters I have can wait.”
Gods, this female needed to stick around forever if this was all it was going to take to get Zayan to leave him the fuck alone for a few hours a day.
The male’s steps were hurried as he left the room, and Kailia’s features twisted into a glare while Cethin smirked back in satisfaction.
“Do you always lie to your advisors?” she asked sharply.
“Which part of what I said was a lie? You offered your name, and I confirmed we met last night at the festival.”
“The part about seeing me around the castle more often.”
Each word was slow and deliberate.
His chair scraped softly as he stood. “I believe after our coming negotiations this morning that will be the case.”
“That’s absurd.”
“That’s confidence,” he corrected. “Now, I’m assuming you don’t plan to eat any more so we can go on a walk?”
“I’m not walking around your castle with you.”
“If you want that arrow back, you are.”
He could swear the smoke swirled faster in those amber depths.
With a huff, she got to her feet. “Do you always manipulate people to get your way, king?”
