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)
“Yeah, you see, we tried hunting you down to check on you after everyone got back from the caverns,” Khalida told me, her eyes smiling, “but you weren’t in the bathhouses. Or the stables. Or anywhere else we looked. And it quickly became clear that you were in Talon’s bedchamber.”
I tore off a chunk of bread. “How did it become clear?”
“We asked him when he was grabbing new boots that looked way too small for him from the supplies room,” Khalida replied. “He confirmed it. We also asked if we could go see you. He vetoed that, but we knew he would. He doesn’t like having others in his private space. Except for you, it would seem.” She smiled. “How intriguing.”
I sighed. “You’re intent on making a big deal out of this, aren’t you?”
“I don’t have to. His behavior makes a thing out of it.” She chomped down another cube of cheese. “I mean, let’s cover the facts here.”
“Let’s not,” I objected.
Ignoring that, she went on, “He never fucks candidates. He never takes women to his bedchamber. He never leaves marks of possession on their neck—yeah, I heard about your bite. And he never snatches them out of their seat and herds them out of the food hall.” Her face turned all dreamy. Seconds later, her brow furrowing, she looked at Quillen. “Why don’t you ever drag me out of here like that?”
He blinked. “I don’t need to. You follow me everywhere like a lost puppy. It’s sad.” An oof flew out of him, so she’d presumably socked him in the gut or something.
“Ass.” Khalida again resettled her focus on me. “So, are you going to thank me?”
I finished chewing my food before I responded. “For what?”
“Pushing Talon into making his move,” she elaborated.
I frowned. “What did you have to do with it?”
“Oh come on, I—” She cut herself off, sliding a guilty look at Jelani.
I smiled. “What? What did you do? Be specific.”
Jelani’s brow creased as he stared from me to her, but then the light of realization glittered in his eyes. Eyes that started to widen as he pointed a finger at her. “Wait, you used me to try to set them up.”
Khalida straightened. “And aren’t you proud that you had a hand in helping your friend get a bedtime playmate? Does it not make you feel warm inside?”
“No,” he snorted.
I chuckled, lifting my tankard. Hearing a pewter clatter to the floor, I looked to see a sheepish officiate lean down to pick up their fallen plate. I also noticed Atticus sitting a few feet from them, his eyes glazed over, his expression vacant.
Compassion squeezed my chest. I could loathe him and still pity his loss.
“I take it that you and Talon have agreed to something exclusive, Anara,” said Nakoa.
Meeting her eyes, I sipped at my drink. “We have.”
“That’s another first for him,” Khalida commented, grinning.
Quillen swiped another piece of bread from a tray. “I figured he’d make a pass at you,” he said to me. “I didn’t foresee him throwing his ‘no candidates’ rule out the window, though. I thought he’d wait until you were an officiate.”
“He obviously knew that he needed to act fast,” Nakoa concluded. “He’ll have heard that some officiates were planning to approach her once she was part of the Order.”
“And he obviously wasn’t going to risk that she’d accept any offers thrown her way,” Khalida added, still grinning.
I felt my brows dip. “Why are you so psyched by all this?” I set down my mead. “So what if he’s acting out of character? What’s exciting about it?”
“You’ll get it once you’ve been an officiate for a while,” Khalida replied. “We don’t hear a lot of good news around here. Most of the action we get involves blood and death. So even small positive things can uplift the communal mood. We all care about Talon—he’d give his life for us in an instant. We want good things for him.”
“He has Eva,” I pointed out, ignoring how that made my belly twist.
Nakoa made a face. “I wouldn’t say she’s ‘good’ for him, though.”
Maybe, maybe not, but … “I don’t think everyone will be as pleased about Talon’s unusual behavior as you are.”
“Some of the female officiates won’t like it,” Khalida agreed. “The ones who want to bed him, I mean. But they’ll just have to suck it up, won’t they?”
The conversation shifted topic, then. Between bites of our food and sips of our drinks, we spoke of mundane matters. Right up until a Listen up whistle from Talon sliced through the hall’s chatter, cutting it off.
“Candidates, outside,” Ajax called out from the doorway, Talon at his side.
I muttered quick goodbyes to my friends and then joined the other candidates in following Talon and Ajax out of the building. They led us to the courtyard, where Keyes, the Sovereigns, and Ariadne all waited.