“Then that makes you the trifecta of perfection in my book.” I shrugged, patting at the sweat dripping down my chest.
“Really?” A grin grew up the side of his mouth.
“Open-minded, wants this world a better place, hot as hell, but I don’t have to worry about you hitting on me.” I sighed dreamily. “I think I found my perfect man. You sure you won’t marry me?”
Luk let out a laugh.
“You comfortable with letting other men into the bedroom?”
“Hell yeah.”
His chest shook as he moved to me, his arm wrapping around my shoulders.
“Think I finally found the perfect woman. My father can finally lay at peace in his grave.”
“He didn’t accept it?” I turned my face up to him. I already felt close to Luk. I had known him less than an hour, and I already felt nearer to him than people I had known all my life at HDF.
Luk shrugged, dropping his arm. “It wasn’t that. I think he knew, but we never talked about it. He was human, and he understood how hard it was out there being a mixed-breed kid. He didn’t want more struggles for me, you know?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, understanding how cruel this world was. Though the Fae side might be prejudiced against half-breeds, they weren’t when it came to sex and your preference. They were commonly known to be very open to sex with either male or female—to the disgust of closed-minded humans.
My father spoke of times when things had been changing—freedoms over who you were, loved, and married, were becoming more widely accepted. Then the barrier fell and humans tucked back into their dark corners again, becoming even more purist and uptight, which made them angrier and crueler. It was easy to judge and rip apart someone else, choosing hate over love. We were all constantly looking over our shoulders and no one could be trusted.
“Wait.” I tipped my head, confusion twitching my eye. “Your father was human?” That meant his mother was fae. A lover of thehumanprime minister. The one in league with Istvan to fightagainstthe fae.
“I’m confused.”
“Tell me about it.” Luk rubbed his nose. “Seems the purity thing only matters if you are a commoner. People know she’s Seelie, old noble blood, but it’s just not talked about, or when it is, it’s used to show he’s not prejudiced against fae. How can he be if he sleeps with one, and together they can build the bridge between the sides to peace while he’s doing everything opposite?” Luk’s voice sounded strangled. “Neither my mother nor Leon cares about anything but power. Not fae or human. They don’t care who suffers or dies, as long as they stay in command. But people buy his bullshit, while he paints us the extremists who need to be squashed and killed when we’re the ones who really want justice and rights for all.”
“Damn.” I blew out in surprise. By looking at Luk, you’d never know how fucked up his past and family life were. He was the straight link to the human leader of Prague, and I was the direct link to the human leader of Budapest.
Both joining the progressive side. We were a pair. Kindred spirits, in a way.
Tracker grunted loudly, dropping from the pull-up bar, our attention darting back to him. His eyes met ours for a moment, annoyance creasing his face when his gaze fell on me before he flipped back around, grabbing ropes to pummel into the ground.
“Still stings that you laid him out first.” Luk leaned over to me, talking low.
I folded my arms with ahumph. “Don’t tell me... he doesn’t think women are worthy challengers?”
“He’s human,” Luk replied, nudging me playfully, all the heavy stuff we were talking about dropping away. “We all have our faults.”
“Hey.” I punched his arm. “I’m human.” Though the words felt strange on my tongue. A lie.
“I think he suffers from massive fae-envy. Overcompensates.” Luk winked at me. “He wants to be the best out of anyone, including fae, and his ego believes himself to be.”
“Too bad the role is already taken.” I nudged him back.
“I don’t want to sleep with you, but damn, I think I love you,” he teased.
“So?” I lifted an eyebrow, wiggling them at Tracker.
Luk guffawed. “He’s as straight as they come. He and Ava are basically fuck buddies, which doesn’t mean a guy can’t dream.” Hegave me a look, suggesting it was more than dreaming he did with Tracker’s image. “Even if he is an insufferable asshole.”
Yeah, I fantasize about one of those too.
“How about some breakfast?” Luk looked at his watch, tossing his towel into a basket. “The canteen just opened.”
“Sounds good. I’m starving.” I copied his throw into the laundry basket.
