“Thank you so much for keeping me fed; you’re a great cook.”
“These meals have been ridiculously simple,” he told me. “But I assure you that I’m a fast learner, and my culinary feats will improve daily.”
“I look forward to that.”
He left then, as he was going to walk around town in the company of two of the dreki to explore. It was nice to see him excited to be on his own, with escorts, and his joy at not having to appear later, with me, in the king’s quarters, was palpable.
I understood why Varic wasn’t worried about leaving me alone in our loft; not only would someone have to get by the dreki, once Varic gave Hadrian the edict, but there was also the barrier to consider. So, all in all, I was surprised when I looked toward the doorway and a man was there.
Standing, wiping my hands on the napkin and dropping it onto the seat of the barstool, I walked sideways until I could see him clearly. His arms were crossed as he looked at me. He wasn’t much taller than me, the same height as Varic, and wore brown jodhpurs and knee-high riding boots and a black T-shirt that clung to his broad shoulders, wide chest, and impressive biceps.
“Are you the prince’s consort?”
“I am. Who’re you?”
“I’m Zev,” he said, and smiled lazily, all easy confidence and sex appeal. Easy to see that, between the thick mane of dirty-blond hair that fell to his shoulders, gold stubble, laugh lines in the corner of his gray eyes, and full lips, he was probably used to charming the pants off of everyone he met. He looked like trouble to me.
I nodded. “The captain of the guard.”
“Oh, you heard about me.” He grinned, and his eyes glinted dangerously.
“I did,” I answered, crossing my arms, studying him. “Why do you hate Gideon?”
“Hate Gideon?” He slapped his hand over his heart. “You wound me, sir. I hate no one.”
“But you don’t trust him.”
“Do you always speak your mind?”
“I think it saves time.”
“Indeed,” he said, again hitting me with the smile that I was betting many people had succumbed to. I wasn’t impervious to his charm, I recognized it, but as my heart was already occupied, it fell flat.
“So, answer about Gideon. Why don’t you trust him?”
“Does one trust a shark, or simply stay out of the water?”
“He seems like a kind man.”
He shrugged. “Appearances and all that.”
I smiled at him. “So what are you doing here, kenningar?”
“Oh, you learned my title and everything; aren’t you clever.”
He was an ass, and though normally I liked the type, Tiago for example, him I found I could do without. Being patronized was not something I enjoyed.
“No more witty repartee?”
“I don’t think so,” I said, staring at him. “I thought you were in the dungeon.”
His smirk was just as annoying. “Even with all the bells and whistles, it’s still as easy to get out of as the Bastille back in the day.”
I grunted.
“Not impressed?”
“I don’t think you need me to be; you’re impressed enough with yourself already.” It was true; I didn’t need what was obvious confirmed.
He waggled his eyebrows at me. “I think there are many things about me you’d find very impressive, my consort.”
“I don’t think so,” I assured him. “If you have to tell me, those things must not speak for themselves.”
He laughed then, loud and booming, and though I liked the sound, I didn’t let him see it on my face.
I watched as he walked the length of the doorway and then back to where he’d been, facing me.
“Speaking of impressive things, this barrier is one; tell me how it’s done.” He tipped his head, squinting at me. “I can feel it in my chest, telling me I cannot pass.”
“Don’t believe it,” I told him, speaking low, conspiratorially. “It’s only a construct, it’s not actually there, it’s only in your head.”
“As I suspected,” he said and hurled himself against the threshold.
The reverberation was more than I expected. There was a sound, like a roar, as he hit the invisible wall, bounced off, slammed backward and into the windows. The glass shattered, falling inward instead of out, which was good—didn’t want anyone walking underneath to be showered in shards—but the steel frame held, so he was catapulted back and hit the barrier a second time, only to sort of slide down it to the floor. From where I stood, it looked like the most amazing mime performance the world had ever seen.
Moving close to the threshold, I loomed over him as he finally opened his eyes and rolled his head sideways to look up at me.
“Or,” I began snidely, because apparently he brought it out in me, “it’s an actual barrier.”
He got up slowly, since he had, in fact, just been bounced around like a pinball and was currently covered in glass. “You, sir, are an ass.”
“Pot to kettle,” I volleyed back.
“You should be scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of me!” he yelled, irritated, brushing slivers of glass off himself.
“And why is that?”
“You are human,” he said indignantly. “My kind have preyed on your kind down through the ages, and now it’s illegal, according to the king, so huzzah.”
“He made it so you have to ask and receive permission,” I said, clarifying the amazing thing I felt Varic’s father had done. “The king made it a choice so that many who were in relationships that were against the law could now be acknowledged. It was a wonderful thing for him to do for his people.”
“It was self-serving of him,” he scoffed. “His only concern was that his precious son could not be sanctioned.”
“Or you’re just a jaded bastard.”
His scowl was dark. “You should be careful with what you say to––”
“I love that you speak like Varic, with the contractions,” I said, ignoring whatever threat he was going to make. We both knew he wasn’t about to lay a finger on me. “Though there are times he gets very proper,” I said, smiling as I thought of him.
“You love him,” he said flatly.
“I do. And he loves me. Yet another reason why I’m not afraid of you.”
He nodded and looked almost sad. There was a crack in his armor, and I saw his vulnerability, saw that all his bravado, his banter and posturing, was merely a façade. Of course, the moment I felt differently about him, warmer, kinder, tender feelings replacing irritation, he nearly fell in on me. Scrambling fast, I kept him from falling, hands on his hips, making sure he was steady.
He grabbed for me instinctively, and ended up with a hand on my shoulder and the other on my chest.
I stared at him and he stared back, neither of us moving.
“Did you lose someone you loved?” I asked him.
His lip curled as he grinned at me. “Love? Who has time for love when there’s a world of beautiful people to fuck?” he quipped, straightening up, taking a step back from me.
“Okay,” I whispered, realizing that I was not going to get him to trust me in one meeting. He wasn’t fooling me, though; I knew he’d been hurt, and this was how he’d made it through, with his own barrier of loud, brash alpha male. “So, you’re through.”