“More than interesting.” Cyprian pulled me away from Kyrian and into his arms. He bent me backward and made a show of kissing me. When he set me on my feet again, he added, “That man is dangerous in more ways than I'd thought.”
“Are you upset?” I whispered, turning my body to block Braxis, who was now interrogating Alex.
“No, Se Esaria, I trust my goddess. She brought us together, and I have faith that she will continue to guide us. If Braxis is meant to be ours, he will be.”
I lifted my brow at the “ours.” But that was how Cyprian thought of us. Not in a sexually possessive way, but a claim that went deeper than family. That's what our fusion was to him. As Ruar, he was entitled to be possessive over his fellow kishanos. They were his, as all of them were mine.
“I missed you, Ruar,” I murmured in his ear.
“And I missed you, Se Esaria.”
Se Esaria was his special endearment for me. The words were Faulin for “my eternal flower” and were a play on my name and my immortality. From the first time Cyprian had used the endearment, I'd loved it. I hadn't admitted it to myself then, but I had.
“Braxis, that's enough,” Malik finally saved Alex. “If we are satisfied that Amara is safe with Leshing, then you will be too. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Braxis said with a surprising lack of hostility.
“Good.” Malik nodded, then looked over at Everan, who stood to Kyrian's left. “It's good to have you back, Ever, but I'm wondering why you're here.”
“I need a private word.” Everan looked at Braxis and Alex pointedly.
Malik nodded while Cyprian raised a curious brow.
“If I could just make a suggestion before you move on?” Braxis interrupted, making Mal grimace.
“Yes?” Malik asked with obvious irritation.
“Shouldn't we accompany Amaranthine on this outing and watch over her? At a distance, of course.”
Malik grinned and lifted a brow at me. “He has a point.”
“What is this event that Leshing is attending?” Cyprian asked Alex.
“Uh...” Alex fumbled for his phone and hurried to bring something up. “It's the, uh, Washington Ballet Gala.”
Cyprian grinned like a cat at a bird feeder—a cat who knew it was actually a cat feeder.
“How many tickets do you have?” I asked him. I already knew Cyprian was a patron—he'd taken me to several performances—which meant he was invited to the gala.
“I have two, but I'm sure they'd be happy to send me more,” Cyprian said.
“Mere hours before the gala?” I lifted my brows.
“The director is a client.” Cyprian's grin grew wicked.
Alex cleared his throat.
Braxis frowned, looked around at everyone, and asked, “What does that mean?”
“I own a business that caters to sexual fantasies,” Cyprian said boldly. “It's a place where humans go to let their desires run rampant.”
Braxis blinked. “You... organize orgies?”
Malik, Everan, and Kyrian laughed their asses off. Alex just looked uncomfortable while Cyprian rolled his eyes.
“You poor, sexually repressed brute,” Cyprian said sweetly. “Is that all you have in Reaksar? Orgies? How very sad.”
Braxis grinned. “We don't need a lot of fancy toys to pleasure our women.”
