Her brow furrowed. “Then why did you ask?”
“Because we’ve been sitting here in silence for two hours,” he deadpanned. “And while I prefer quiet and solitude, you standing over there staring out a window like a wraith is uncouth.”
Was it?
She eyed him as she said, “I’d question you speaking to your future queen in such a manner, but I’ve seen how you interact with Cethin.”
“Cethin can fuck off, but that’s not the point,” Razik replied, pushing to his feet. “You say you don’t want to be on display, but that’s exactly the life you signed up for. You can’t stand around all day staring out windows.”
“You scarcely know me, yet you speak as if this is normal for me,” she retorted.
“Is it?” he countered.
“No,” she replied, lifting her chin.
“Practice lying more. You’re terrible at it, Lia.”
Her lip curled back. “Perhaps Cethin was right. Maybe a different personal guard would be best,Raz.”
“You’d hate that,” he retorted, brushing past her to head down the hallway.
“Why would you say that? And where are you going?” she demanded, following after him.
“To get you a cloak and boots,” he replied over his shoulder. “And you’d hate it because any other personal guard is going to care about Cethin’s opinions and demands over yours. We’ve already established I don’t give a fuck.”
“And I care about that because? And a cloak and boots for what?” she questioned as Razik pushed the doors open to the bedchamber. For someone who claimed to spend little time here, he certainly knew his way around. It only furthered her scorned lovers suspicion.
“I’m not going to ask permission from the king before taking you into the city,” he called out from the dressing room.
“Into the city? For what?”
“To practice being on display. You’re clearly out of your element,” he answered, emerging from the dressing room with a velvet cloak and elegant black boots.
“The cloak seems a bit much,” she said, eyeing the items. “And the boots are unnecessary.” Then she brought her gaze to his, worrying her bottom lip. “Is it that obvious how ill-equipped I am for this?”
“Painfully.”
She scowled at him. “You are an ass.”
“How astute of you, but yes. Glad you figured that out now,” he replied, tossing the cloak to her. She caught it with one hand, the fabric soft and plush beneath her fingers. “The cloak would be expected of a queen, and the boots are necessary because shoes are necessary among society.”
“I feel as if the queen shouldn’t have to conform to society,” she murmured, running her finger along the elegantsilver embroidery of the cloak. Stars and moons and beautiful detailing among it all ran around the edges and the hem.
Razik shrugged, dropping the boots at her feet. “You’re the one concerned with being on display and not wanting to appear unsuitable for the job.”
By the gods, this male was as much of a jackass as Cethin was, but…
This could work in her favor.
He clearly had some sort of vendetta against the king, and she needed to figure out why the Oracle had appeared as Razik when she’d visited. If he was willing to help her say and do the right things as the future queen, it would keep Cethin at arm’s width and still accomplish her goals.
And she needed Cethin to keep his distance because his presence was unnerving. The way he’d spoken to her this morning, so close she could feel his breath stir her hair? Gods.He was as perceptive as Razik, and he was using it to his advantage while she was at a complete disadvantage because she didn’t understand any of it. Like, why had her magic responded the way it had when his dark power had tangled with it?
No.
Still not thinking of that.
“Fine,” she said, going to the dresser to retrieve stockings.
