“Is that so?” Adrissu asked, hoping his feigned disinterest seemed convincing. His heart was pounding in his chest: he knew his mate’s name, Ruan.Ru-an. He repeated the syllables over and over in his head, anxious to try them on his tongue. Ederick’s comment was as infuriating as it was intriguing; of course the first thing that he learned about his mate was how irritating he was. “I take it he’s a problem student of yours, then?”
“Well...” Ederick started, only to pause, tapping his chin with one finger. “I wouldn’t say that, necessarily. He’s a fast learner and good at what he does. He’ll make a fine warrior someday. But he’s an orphan, grew up basically on the streets. He really only joined for the roof over his head and regular meals, so he’s a bit... rowdy, compared to some of our other trainees. He’ll need some more work before he’s ready to take on any kind of job, I think.”
“I see,” Adrissu repeated slowly, looking back over at the man.Ruan.Everything Ederick said about him had ignited his frustration all over again.Mischievous, rowdy... He sounded utterly human, everything Adrissu was not. What was he even doing here? It had been a mistake to even entertain the thought of meeting the man.Ruan. He wished he could forget his name.
“I mean, if you have your eye on him, I could float the idea,” Ederick offered. Adrissu flushed with shame at the thought that this human could read his interest so easily—that he was so obvious despite his usually guarded nature. “No need to make a decision now, sir, unless you really need someone immediately.”
“Nothing so urgent,” Adrissu said quickly, clasping his hands behind his back and straightening his spine. If he was going to stand here like a fool, he would at least maintain his composure. “I will consider your other recommendations, sir; but if you would, as you say, float the idea both with them and with this... Ruan.” The name on his lips was intoxicating, and the world seemed to tremble around him as he said it.HisRuan. He shoved the thought away again. “Well, sometimes I do enjoy a challenge. Perhaps he would do well with a strong hand.” The words left him unbidden, more out of instinct than anything else, so he forced himself to smile up at the taller man as he spoke. He grinned, baring his teeth in a way he knew would often leave humans unsettled. He liked to think it was some part of his draconic nature flashing through for just an instant—a hint of power that humans would detect on an instinctual level, but could never articulate to themselves.
“Perhaps,” Ederick agreed after an uncertain beat of silence.
“As you said, I need not make a decision at this moment,” Adrissu continued briskly. He had remained here too long already. “Perhaps I can return at a more opportune time to discuss this further with you?”
“Certainly,” Ederick said. “I oversee most practices, but usually the recruits break for the hotter parts of the day. Come again around midday, and you should find most of us available to speak with you.”
“Excellent,” Adrissu said, nodding once. “In that case, I bid you good day.” He spun on his heel and headed for the door without waiting for a response.
Despite his own self-flagellation over how poorly his conversation with Ederick had gone, Adrissu could only hold out against the urge to see Ruan again for a few days. The next time he made his way to the guild hall, he brought Vesper with him, who stayed coiled in the sleeve of his robe. It was midday this time, and the heat of the day was at its peak. But Vesper was cool against his skin, making up for the extra layer that he wore to carry her comfortably. She did enjoy sometimes peeking out as they walked, but for the most part she remained in her hiding place.
He had brought her with the instruction to bite him if he began to make too much of a fool of himself. Though lacking venom, Adrissu hoped that the unpleasant sensation would snap him out of the horrible state that overtook him whenever he caught sight of that man, Ruan. But today was about following up with Ederick—and maybe introducing himself to Ruan. Possibly. Perhaps. Vesper’s expression remained the same as he explained; but he had the distinct sense that if she could, she would be rolling her eyes at him.
As he walked along the main road and the guild hall came into view, it seemed most of the recruits were sitting in small groups within the front courtyard eating lunch together. Ruan’s auburn hair was like a beacon, glistening a warm reddish-brown in the midday sun, and Adrissu’s eyes found him instantly.
Adrissu hesitated at the gate. He had meant to speak with Ederick, but Ruan was right there. How far was he really going to go with this ruse, when he knew that he only wanted to talk to Ruan? In his sleeve, Vesper shifted. He tensed, expecting to feel the prick of her fangs, but it never came. She only seemed curious for now.
He sighed, stepped through the gate, and veered to the left where the recruits sat. As he navigated between the pockets of space that formed around the groups of four or five, those that noticed him gave him quick, curt nods of greeting, seemingly aware of who he was. Ruan was facing away from him as he approached. The man sitting across from him, however, met Adrissu’s gaze and bowed his head slightly, prompting the man to turn and look toward him.
Their eyes met, and Adrissu nearly stumbled as he closed the distance between them. Ruan’s eyes were a honeyed brown, warm and bright where the sun caught them. Everything about him seemed kissed by the sun, from his hair to his skin to his eyes. The human blinked, bowing his head slightly in the same way, though a slight grin started to spread across his lips as he did so. This close, Adrissu could see the beginnings of stubble had formed over his upper lip and along his chin.
“Hello,” Adrissu said, ignoring the thudding of his heart. Hopefully his voice sounded stronger than he felt. “You’re Ruan, yes?”
“I am,” the man said, standing to his feet. “And you’re Adrissu.”
It was the first time that he had heard Ruan speak, and hearing his own name in Ruan’s voice sent a chill racing up his spine. Even as he longed to hear his name come from Ruan’s lips again, he hated how much power the human instantly had over him with absolutely no awareness of it.
“Yes,” Adrissu said, forcing himself to focus. “I came by a few days ago and spoke with Ederick about a potential job. Did he speak of this to you?”
“He mentioned it, yeah,” Ruan said, lifting one hand to push his hair out of his eyes. “I might be interested. What’s the pay?”
Adrissu paused, pursing his lips in thought. He hadn’t considered the pay; he did not even know what was reasonable to offer. But hedidwant Ruan to take the job, if he was considering it...
“A gold per day,” he said, and Ruan’s eyebrows flew up his face in surprise. The men who were sitting nearby watching spluttered, and several of the recruits who were a little further off swung their heads to look in their direction, also obviously shocked.
“Done,” Ruan said quickly, starting to laugh. “If you haven’t filled the position yet, that is. I’ll take it.”
“Excellent. It is yours,” Adrissu said, bowing his head. “Do arrangements need to be made with your guildmaster?”
“They’ll just need to read over the contract,” Ruan laughed. “Just bring me whatever I need to sign, and I’ll be off the hook with them for whatever hours you give me. Since it’s through the guild they’ll take a percentage, but at a gold a day, I’m more than happy to give them their share. A pleasure doing business with you, Lord Adrissu.” He held out his hand.
Adrissu breathed in deeply to brace himself, then extended his hand as well. They shook. Ruan’s hand was rough against his own, but warm.
“I am not a lord,” he said, as Ruan released him from his grasp. He was tempted to let his fingers linger for a moment longer; but he knew Vesper would bite him if he did, and the last thing he wanted was to embarrass himself now of all times. “You may simply call me Adrissu.”
“Adrissu,” Ruan repeated. Another shiver shot up Adrissu’s spine.
“How soon can you start?” he asked, glancing down at his hand.
“Whenever,” Ruan said, and Adrissu looked back up at him to see him shrug, a self-satisfied grin still on his face. “I can start tomorrow if that’s what you’d like.”
