“No,” Rabbit blurted, survival instinct kicking in before he could think his response over and tell the guy he didn’t like either of them.
“That’s good,” he said. “Because we’re in my kingdom, and here you take whatever I serve you.” He poked at the hickey, hard enough it had Rabbit glowering, and then rose to his feet. “I have to deal with this. He isn’t meant to be in my territory without first announcing himself.”
“You make it sound like you’re a legitimate king or something,” Rabbit stated.
“I may not hold an Imperial title,” Baikal adjusted the cuffs of his shirt, “but I assure you, I have every bit as much claim to a throne as someone with the Diar name. Possibly even more so, considering my relatives never snatched the crown from someone else.”
Rabbit frowned, but it was clear Baikal had no intentions of explaining that particular dig.
He took Rabbit’s wrist and turned his multi-slate, pressing their screens together and holding them there until they beeped. “I just shared our contacts. I’ll message you directly for our next date. You better come running, little bunny. If you even consider keeping me waiting,” he planted a palm against the table and leaned in, “I’ll take it out on that ripe ass of yours, and I won’t be as gentle as I was last night. Oh,” he snapped his fingers as if in afterthought, “wear my necklace too.”
Rabbit wanted to tell him to go screw himself, but he smartly clamped his mouth shut, glaring at Baikal’s back as he headed toward Kelevra, trying not to think about the very obvious love bite on his neck and how everyone nearby could see it plain as day. He’d purposefully left the silver necklace on his dresser.
Where it would be staying.
Baikal’s threat be damned.
Chapter 9:
The smell of packed dirt and mildew tickled at Baikal’s nostrils as he leaned back against the concrete wall, arms crossed over his chest, lost in thought. Around him, his cousin and two other Brumal members who were considered part of his detail hovered around a man zip tied to a chair over a plastic tarp in the center of the room.
Even though it was vastly different, the scene had reminded him of the video of December Trace beating on that still unidentified person, more so how Rabbit had reacted to it. There hadn’t been surprise in his eyes when he’d watched it, though the disgust and the pity were clear. And in the end, it was obvious the only reason he’d agreed to make the deal with Baikal had been to keep his mother away.
But why?
As the heir to the Brumal throne, he was no stranger to abuse. His father had beaten him to get him in line when he’d been an arrogant middle schooler, but there’d never been true hatred or animosity between them.
Rabbit was afraid of his mother. Afraid enough he was willing to trade himself to Baikal to protect her career just so she’d stay off planet. What he’d assumed was loneliness brought on by being abandoned in that massive house of his was actually anxiety. He didn’t spend his nights wishing for his mom to return. He spent them praying she wouldn’t.
In the year he’d been watching him, Baikal had noted his obvious separation from other students. The only person he allowed anywhere near him long enough to even start a conversation was that sophomore with the attitude problem, Sila Varun. He was curious how the guy had managed to break through Rabbit’s defenses enough to gain that honor.
He’d assumed Rabbit was merely dedicated to his studies and, as the rumors suggested, standoffish. Now, however, he was forced to reevaluate. Admittedly, it annoyed him that he’d been so wrong about the other guy, to the point he almost pulled his blaster from where it was tucked at his back and started shooting at random just to blow off steam. The only thing preventing him from doing so was the fact that he wasn’t Kelevra Diar.
Baikal had self-control.
Even if it was thinning.
There were pieces here that weren’t adding up and there was nothing he disliked more than chaos he didn’t initiate or ask for. All this time, he should have been paying closer attention. Should have inserted himself into his tiny obsession’s life sooner, instead of waiting until he’d overheard the marriage proposal plans.
Rabbit was afraid of his mother and so the second she’d suggested he date Arlet, he’d gone like the dutiful son, most likely to avoid her wrath and that…
That pissed Baikal off.
No one was allowed to force Rabbit into a corner but him. Period. It looked like he was going to have to take action to ensure his will was followed.
“Vitality to Kal.” Kazimir waved his hand in front of Baikal’s face and grunted. “You’re the one who called this meeting, your highness. Care to be present for it?”
At the title, he was reminded of how Rabbit had sneered that at him and he smirked.
“That’s more like it,” Kaz misunderstood the look and patted him on the shoulder, easing him away from the wall and closer to the man tied up. “Let’s get on with it, shall we? I’ve got things to do.”
“Such as?” one of their trusted men, Flix, joked. He along with the other member in the room, Berga, had grown up with the cousins, the four of them thick as thieves.
Flix was the taller of the two, but also lankier, with toned limbs and hair the color of spun gold. His family had fled Sanctum back in the day with Baikal’s and had once originated from a powerful line of Shouts, though they’d yet to produce one in over three generations.
Berga’s family originated on Vitality, with his father being the first to join the Brumal. He had two small crystal horns set just below his hairline, his hair a jet-black. They’d come together by chance, but Baikal had kept them around and cultivated their relationships due to one of his father’s very first teachings when he’d been a boy.
Friends aren’t a weakness.
