Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Instead, I took an idle sip of my mead. The fact was that I really wouldn’t need to do a damn thing to put an end to this scenario. I had a perfect solution. A solution that would soon make its way over here. It would appear any minute now. Any minute. One, two, three, four, five—
“Hi, Anara,” Skye stiffly greeted as she sidled up to him, a none-too-happy expression plastered over her face.
I felt my mouth curve. I knew I would be able to count on her to rescue me, though I was quite certain she wouldn’t think of it that way. She just wanted Talon away from me … and pretty much every other woman here, for that matter.
“Hello, Skye.” Taking in how the Phoenixian’s arm brushed his, I lifted my brows. She was typically careful to never touch him. “Are you two an item now?” I doubted it, but the prospect made my stomach do a nauseating tumble.
She averted her gaze briefly. “Uh, no.”
And my belly instantly settled. How annoying. Not bothering to fight the temptation to toss out a comment I knew would poke at his patience, I said, “That’s a shame. You look real cute together.”
Oh, his glare turned into an almighty glower that could surely flay skin from bone.
Her expression softened at my words, and she cast Talon a shy look … only to freeze when she noticed that he was not quite as touched by my remark.
I leaned into her and whispered, “I’m rooting for you.” I skirted around her and walked straight to the table that Khalida had claimed near the fireplace. The back of my scalp prickled, and I just knew he was still glowering at me.
Whatever.
I wasn’t going to concern myself with anything he did. Nope. I’d just leave him to it.
I set the drinks either side of the circular table, careful not to knock the candle or small tray of bread slices there. Taking the seat across from Khalida, I saw that she was staring at me funny. “What’s wrong?”
She wrapped a hand around her tankard. “That was my question.”
I felt my head twitch to the side. “Huh?”
“What did you say to Talon to make him mad at you?”
I gave an innocent blink. “Nothing.”
“Then why is he trying to burn holes into your head with his eyes?”
I lifted my shoulders. “I only said that he and Skye look cute together. I thought they might be an item, since she stood possessively close to him. She’s usually careful not to touch him, and he didn’t step away from her.”
“Probably because he was too busy cutting off your avenue of escape. Anyway, I wasn’t talking about tonight—something’s happened before then. He’s been consistently mad at you recently.” She sipped at her drink. “He glares at you pretty much constantly.”
I waved that away. “He glares at everyone.”
“He has a default glare, true. But this is more. Personal.” She edged her chair closer to the table and leaned forward. “Come on, what gives?”
“I’ve no idea,” I replied with a clueless, half-hearted shrug. “You’d have to ask him.”
She squinted, studying me closely. A slow smile crept onto her face. “I’ve noticed something.”
I forced myself not to tense, keeping my expression nonchalant.
“You make a point of not looking at him unless you absolutely have to.”
“I do?” I asked, airy.
“Yes. And I’ve noticed something else.”
“You’re quite the noticer.”
Her lips flattened. “That’s not a word.”
“Pretty sure it is.”
She flicked a hand. “Whatever. Stop trying to divert my attention—it won’t work.”
“I do it, like, all the time. Mostly just for the fun factor. It always works.”
“It won’t this time.” She propped her elbows on the table. “Back to what I was saying, I’ve noticed something else: you treat him differently now. Before, you bantered with him. Now, you keep your interactions with him to a minimum.”
I drank a gulp of my mead. “He’ll very soon be my superior, since I fully intend to join the Order. So I figure I should stop ogling and teasing him. It’s not professional.” I shrugged. “That’s it.”
She hummed. “You’re lying. Interesting.”
“I’m not lying. And why would it be interesting if I was?”
She let out a dismissive sound. “You wouldn’t understand, you’re not like me.”
“Nuts, nosy, and weird?”
“How am I weird?”
“Do you really have to ask that, Miss I Like Digging Shallow Graves?”
“It relaxes me. Don’t judge. We all need our minds to go quiet for a while.” She pointed hard at me. “Now stop trying to distract me and just spill the truth. There has to be a reason you’re both acting so strange toward each other, acting so …” She trailed off, her gaze sharpening in a way that made my nape prickle. She leaned closer. “Oh my God, you’ve fucked him,” she accused, her hushed tone edged with excitement.
My belly sank. “What? Come on, that’s—”