Dear Amira,
I’m fucking sorry about how things went down between us. I regret hurting you. I regret kissing you, not because I didn’t want to—
No. That wasn’t right. Rhay scribbled over his letter. Trying again, he took a different approach.
Dear Amira,
You were right. I am a fucking coward, and now I’m forced to plan your wedding and watch you bind yourself to someone who—
This time, Rhay tore the napkin apart. This was a shit idea. He shouldn’t write to Amira. She was better off without him, and Rhay was better off not thinking at all.
Leaning over the bar, Rhay grabbed another bottle, chugging a quarter of it.
“I thought you left,” Rio said, appearing next to him.
Rhay gave him a devastating smile, raising his half-empty bottle. “Just busy bleeding the bar dry.”
Rio lowered his voice. “Nix, are you okay? I heard about what happened in Quarnian.”
Rhay felt real concern coming from Rio. He didn’t deserve it, not when he could have possibly stopped the massacre. What he did need was a distraction.
“You can talk to me about it.” Rio put his hand on Rhay’s, sending an electric rush to his heart.
Setting the bottle on the counter, Rhay drew closer to the trader, letting his seducer’s grin fly free. “I have no interest intalkingtonight.”
Rio sucked in a breath, his eyes darkening as he fumbled with a button on his emerald jacket, clearly flustered.
“How about we—” Rhay broke off his question as his gaze moved over Rio’s shoulder to Karwyn striding back into the party. The king’s eyes were set on Rio’s hand on Rhay’s. Rhay pulled his hand back as if he’d been burned. In some ways he had been, or would be.
“Nix?” Rio asked, his eyes wide and trusting—infuriatingly so.
“I have to go,” Rhay proclaimed, rising from his seat and fleeing from Rio before he could spot his disappointment.
Rio was better off not being pulled into Karwyn’s crossfire. Rhay could find a distraction elsewhere. One that wouldn’t mean anything, just as he liked it.
* * *
A knock on his door tore Rhay away from a delicious dream. Encountering the curved back of the gorgeous fae lying next to him, Rhay blinked as he adjusted to the low moonlight streaming in from the window.
The fae—Rhay didn’t know his name—opened his eyes and smiled at Rhay. “You woke me up for round two?”
Rhay’s lips met the fae’s as their hands got lost in each other’s hair. The knock came back, more pressing this time.
With regret, Rhay broke the kiss. “Sorry, love, I’ll be right back.”
Rhay quickly grabbed a white, silky robe and wrapped it around himself loosely. “Tell whoever it is to join us,” the fae lying in his bed said with a cheeky smile.
If the idea had crossed Rhay’s mind, it immediately died when he saw Karwyn on the other side of the door. Karwyn’s gaze dipped to Rhay’s exposed bronze chest, cheeks flushed. Adjusting his robe, Rhay covered his bare skin.
“Came to insult me some more?” Rhay asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Karwyn finally looked at him. “I came to—”
“Are they joining us?” The voice of Rhay’s night companion reached the door, stopping Karwyn’s words.
Karwyn squinted at Rhay, growing paler. “Who is that?” He tried to sneak a peek inside, but Rhay moved to block his view, shutting the door.
“He’s no one. I haveno one.” He was always completely alone, wasn’t he?
