She tentatively took it from him and murmured thanks. He nodded, stretching his legs out in front of him while she finished his food, her dropped stick already having been claimed by a stray mutt who’d scampered off.
Several silent minutes ticked by before she said, “Just to be sure, you and Cethinaren’tpast lovers? It just seems like?—”
“No,” he ground out. “You said Cethin explained the difference between fucking and lovers.”
“So you’ve fucked?”
“Fucking Fates,” Razik muttered under his breath. “No, Lia. Cethin and I loathe each other.”
“It seems like that would make fucking more passionate,” she mused.
“Kailia,” he growled. “No. There will never be an interest there—fucking or lover. I don’t have any interest in a lover altogether.”
“Just the fucking then?”
“Just the fucking.”
“And Wren,” she added.
He sighed. “Wren is different because of the bond we share.”
She went silent again, trying to sort through all that information, and she was about to ask him another question when there was a swirl of dark magic. Razik said nothing as he reached into the magic and retrieved the note.
“Your betrothed is looking for you,” Razik said flatly, the note going up in black flames, but he didn’t make any move to get up.
“We…should return to the castle then?” she asked.
Razik shrugged. “That’s up to you. As your personal guard, I follow your orders, not his.”
“I don’t think that’s how this is supposed to work.”
He shrugged again, apparently channeling his ‘Cethin-can-fuck-off’ energy.
“I think we should go back,” she said, standing and tossing the food stick into a nearby rubbish bin.
“If that’s what you wish,” Razik said, standing as well and extending his hand.
Seconds later, they appeared in the sitting room of their chambers to face a very irate king.
“Get out,” he snarled at Razik, his dark magic clinging to him like inky rivulets on his skin.
“Calm down, Sutara,” Razik drawled, crossing his arms. “We went out for some fresh air.”
“Get. Out,” the king said again, the words a clear warning.
“I’m not sure leaving her alone with you and your temper tantrum is a good idea.”
“I swear to the Fates, Greybane?—”
“I’ll be fine,” Kailia cut in, stepping between the two males. “Razik, please go.”
He sent her a flat look, but didn’t say another word as he turned and left.
The door hadn’t even fully shut before Cethin was in front of her, leaning in close. “Where were you, Kailia?”
“He just told you,” she retorted. “You need to step back.”
“What I need is for my future wife to not be out with?—”
