Elias smirked. “Yeah, all right. That was me.”
“Magary Linsal?” I asked.
“Elias had a crush on her,” Rian said. “So he tells me, 'Hey, Rian, I want you to keep watch for me while I climb the wall to sneak into Magary's window.”
“What?” I gaped at Elias.
Elias was straight. How did that never occur to me? It's not as if Rian would only pick gay friends. That would be ridiculous. What was even more ridiculous was the wave of relief I felt at learning of it.
“I found out what time she took her baths at night,” Elias said with waggling brows. “I knew if I could get up to her balcony, I'd be able to peek into the window beside it. Thebathroomwindow.”
“How did you know which was her bathroom window?” I asked.
“Good question,” Rian said and smirked at Elias. “Care to share?”
“Hey, I haven't taken your order yet,” Elias said. “What can I get you to eat, Galin?”
“Answer the damn question, you lecher,” Rian said.
Elias sighed but also smiled. “I'd been spying on her for months.”
“Oh, my,” I said. “You are indeed a lecher.”
“Hey! I was fourteen. Dragon hormones are crazy at that age. And I wasn't the only one stealing peeks at my crushes. At least, I only had one. Your man there had—”
“All right, that's enough chit-chat,” Rian interrupted. “I'm starving. I'll have the stragavur.” He slapped the menu intoElias's stomach. “And you'll have the shut-the-fuck-up. You might want to make it a double.”
“But I haven't even gotten to the part where you fell into the chicken coop,” Elias whined.
“Shall I deliver your shut-the-fuck-up sandwich with my fist?” Rian asked sweetly.
“I don't care how many men you've had,” I said to Rian. “I've had hundreds of lovers over the years. We're immortals, after—”
I was cut off by a sinister growling.
“What the fuck?” Elias whispered, his eyes going wide.
Rian's knights stood up but then went still.
The King's eyes were glowing, his face shifting into sharper lines.
Vashana jumped to her feet between Rian and me, bared her teeth, and snarled just as viciously as the Dragon King.
“Son of songbird,” I hissed as I stood up. “Down, Vash!” I slid around her and took Rian's face between my hands. “There's only you now. Can you hear me, Rian? I love you. I'm with you.”
Rian grabbed my waist, his eyes shivering. And I do mean shivering. They shook within their sockets. Vibrated. It was the scariest thing I'd ever seen.
“Rian!” I transferred my grip to his shoulders and shook him. “I love you! It's just you and me. Come on, push back the dragon. You can do it for me. Take a breath. Please, love.”
Rian gasped. He blinked and his eyes suddenly went normal. Panting, he said, “Fuck. Oh, fuck, Galin.” He yanked me into his arms, taking me astride his lap.
The room stayed silent as we hugged, but as soon as Rian released me and I was able to slide back onto my seat, Elias exclaimed, “What the fuck was that? You're not mated, are you?”
“Not yet, but I believe we will be soon,” Rian said, his lips twitching into a smile. “You see, Galin? I told you this behavior isn't normal. We're destined to be mates.”
“Mates?” Elias huffed. “If you're acting like this now, before you've mated, you'll have something beyond a normal mating bond. I've only heard of one other person having such a reaction to their mate. If you can call him a person.”
Rian's smile vanished, and he whispered, “Karadas.”
