It’s a lie. I’ve grown fond of Jude and even tolerate Oliver lately. But the King doesn’t need to know that.
Alastair’s smile stays on as he says, “You liked him enough to fuck him.”
My mug stops halfway to my lips. “You know about that?”
It was a long time ago when Jude first came to the Market. Back then, he’d just escaped his family’s clutches. He was craving comfort and wished to forget. Perri and I obliged.
“Jude told me during the short time when he lived with me,” says Alastair.
I sigh. “Perri liked him at first. The three of us had our fun a few times before realizing it wouldn’t work in the long run. We stayed friends.”
Jude is too much of a brat for my tastes, even if he’s a good fuck. And Perri is too sweet for him. Then he met the King, and they hit it off pretty fast. It was a whirlwind until the fateful day when Jude stole supplies and a vehicle before disappearing in the wastelands.
“Did you love him?” I ask to get a rise out of him.
Alastair is still smiling as he says, “I could have with time. But I wasn’t there yet.”
Liar, I almost say. His rage after Jude’s betrayal had been clue enough.
“Would you have killed him if you got your hands on him?” I ask.
“That, I can’t tell,” he says truthfully. “And I thank you for not giving me the opportunity. I certainly would have regretted it.”
They’d have never worked out, I realize. They’d have just killed each other at some point.
“Doesn’t it ever bother you to share Perri?” Alastair asks me out of the blue.
I take a long time to answer. “No. To be jealous, I’d need to feel like he could be taken away from me. That he’d find someone better than me and leave me. But he won’t. What we share is… unshakable. It has always been.”
Alastair watches me with predatory intent. “You seem pretty confident that I won’t be able to seduce him away from you.”
What is he doing? He could be looking for a fight, but somehow it doesn’t feel like it. He seems to be… hinting at something. Although I don’t know what.
“I am,” I say. “I know you’ll never be able to take him from me. Perri’s lovers come and go. But I’m irreplaceable.”
Alastair tilts his head to the side. “Thatyou are.” He leans closer. Even sitting on his ass, he’s taller than me. It pisses me off. I’m not used to it. “And what would it take to seduce you?” he asks, close to my lips.
I haven’t moved an inch, refusing to give him any ground.
“You’re not my type,” I say with a straight face.
“Oh, really?”
I don’t give him an answer to that and just stare at him defiantly. Then I add, “If you’re trying to get me flustered, your efforts are lost on me. I’m not Perri.”
His eyes search my face for a second too long before he pulls away. “And yet, I can hear the fast beating of your heart, Stellan.” He still has an infuriating smile on his face.
I offer him my best withering look.
We spend the rest of our watch in silence, and I’m entirely too aware of his presence by my side.
By the end of the next day, I’m starting to realize that we’ve either missed Perri, or he found some trouble before reaching us.
My fears are confirmed when we receive a message by radio about an abandoned truck left on a hilltop near the city.My truck. A traveling merchant recognized it immediately.
By the time we reach the coordinates, I’m in a state of internalized panic.
The truck’s windshield and windows are a spiderweb of cracks, but the rest is still in good enough shape. One of the tires is flat—pierced by something sharp, but the spare one is still atthe back. It could have been replaced easily. Why would Perri leave the truck behind? Most of his belongings are still inside, including a purple octopus plushie I’ve never seen before. The food and supplies we usually keep in the trunk are gone, either taken by Perri or by someone else.
