“She’s different, isn’t she?” Jarek said when he and Fallon joined Razik where he was roasting a couple of the birds they’d harvested over the open fire.
“Who?” Razik grunted, still in a sour mood from the day’s festivities. Not the being shot at part, but the being compared to Cethin part. And the fact that Kailia still had the most kills today.
“You know who,” Jarek said, keeping his voice low.
Cethin and Kailia were across the small clearing where everyone had decided to set up camp for the night. The couple was tending another fire with a few rabbits roasting, while Ariadne, Bram, and Draven had a third one.
“What do you think of her?” Jarek pushed, taking the bottle of liquor Fallon passed to him. “I ran into her in the city with Wren the day after the Esbat Festival, and we all know she’s the one who stabbed Cethin that night and again the next day.”
Yeah, they did all know that. Those rumors had somehow made it outside the castle walls too. Cethin had made public statements about those stabbings being misunderstandings. If it’d only happened once, he might have been able to convince people easily enough, but twice?
“Not sure what you’re looking for from me,” Razik said, rotating the roasting spit a quarter turn.
Jarek rolled his eyes. “No need to play dumb, Greybane. There’s a reason you willingly left the Cadre to be her personal guard.”
Razik glanced at him sidelong. “You had your opportunity to willingly leave too, you know.”
“I never wanted the opportunity. Didn’t think you had either,” the male said, taking a pull from the liquor bottle and passing it back to Fallon. She had a heavy fur cloak wrapped around her shoulders, her braid loose from a day of traveling and hunting.
“Sometimes duty requires us to do things we’d rather not,” Razik finally said, stoking the fire.
Jarek scoffed. “If you gave a fuck about duty, you’d have left the Cadre long ago. Something lured you, and knowing you, it has something to do with history or a way around those duties.” He paused, and Razik could feel the male’s eyes on him. “Or you want something you shouldn’t.”
“Jarek,” Fallon chastised, bumping her knee against his.
“I’m just saying what everyone is thinking.”
Razik turned to him, his features devoid of emotion as he asked, “Who’s everyone?”
“The Cadre. The forces. The streets of the kingdom. You can’t tell me you haven’t heard the whisperings, Greybane. We’re trained to know the rumors before they even start,” Jarek said, leaning forward to turn the spit again. “And I know you don’t give a fuck what people think, but in this case, you probably should.”
“I’m not trying to steal Cethin’s things if that’s what you’re suggesting,” Razik said flatly, reaching around Jarek to pluck the liquor from Fallon’s hand.
“As long as the king knows that…and the future queen,” Jarek added pointedly.
Razik huffed humorlessly. “I’m not the one she’s stabbed, Ophanim. Remember that.”
“Exactly. Which would make it appear you are the one she’s more beholden to.”
“Not if you knew her,” Razik muttered. He shifted on the log he was perched on, stretching his legs out. “Like you said, she’s different, and while I find her interesting, there is nothing else from either of us. I can assure you of that. I have no interest in any sort of bond ever.”
“Not even a twin flame someday?” Fallon cut in, her sky-blue eyes full of genuine curiosity.
Another humorless bark of laughter left him. “I’m denying the gods with every breath I take. They’re not going to gift me a twin flame, Fallon. Even if they did, I’d still deny it. I don’t want any fated bond or twist of destiny. The ones who are supposed to care never do.”
Jarek and Fallon both fell quiet after those words. They knew enough of his past to know where the words came from, and more than that, they knew he would bury them in any attempt totry to rationalize away motives and actions. You don’t abandon the ones you’re supposed to love. He was better off simply not having those people in his life at all.
Fallon tipped her head against Jarek’s shoulder, the dancing flames reflecting in her eyes while Jarek’s hand held her thigh. The male’s thumb stroked lazily as he took another swig of liquor. If Razik wanted to be a real ass, he’d bring up their sham of a relationship. If Kailia wanted a definition of fucking versus lovers, they were the prime example, but he didn’t bring it up. He made it a point not to stick his nose in other people’s godsdamn business, whereas Fallon made it a point to be a busybody.
Wren appeared then, holding a cloth full of nuts and dried fruit. Razik swiped a few up as he slid down to make room for her. Her dark hair was loose, strands peeking out of the hood she had pulled up.
“Where have you been?” he asked, pressing a hand to the small of her back so his dragon fire could warm her.
She gave him a grateful smile. “Seeking out berries for breakfast in the morning,” she answered.
“You were in the trees by yourself?” he asked, glancing down disapprovingly.
Her gaze darted to the side. “No, I wasn’t alone.”
