She’s not our friend. She’s our?—
Luka cut off his beast before it said something that really enraged him. “What the fuck is wrong withyou,Shane? You should have left Narya alone, not snuck off to show her yourfountains. You should have listened to me and involved the queen the second we got back with Narya’s body. We should be working on how to manage the archthane together. And, most of all, you should have left Izzy safe in her bed at home.” His voice rose. “Iwas trying to protect Izabel from the shitstorm you’re creating!”
Kai grunted from his place on the velvet settee beside Aiden. Despite his jeweled court tunic and the high shine of his boots, Kai still looked every inch the soldier he was. His family worked the iron mines, and his arms were tattooed with branching linesof steel gray and rust red, like the ore that dominated their lives. He was the tallest—and heaviest—of all their friends. An intense, quiet man. Now, his expression was tight with anger, one huge hand fisted on his thigh.
“See,” Luka waved toward his friends. “The others agree.”
“I was grunting at you both, asshole,” Kai replied. “You’re right about telling the queen and the princess. And watching you tonight—” He scowled at Shane. “—God of Chaos. I don’t even have words for that. But, Luka, you are not the right person to protect our Izzy.”
Our Izzy!OurIzzy!His beast spun so hard it almost dropped him to his knees.
Gods, sometimes Luka hated them all. “She’s yours now, is she?” he asked with menacing quiet.
Kai leaned forward. “Don’t be an?—”
“Shut up. Both of you,” Shane interrupted, dragging their attention back to him. The prince made his way to a gleaming mhoba wood cabinet, took out a bottle, poured himself a large glass of red wine, and drank half of it. Then he waved the bottle toward the others. “Anyone?”
It was tempting, but Luka was certain that his debacle of a night was far from over, and the morning was likely to be even worse. “I don’t want your wine. I want you to listen.”
“I did listen. But I’m not going to do anything without more facts, and I need Izzy’s help to get them,” Shane replied, sinking into a large leather-upholstered chair. “We want to bring our soldiers home. We want safety for our people, so that we can move on. And this could derail everything.”
“You already brought us home,” Kai argued, “and you certainly didn’t ask for our opinions.”
“We want peace,” Shane repeated tiredly.
“I understand that.” Lukadidunderstand. And he knew that Shane was dedicated to his people. “But can’t you see that Izzy should be left out of it?”
“I have done my best to leave her out of it!” Shane snarled. “I have tried to leave you all out of it!”
“Why couldn’t one of the other physiks come to assess the body?” Luka pushed.
“Because I don’t trust them like I trust Izzy!” Shane dragged his hand down his face with a grimace. “None of this is as easy as you think.”
Luka grunted, not ready to let it go. “Whatisn’t easy? If you’re concerned about something, you have to tell me. You should have let me?—”
“When, Luka?” Shane lifted his hands in exasperation. “You’re always working. I hardly see you anymore.”
Luka’s beast twisted, unsettled. It was a fair point. One he already knew. But it was so easy to sink into his work. He could spend all day exhausting himself with training soldiers, setting up guard rotations, protecting the castle, maintaining his own strength and weapon skills… anything and everything so that he didn’t have to be vulnerable. Didn’t have to grieve. Didn’t have to think. There were a million things to do each day and a million ways to close himself off.
I told you it was a mistake.
His beast’s sharp comment pulled him from his spiraling thoughts. He’d buried himself in duty, that was true, but it had nothing to do with hiding this catastrophe from the queen. Shane knew that. Luka leaned back, contemplating his friend. Had he misdirected Luka on purpose? Why would he do that? “Is this because you had feelings for Narya?” Luka demanded. “Were you lovers? Is that why you want to keep this secret?”
“What? No!” Shane’s eyes slipped to the door that blocked them from Izzy and Cori and immediately back.
Luka stared at his friend, taking in the dark rings under his eyes, the sharp bones of his face. “Why did you kiss her then?” he asked. Why kiss any of them? Why did Shane spend all his time at parties and dinners and stumbling out of women’s rooms? It wasn’t helping him win the woman he really wanted. If anything, it was driving nails into the coffin of his chances, one ill-considered caress at a time.
You can talk, his beast muttered before shuddering.Thank the fires you’re just being an ass and not fucking half the castle.
“I told you,” Shane said, “we were?—”
“Looking at the fountains,” Kai completed the sentence acidly.
“Exactly,” Shane agreed, ignoring Kai’s sarcasm. He crossed his leg, rested his foot on his thigh, and leaned his head back, ending the conversation.
Kai turned to speak quietly to Aiden, but Luka left them alone. He would have joined them. Before. Not anymore. Shane was right. He worked and slept, and honestly, he didn’t sleep that much.
“Luka,” Shane said quietly once the others were distracted, tilting his head for Luka to join him.
