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“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
“Clara always did have shit taste in men.”
“We’re done here,” I said, slamming the door behind me as I left. The muffled sound of shattering glass and ceramics still reached me.
The bond twisted in my chest painfully, but I kept walking before I said something I couldn’t take back.
Chapter30
Reagan
The wooden sword cracked across my thigh, leaving a sharp sting in its wake. My breath hissed between my teeth in pain.
“Point,” Styx said.
I barely resisted the urge to rub the newly formed welt. “Did you have to do it so hard?” I asked as I sidestepped away from her next strike. Barely. Caius never went easy on me, but we’d largely practiced in hand-to-hand combat. After our little spat, we hadn’t done anything at all, much less spar. My thoughts tumbled down that rabbit hole.
Another crack rent the air as she struck my bicep. I growled under my breath. “Point.”
“Goddammit—”
“Your god isn’t here to save you,” she replied, then did a fancy move where she twirled on her feet. I backed up, stumbling over my own. Next thing I knew, the wooden sword was at my neck.
I threw my head back and groaned. “He’s not my god.”
At the exact same time, Styx said, “You’re dead.”
I dropped my chin to glare at her. “You’re supposed to be helping me, not highlighting how bad I suck with a sword.”
“I’m doing both,” Styx countered. “You’re distracted. I’m guessing it wouldn’t have anything to do with why I very suddenly took over your lessons a week ago—or why Caius is an irritable fuck to everyone right now?” I pursed my lips, to which she clicked her tongue twice. “I see. You two had a fight.”
“It wasn’t a fight. It was a difference of opinion,” I said, my own irritability showing.
Styx put a hand to her chest. “Oh you’re right, that'ssodifferent,” she mocked. If my scowl could have gotten worse, it would have.
“I’m serious. I was fine agreeing to disagree. He’s the one with the problem.”
She lifted both eyebrows. “Care to enlighten me? Because that doesn’t sound like him.”
I sighed. “Why bother? You’re his friend, you’ll just defend him.”
Styx snorted. “Hardly. Friendship means calling out shitty behavior too. Besides, I’ve known Caius for, well, almost forever. Maybe I’ll have insight into where things went wrong.”
I lifted a brow, skeptically. “How do I know you won’t just sit here and gaslight me?”
Styx tilted her head, assessing me. “Not my style. It’s up to you. You either trust me or don’t.”
I dropped my wooden sword to the ground and plopped down. She took them both, hanging them up on the wall before joining me for stretches. I let go of a tight breath and the tension drained away.
“Caius and I were, um, being intimate?—”
“Fucking or foreplay?” she asked.
I mouthed “wow” because apparently there was no need for a filter with Styx. “Foreplay. We didn’t even make it to fucking, even though I was all for it. Caius insisted that it would seal the mate bond and he said it would be tricking me, essentially.”
Styx tensed, but when she noticed my reaction, she let out a deep breath. “What did you say to that?”
“I told him . . . I still don’t believe in the mate bond. I know it’s his soul calling to him, and he needs to understand that’s all it is, but he just won't listen. But look,” I added, making sure she understood my side. “I’m okay with that. Really. I was telling him I essentially have feelings for him, but then he acted like a complete asshole.”
