But for some reason I can’t explain, itfeelslike maybe it should be my business.
Dimitri speeds up, cutting into my line of sight. Then, with infuriating ease, the vampire reaches Serenya’s side and leans in close, too close, whispering something to her. I can’t hear the words, but I see the way her expression pinches in mild irritation before she gives a dry response. Whatever she says doesn’t make him walk away. They speak for several more minutes, their voices low enough that I can’t make out more than the occasional syllable.
He laughs at one point. A soft, rich sound. Like they are sharing a private joke.
My brooding deepens.
He moves even closer, hovering just inside her space like he belongs there. Like he has permission to. Just before he steps away again, she smiles at him. Barely. Just a flicker of amusement, but it was real.
Sourness twists in my stomach as I watch them. The mist thickens around us. The water feels colder than before, and my thoughts become messy. I wish it didn’t matter so much. But it does. It feelslike holding something in my hands only to watch it slip through my fingers.
I tell myself to focus on the trial. Not her. Not thevampire. Not the godsdamned smile.
But I don’tstop watching.
We walk in silence for what feels like hours. The corridor is far behind us now. More mist gathers low over the land, covering stones and branches. Serenya continues leading us without hesitation, as if the terrain speaks to her. Maybe it does.
Dimitri isstillhumming softly under his breath, the sound grating under my skin. I clench my jaw and try to focus on the path. Not the sound. Not the way the vampire keeps glancing towards Serenya. Not the way she seems completely unfazed by it.
She slows. “We’ll need to go east; the terrain should slope upward just past those ridges. We’ll have a clearer path if we make it there by nightfall.”
“We’re already headed that way,” I mutter under my breath.
She glances back. “What?”
“I said, we’re already headed that way,” I repeat, louder this time.
She blinks, frowning. “No need to bite.”
“I’m not biting.”
“You kind of are.”
I scoff. “Says the female who is always snapping at me like she can’t stand to even breathe the same air as me.”
She stops walking. “What has gotten into you?”
“Maybe I’m tired of being followed around by someone we can’t trust while you just pretend it’s normal.”
Her eyes narrow. “If you have a problem, say it.”
I give her a hard look. “You want me to say it? Fine. What is he even doing here? Since when do fae and vampires take strolls together like old friends?”
Her posture stiffens. “That’s none of your concern.”
“Maybe not. But I’ve been watching you keep everyone at arm’s length…except for him.” I jab a finger in Dimitri’s direction.
She steps closer. “You havenoidea what you’re talking about.”
“I know what I see.”
“And what exactly do you think you see, Koen?”
I don’t answer. I can’t. Not without saying I’m jealous. Not without admitting how badly I want her. How badlyI want to hold her. To just be able to walk next to her, as if it weresomething we did every day. As if it were normal…like he was.
“I don’t have time for jealousy,” she says quietly, as if she can hear my thoughts.
“Good,” I grind out. “Neither do I.”
