“You are —” I stopped myself short.
“I am…what…Lady Reyva?” A coy smile spread beneath his stubble.
Charming. Chivalrous. Playful. Attentive. Adventurous. Handsome.
“Not at all what I’d expected.” My cheeks ached from smiling.
“What did you expect?” he inquired as he fluffed a pillow.
“Commander Thorne had said I’d be treated well. I guess it’s just now sinking in that he wasn’t lying.” Rhazien’s blood recoiled at my thoughts of Dommik. It was then I’d realized I hadn’t thought of him yet that evening.
Rhazien stretched his hand, inviting me to the pallet of blankets under the moon and stars. We nestled together like two young lovers.
“You can call him Dommik when it’s just us.” A featherlight thumb trailed my cheek.
Calling Dommik by his formal title hadn’t been an accident. I wanted to distance myself, be less familiar, and give this growing thing with Rhazien a real chance.
I hummed a small, indifferent response and sank deeper into his hold.
“You think he’s dishonest?” Rhazien asked, his eyes tracking a shooting star.
It was a sticky question.
“I think he’s…”a lot of things,“...morally complex.”
“Mmm.” He placed a lazy, lingering kiss on the side of my head. “Why’s that?”
“Well, hewasdressed as a Traveler when I met him.” My words became breathless as Rhazien’s finger hooked under my chin, turning my face to his.
“A forgivable manipulation, don’t you think?” His stubble tickled my cheeks as his nose circled mine. A delighted hum vibrated through my body, melting my thoughts of Dommik away like the snow after the Spring thaw.
Was it the blood making me feel so at home in his arms or was I falling fast for this man? Was he feeling that same sense of effortless comfort with me?
“I’ll forgive him this time,” I jested, our lips still touching.
“Reyva, the merciful,” he laughed into my mouth.
One week ago, my sister advised me to consider all of my options. It was to her benefit, my sacrifice to the Hive, but I wondered what she’d say if she saw me now. Not a maid or a slave, but on the lips of Rhazien Kyrell.
I laid my head on his chest and looked up to the ethereal constellations.
“It’s good you can forgive him.” Rhazien stroked my hair. “He’s…he’s like a son to me.”
A son.
Guilt slithered in my gut. I knew Dommik was loyal to Rhazien, but I hadn’t realized their relationship was deep enough to consider him family.
“Technically, I won him. Fought a duel with Eryx that he’ll never forget or live down to bring Dommik back with me.”
Illica was filled with stories of Rhazien’s prowess in battle, but I hadn’t seen him even holding a weapon in my time with him.
“Why?” Rhazien looked at me with raised brows. “Why fight for him?”
Rhazien continued, “His potential was being wasted in the Northern Hive. He was nothing more than a glorified thug. And he was on trial. If found guilty, he would have been left out to meet the sun.”
“What did he do to almost earn such a terrible death?” I’d heard Dommik lie and I’d seen Dommik kill. And I’d only known him a shortwhile. Who knew what kind of atrocities he could have committed in his prolonged life.
I imagined the worst but my heart stopped when Rhazien said, “He was in love with the wrong person.”
