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The dragon had nothing to say to that. He sat down in the grass with a grumble of pain and drank heartily from his jug.
Sirus felt eyes on him and looked back to the house, scanning the windows. Niah stood watching him. Their eyes met briefly before she turned away. He fought the urge to go in and stand sentry over Gwendolyn.
“I think the last time I was here was with Levian,” Barith threw out, moving past his injured pride and stomach, drawing Sirus from his thoughts. “I’m honestly surprised the house is still standing after the party we threw. It took her and I both to put out the fire in the den.”
A glint of dark amusement glazed over the dragon’s face before his eyes shot up to Sirus. “I still can’t believe you’ve stayed cooped up in that castle of yours all these years with nothing but the spiders as company. Don’t you get bored?”
“No.” Sirus was not the type to ever be idle; therefore, he was rarely bored.
Barith scrunched his face in disbelief. “And what of women?” he asked with a cocked brow. “Do you wander to the nearby village and drag them back to your lair when the mood strikes you?”
Sirus turned away to return his swords to their scabbards. He’d had no interest in discussing his sexual affairs with Barith in the past, nor would he in the present. Despite the dragon’s best efforts.
“You’re an odd duck, Sirus,” the dragon continued when it was clear he had nothing to say. “You tried, but I know you didn’t scare off every woman who came near you. I can’t say the poor creatures had good taste, but we all have our kinks.”
“You most of all,” Sirus observed.
Barith smiled and stretched out further in the grass. “Aye. That’s true enough. It makes sense you’d be content all alone in that dark castle, though. You never were one to enjoy good company or entertainment. Do you remember when we saved that little waif of a fae prince from that hag in Austria? The feast lasted three days, and I didn’t see hide nor hair of you once the entire time. Not that I was looking the whole time,” the dragon added with a sly grin.
Sirus remembered the occasion far too well. The dragon and mage had enjoyed the public credit for the prince’s safe return, while Sirus had been occupied in private with the prince’s aunt, Lady Damara. No one outside of himself and the lady knew of their tryst, and no one ever would. It was the same with all his lovers.
The women bold enough to pursue Sirus only ever wished to bed him. He was simply a thrill. A danger they found titillating. It was partly why he’d never been attracted to younger women. He was a monster, but he distasted preying on the innocent. At least women of age and experience knew what he was. Could fathom the things he’d done. Lady Damara had known exactly who and what Sirus was.
In truth, Sirus was content in his solitude at Volkov. And he was not entirely alone—Rath remained. But Barith was not wrong in his assumption. Sirus was no celibate saint and did, on occasion, desire a sexual companion. But the desire had never been strong enough to pull him from home and back into the folds of the world. It was not as if women threw themselves at his feet like they did the dragon. Still, it had been many years since his last dalliance. Not that he’d given it much thought until very recently.
“I’m not meant for solitude and quiet,” Barith went on. He grimaced as he stood and prodded the tender wound with his fingers. “The world has changed since the Fae Accords. Levian has adapted remarkably well, but she’s always been able to fit in when necessary.”
Sirus understood Barith’s restlessness. The dragon was a warrior with no more grand battles to fight. The Accords had put an end to the bitter, blood-soaked skirmishes between the factions and kingdoms of the Folk. Monsters were fewer. Great wars no more. Humans had taken over in prolific numbers, pushing many of the High Folk into their own little protected recesses hidden away from the mortal world. An era of peace was upon them, so they said. Sirus had simply done what Barith was reluctant to do. He’d accepted it and retired to the solitude of Volkov for good.
“You’ve not returned home?” he asked the dragon.
Barith answered with a bitter scowl.
The dragon was still avoiding his mother, it seemed. Though Sirus doubted Barith could keep it up for much longer. She wouldn’t be ignored forever. The look on the dragon’s face told him Barith was very well aware.
“I’m glad you found me,” the dragon admitted, pushing past the subject of his mother. “It’s been good to see you again.”
“And you,” Sirus replied in earnest. Though he didn’t consider Barith or Levian friends in the traditional sense, there was still a nostalgic quality to the three of them being together after all these years.
The dragon sighed. “You, me, and Levian in the same place again.” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t have bet on it. Though I guess it’s still early. She might yet lock me in a trunk and chuck me into the Thames before the day is through.”
Sirus doubted it. But the day was not yet over, as the dragon had said. Dusk was beginning to settle, casting the once cloud-speckled sky in sprays of dark blue and purple.
“Gwen is something, don’t you think?” Barith remarked in a tone Sirus did not care for.
“She’s a contract,” he reminded the dragon flatly. They had rescued women before, but Sirus had always made it clear that Barith wasn’t to take them as lovers. No matter their willingness. The very thought of him attempting it with Gwendolyn made Sirus’s blood grow hot.
Barith looked at him sideways. “Oh, don’t you worry on that,” he replied with a devilish smirk. “The lass has made it clear that I’m not her cup of tea. In fact, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she prefers you over me.”
Sirus made no show of his surprise or curiosity, but it lingered all the same. Perhaps she might have preferred him to Barith before last night, but he doubted it now. She’d been awkward and standoffish this morning when she’d come into the library. He should have been satisfied that her comfort near him was cooling, but it’d irritated him instead.
“Her shock will wear off,” he replied.
The dragon chuckled. “Seeing Niah was unexpected,” he tossed out casually to change the subject.
Sirus wasn’t going to take that bait either. He turned without a word and walked back toward their circle. “Shall we continue?”
The dragon rolled the stiffness from his shoulders. “Your family troubles are your own,” Barith replied. “But you’re sure you’re fine with her being here?”
