‘Go on,’ I said, getting back to reading the research I had found recently. Maybe if I ignored him, he’d finally let me be.
‘Thing is, I don’t know if I should say it,’ he admitted.
Ominous.
I met his judgemental gaze with one of my own. ‘You started the conversation; now finish it.’
Blaze cleared his throat and paused. ‘Well, you have an obvious fear of commitment, but that’s not the real reason and we both know it because deep down you craved it for decades.’
He snatched my glass and sipped on my liquor before I took it back. ‘If you analyse your patterns over the last fifty years, I think you’ll realise you’ve been searching for her even when you didn’t know it.’
‘I wasn’t searching for a mate.' My tone signalled the end of discussion. ‘I was blowing off steam with women that liked to have fun. It’s different.’
‘And I see it differently,’ he argued.
It was my turn to chuckle. ‘You always do. Finish your thought; I have a feeling there is more where it came from.’
The fact he piqued my interest entertained him, though he tried to keep a straight face. ‘Nope. You’re not ready for what I have to say next.’
I dropped the papers and leaned back. ‘Excuse me?’
‘I’ll tell you when it’s time.’
‘Blaze, you’re really starting to piss me off,’ I shot back, barely controlling myself. ‘Say what you wanted to say, or I swear to Gods—‘
‘Maybe you traded her because you were afraid she’d shift your priorities,’ he blurted.
The words echoed in my head longer than they should have. ‘What?’
He leaned in and lowered his voice as though it were a secret and we couldn’t let anyone overhear. ‘Your whole life revolves around Fogoya. A mate changes that.’
My head shook before I consciously decided to answer. ‘I… no.’
‘Nothing would ever be the same; even winning the war wouldn’t feel as much of an accomplishment because you’d decimate a part of her. Give it some thought. If you want to win her over, you have to understand what you did first, brother.’
My legs twitched beneath the table as I felt the need to leave and get some fresh air. I stood and moved to the window. Cracking it open, I hoped the breeze could cool me down. ‘Even if her origins complicate the situation, Ava supports Fogoya. She knows Ortensians wrong us.’
Blaze's gaze travelled outside, taking in the forest and clear sky as I had seen him do so many times now. His chest expanded as though whatever weighed on him had become too much to bear.
‘But they’re her people, nonetheless,’ he doubled down. ‘What would you do if Ortensians stopped attacking?’
‘That’s a stretch. It’s only been peaceful for a couple ofdays.’
Like he wanted to annoy me more, he followed, standing a few feet away by a bookshelf. ‘If it stays peaceful, what does that mean for you?’
‘I just want the bloodshed to end,’ I shared, a little worried about what he would think. ‘That’s what I always wanted.’
Blaze smiled. ‘Not long ago your answer would have been different. I like this slightly more boring version of you.’
‘It’s like you get off on insulting me,’ I seethed, releasing a long sigh as I tried to rein in my fire, which demanded to teach him a lesson like when we were younger.
His laughter filled the space between us. ‘Nah, I’ve had enough of getting off for a lifetime now.’
I glared at him. ‘Trust me, the court knows.’
‘Don’t get pissy because you’re not getting any,’ he teased, wiggling his brows.
That was it. I had enough. ‘Why don’t you get back to Emily before I assign you somewhere else?’
