He rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “Yeah, yeah, cut me some slack, Bloom. It’s not going to happen. If Talen wasn’t enough for her, then I’m never going to be.”
“Talen waswithReya?” I try to cover the jealousy in my voice.
He nods and we resume walking. “When they were cadets. Inseparable for like two years... Maybe more.”
“God, itislike Beth all over again.” I mutter.
“Hey, no. It’s nothing like that.” His head turns toward me. “Talen simply screwed and drew Beth for a while, that's all. With Reya, they were actually serious about each other. He trusts her.Youcan trust her.”
I swallow back the bile rising in my mouth. “Great, that makes me feel so much better.”
“No worries.” He hums, not picking up on my sarcasm. “And anyway, they were over years ago. The only thing that’s distracting him now isyou.”
My mouth opens to reply—but as we round the next corner, my steps falter, then stop.
Reya stands about ten metres ahead outside the Briefing Tent , her face is flushed red and her hands slice through the air, furious, as she shouts.
But it’s not her who makes my heart skip a beat—it’s who she’s yelling at.
Talen.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Lucien continues strolling ahead, throwing an arm around Darren as they duck into the Briefing Tent. But I don't follow. I stay frozen in place, my focus locked on Talen as Reya tears into him.
He’s in his officer patrol whites, too clean and official for the camp, but his sleeves are rolled up and his top buttons are undone just enough to reveal the lean cut of muscle beneath. It’s the first time I’ve seen him in daylight since I left the Citadel and the last few weeks under the summer sun have deepened his golden skin and bleached the tips of his dark brown hair a shade lighter.
Fuck. Why does that have to make him look even better?
The thought lands and heat instantly follows, racing up my spine, and suddenly the air around me feels too heavy, too thick to even breathe right.
Hooking my fingers into the collar of my shirt, I tug it away from my chest, fanning it once, twice, trying to force some space between my skin and the pressure building there.
What’s she so mad about?
They’re close enough that Ishouldhear Reya—especially with the way she’s laying into him—but the silence tells me everything. Talen’s shielding it.
Still, I can’t look away as she jabs a finger toward his face. He rocks back half a step, hands raking hard through his hair, tension written through every line of his body and for a second it seems like he might punch the tent post next to him, but as he turns back to her, his posture softens. Dropping his hands, he places them gently on Reya’s arms just below her shoulders.
Jealousy rises fast, wrapping around my stomach and tugging hard. Lucien said they’ve been over for years, but the way Talen’s looking at her right now makes my gut flip even worse than flying.
Talen says something that makes Reya roll her eyes, but he ignores it and moves in closer instead, bending down until his face is level with hers, holding it there long enough for my pulse to start doing laps, then finally she gives a reluctant nod.
Colour sweeps through the edge of my vision, followed by a tiny roar, and my head jerks upward just in time to catch Ahria darting overhead, locked in pursuit of Darren’s brown dragon, Nex—who’s clutching what appears to be another stolen sausage.
Their small forms circle above me, and I track them for a few passes before Ahria finally breaks off with a frustrated screech and drops onto the top of the Briefing Tent , smoke seeping from her nose.
God, I still haven't worked out how they can eat so much and stay so small. Shaking my head, I drop my gaze back down, and the same suffocating weight from before slams straight back into my chest.
Talen's hands are still on Reya’s arms, but he’s not looking at her anymore. They’rebothstaring at me.
Shit.
Blood rushes to my face, making me flush hard, and I stumble back a step.
Do I pretend I didn't see them, try to slip inside the tent? But they're already looking and if I ran, it would just make this way more fucking awkward.
Across from me, Talen drops his hands and mutters something to Reya, who in return shoves him in the chest, friendly, not hard, then smiles and stomps off into the Briefing Tent. I, however, stay where I am.Stuck. Because he’s turning back to me, and the second his eyes find mine, everything in me stalls.
