Page 140 of The Last Syphon

He surveyed her from head to toe. “Lost track of time doing what?” Then a devilish smirk curled on his lips. “Or should I say, doing who?”

“What?” she immediately began, shaking her head profusely. “No! No! You must have been struck in the head during the assassination attempt because I would never, ever fuck Prince Walder.”

His smirk widened. “Who said anything about Prince Walder?”

Curses.

She barely refrained from stomping her foot like a youthen. “I need to shower.”

“Go ahead.” He waved towards the bathroom. “I’ll be right here when you get out.”

“Fine.” She shrugged, as if she did not care.

Inara stayed in the shower for far longer than she had originally planned, hoping that by the time she came out, Felix would have fallen asleep.

What a useless fucking hope. She should have known better.

When she emerged from the bathroom, dressed in loose clothing with her wet hair wrapped up snugly in a towel, Felix was still awake, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

“Really?” He sighed, unimpressed. “You thought if you stayed in there long enough I might fall asleep and let this go?”

“Yes, actually,” she admitted freely.

He scoffed. “Amateur.” With a simple flick of his head, he indicated for her to join him on the bed.

Right then, she realised there was no getting out of the conversation, so it was best to get it over with.

He offered her some beef jerky when she sat down. She took it, biting into it. The salty flavour hit her tongue, and she swallowed it down, savouring it.

“Soooo,” he began, dragging out the word for far too long. “Spill.”

If Inara was being honest, she had no idea where to fucking begin. She spoke of the markets first. How she’d seen it from the roof of the palace and felt compelled to go. To forget about all the weight and pressure boring down upon her and just have some fucking fun.

He understood, of course. Felix always understood. He was surprised to hear Prince Walder accompanied her, and although he didn’t voice it, was also a little hurt she didn’t come get him to go with her. Markets were their thing. Had been all their lives. He wasn’t jealous. The type of friendship they had was irreplaceable. There was nothing to be jealous of. Still, he would have loved to go, and Inara took mental note of that to make sure that when the next one was on, they would go together.

Then she told him about the game. How much fun it had been. The competition. The rivalry. The way she and Prince Walder had…connected. Felix listened without a single shred of judgement, and Inara appreciated it so much because the entire thing still confused her to no end.

It felt as if she spoke for hours, telling him everything, like she always had.

Except…

“There’s still something you’re not telling me,” he said, bending to capture her eyes with his. Brown orbs stared her down. “I can see it. You’re keeping something from me.”

That was the problem with best friends, wasn’t it? They could see right fucking through you.

Inara bit her lip, toying with the last of the beef jerky in her hands. She had never been compelled to keep something from him before, Syphon news excluded. All her life, she’d told him everything, and she meant everything. Inara had told him when she first got her period. When she lost her virginity. How she feared she would never experience an orgasm at someone’s hand other than her own.

They had no secrets.

So why was she hesitating?

Because he asked you not to say anything, a voice in her head said, and instantly, she knew it was true.

Why that mattered to her, she couldn’t grasp. It didn’t make sense to her.

When had things gotten so fucking twisted?

“You can tell me, Nara,” Felix whispered gently, face soft. “I’m always here for you.”