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Laughter escaped me. “You judge everyone.” I pointed at her crochet needles and skein of yarn. “Don’t pretend otherwise. You call it punishment, but it’s judgment too.”
Clara shrugged her shoulder, but she couldn’t hide her grin. “Tomato, potato.”
“That’s not how the saying goes.”
“It’s my saying.” She got up from her reading chair and walked over to the bed. Pointing to the flowy tunic, she said, “That one. It’ll be warmer in the market with all the people around.”
“How’d you know we’re going to the market too?” I pulled my t-shirt off and slipped the tunic over my head.
“Pol and Abyssian were arguing about it not being safe for you. I was eavesdropping.” She plopped back into the chair and began working on her latest crocheted doll.
“More like stalking. Which one do you have a crush on?” I pulled leggings on and laced up my boots quickly.
Clara scoffed.
“Oh, it’s Pol, then? The way you two poke one another looks like two kids on the playground who don’t know how to say they like each other. Just push him down already if he won’t pull your hair and curse your cooties.” I grinned. She absolutely had her eyes set on him.
“Please,” she countered, scrunching her nose. “He’s grouchy and annoying, and he’s sketchy about everything. Abyssian is more my type.” Her voice had a dreamy lilt when she spoke about the latter.
“Careful there,” I said as I brushed my hair. “He’s quite the ladies’ man from what I hear. Charming and handsome, for sure. Maybe a bit of a player too. Besides, what about you and what’s his face?”
“Crowley? We actually broke up the night of our last job.”
My demeanor softened, and I turned to her. “What? You didn’t say anything about that. You’d said you had a job with his crew that night.”
She blew a stray hair off her face and sighed. “I did. Finished the job, got payment, and everyone left. But I went back when I realized I’d dropped a crochet hook somewhere between my truck and the location where we’d been. When I got back, I saw him with Ariel.”
“His ex?” She nodded. “Could it have been a coincidence? Maybe she was working nearby?” I didn’t like Crowley. Nog was right that his sister had bad taste in men and usually went for a fuckboy of the month, but I still gave people the benefit of the doubt until I had more information.
Clara barked a laugh. “Not unless it was also coincidence his pants fell off while by happenstance hers did too, so he accidentally fucked her up against a tree.”
My lips parted. That was certainly enough information. “What a dick.” A few moments of silence spanned between us before I said, “I hope she got a few splinters in her ass for it.”
Clara laughed. “I actually thought the same thing.”
“You told me you cancelled your plans with him because you suspected me of lying.” I narrowed my gaze at her, humming in disapproval.
She pressed her lips together. “I said I cancelled plans. Didn’t say they were planswithhim. You just assumed.”
“Isn’t that some shit,” I grumbled, wishing I knew how to fib that well. “Why didn’t you say anything about it?”
“In front of Nog? No way!” She lifted her shoulder, trying to blow it off. “I would have said something to you later, but things went haywire pretty quickly that night if you recall.” Clara glanced at my neck, then waved her hand, gesturing to the castle we were currently occupying.
I chuckled. “Can’t argue that. So I guess you’re a single lady.” Clara waggled her eyebrows and I smiled. “Okay, but don’t get your heart broken if you hop on the Abyssian train.”
“Says the woman who is fake dating a king and taking a little side action,” she countered.
“What? That’s not—” I spluttered, feeling my cheeks warm, and she laughed at my inability to form a sentence.
A knock on my door interrupted us and I took a deep breath, knowing full well who was on the other side.
“Liar,” she mouthed, grinning.
“Come in,” I called out, giving my cousin a death glare to keep her sex comments to herself. She pressed her lips together tightly and made a locking motion, throwing away the imaginary key.
Caius entered, greeting my cousin politely, but it didn’t escape my notice that his gaze lingered on her bag of crochet for a few seconds longer than he normally would have. Now that he knew what it was, I suppose that curiosity and skepticism was to be expected. Not every day you meet a spirit witch with homemade little devil dolls.
Grabbing a hair tie and slipping it on my wrist, I smoothed my shirt and took a few steps toward Caius. A nervous buzz filled my chest and I wanted to smack myself for it. This was for show, and I knew it, but our last conversation had somehow managed to bring a wall down for both of us—at least to some extent. As though he could sense my anticipation, his lips slightly curved up.
