Xae burst out laughing.
Nex jerked out of his reverie and glared at us as he stomped back to his seat. “What the fuck are you two chuckling about?”
“Are you kidding me?” I shook my head at him. “Smitten.”
“I'm not smitten!”
“Oh, Evina, you're so wonderful,” I mimicked. “You're so thoughtful. The General was wise to hire you.”
“I did not say that.”
“You just asked her out on a date,” Xaedren said. “When you know you're not supposed to date her. You did it kind of sneaky too. You kind of told her you were taking her out instead of asking her.”
“She could have refused. And rules are for breaking,” Nex said loftily. “It's just lunch. Maybe a little kissing. Light petting if I'm lucky. Which I will be. But I'm sure she won't be up for sex until at least the second date. She's too much of a lady.”
“The second date?!” I hooted. “You're already planning the second date? Because she's alady?!”
“Oh, shut up.” Nex stood up again, grabbed his mug of ale, and stormed off.
We all laughed even harder.
Chapter Seven
The next day, I was distracted throughout my sword training. Taroc hadn't come to the yard, but that almost made it worse. Xae yelled at me a few times for my bad form, and I caught Jathalion smirking. The fucker.
At last, it was time to shower. I wouldn't be joining the men for magical training since I had a date with Taroc. That meant there wouldn't be any magical training since the men weren't empowered when I wasn't with them. But Rath said he could still go through some of the books on magic with them. Studying. Neither Kel nor Xae was thrilled at the idea.
I kissed Kel goodbye, then went up to the suite with Rath and Xae. To save time, we showered together, but I avoided their grasping hands when they tried to do more than just wash up.
“I don't have time,” I said apologetically as I scrambled out of the stall. It wasn't just the time thing. It felt rude to fuck them right before I went on a date with Taroc.
I dried off and hurried into the dressing room. Then I just stared at my clothes. Compared to Xae and Rath, I didn't have much of a wardrobe. Well, compared to Rath. Xae didn't care about clothes beyond how comfortable and durable they were. Still, he had more than I did. I had come to the citadel with just a couple of outfits, and even those Rath had advised me against bringing. He'd said I'd get better things, and I had, but only a couple of tunics, two pairs of pants, some boots, a belt, a pouch, and my padded fighting gear. I'd at least need a coat or cloak for winter. Some scarves would be good too. Money wasn't a problem. I got a weekly stipend as a Wraith Lord. But there wasn't a lot of time for shopping.
Grimacing, I chose one of my newer outfits—a green tunic with dark brown leather pants. My boots were new too, and so was my belt. So, I didn't look so bad. And yet, staring at my reflection in the full-length mirror, I felt inadequate. My old doubts still reared their heads consistently, even after I'd decided to embrace my new life and the prophecy wholeheartedly. Because under my new muscles and nice clothing, I was still Ember Aldritch. And I couldn't imagine why a man like Taroc would be interested in me. Or Rath, Xae, and Kel, for that matter. Which led me to conclude that they had to be interested in the power I gave them. And I knew that conclusion was bullshit. Xae had been with me before we'd known that I could share my magic, and Rath had been very interested. So, had Kel. Actually, Keltyr had been the most flirtatious out of the three. Taroc, however . . .
“Nope, that's not helpful,” I said to myself. “I am attractive, charming, and magical. I have a lot more than power to offer him.”
A knock came at the suite door just as Rath and Xae walked into the dressing room.
“Have a good time, love.” Rath kissed me goodbye, pulling me in against his naked body.
I groaned into the kiss, forgetting about Taroc entirely as my hands wandered over Rath's muscles. His bare, warm, hard muscles. And when Rath eased back, Xae stole me away. I got wrapped up in another kiss, and my hands returned to their roaming, feeling the differences between Xae's bare back and Rath's before sweeping down to grip his firm ass. Kel had once said he wished Xae was a bottom because of his impressive, well, bottom. It was a very nice ass. I massaged it.
The knock came again.
I jerked away from Xae. “Shit. I'm sorry.”
“It's all right. Go.” Xae slapped my ass, then headed for his clothes.
With one last look at my lovers—all right, one last look at Xae's ass, I walked out of the dressing room and over to the suite's door. Opening it, I expected to find Taroc. But it wasn't him.
“Caleb?” I blinked at him. “Is something wrong?”
Caleb wrung his hands and pressed his lips together as his eyes twitched. “I . . . Ember, I want to go home.”
“Oh, Caleb.” I pulled him into a hug. “I know. I'm so sorry your home is gone. It's my fault. The Corrupter burned down Fress because I attacked him.”
“No, it's not your fault.” Caleb clung to me. “It's not. You're special. You've been chosen to save us.”
