With terrifying grace, the crystalized body stepped past Brela who appeared to be silently cursing the gods before she fell into step behind the creature. It stopped just in front of the horses, the black swirling eyes somehow looking like they were studying them. They landed on Cason, his inked forearms, and the sprite sniffed once before snarling.
He saw the crystal fangs elongate.
Cason’s hand tightened on his sword, even as Farrah’s grip tightened on his wrist.
“Akaza, xyra xib,” Brela snapped at the sprite. The glare she sent in Cason’s direction was a threat to back off, but there was a flash of… guilt?
Whatever she said, the sprite seemed to straighten. Its snarl turned into a feral smile.
“Apologies for the entrance. Like Brela, I have a flare for the dramatics,” the creature said. Everyone started at his language, much to the sprite’s delight, even though his eyes narrowed on Cason again.
Brela jabbed the crystal arm with her elbow. “Akaza, I said behave.” She grumbled and folded her arms. “Territorial bastard.”
The creature mocked offense. “I would have been moregraczkiva… welcoming if you hadn’t masked your scent with another…man.”
Masking her scent? Oh, gods. The thorough washing, the clothes and putting his things on her horse, the sex…
Brela grimaced as Cason glared at her. He wasn’t mad at her for using him, at least he didn’t think so. It’s not like they hadn’t done those things before, and she’d wantedhisscent on her for this purpose… whatever purpose that was.
Yeah, an explanation was needed.Now.
The sprite seemed to notice the exchange as he stepped forward, putting a shoulder in front of Brela as he addressed her while glaring at Cason. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
“Oh, no, the suspense is more entertaining,” Elias said. He leaned forward on his horse, amusement dancing in his emerald eyes.
The sand sprite grinned and jabbed a long, glass finger toward Elias. “I like this one.”
“Elias is off limits,” Brela snapped. “The Severinian Prince is Serill and the water wielder is Farrah. She’s also off limits.” She glanced at the sprite who was now smiling between Serill and Farrah. “In fact, we are all off limits, so put those teeth away.”
“That’s fine, I don’t like that one anyway,” the sprite said, waving his hand toward Cason.
“And Cason doesn’t like you either when you’re being a royal jerk,” she hissed back, flicking the hair spikes on top of his head. The sprite pouted before readjusting the crystals.
Cason gaped. That wasn’t hair.
It was a crown.
“You’re forgetting the last introduction,ov kiakiroxa,” the crystal man reminded her.
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped.
He laughed, and even Brela flinched at the noise. Somehow, the sand sprite produced a crystal tongue that ran over its fangs. “Come now, the suspense is killing them.”
Brela rolled her eyes and drawled. “The illustrious and narcissistic bastard Onshelshus Yultef, better known in the Crystal Desert as the Crown Prince of the Sand Sprites. Oni isnot”—a pointed look at Oni—“mykiakiroxa.”
All thoughts emptied from Cason’s mind as Oni translated with a feral grin in his direction.
“She is my betrothed.”
* * *
Elias was howling with laughter,and might have been crying, which only put Oni’s crystal canines on full display. Serill was just blinking, stunned. Farrah had the good sense to encase her arm in ice as she held onto the fire wielder.
Cason… oh, gods. He might have been so broken that he was counting the grains of sand in Oni. Possibly contemplating using that fire to turn the sand sprite’s insides into glass. She prayed he wouldn’t lose control of that flame.
Onshelshus knew he’d hit a nerve, and he was making sure Brela had no chance to explain herself to Cason.
Oni justhadto go and announce her failure to hide behind Cason’s scent.
