“Thistling?”
“Yes, little thistle … beautiful to look at, prickly to touch.”
Swiver. Tensing, I moved my face toward his. My breath caught more than I wanted it to, a shiver of pleasure going through me as my cheek rubbed against the dark scruff of his strong jaw. His full lips were only inches from mine and the impulse to close my eyes and sink my mouth against his tantalized.
But if he could restrain himself against any pull this oath was causing, then so could I.
Regardless of how insanely good-looking he is.
Dammit. I hoped he hadn’t heard me.
The feline smirk curving that mouth told me otherwise.
“There’s nothing wrong with admitting that I find you attractive,” I snapped. “It’s the fucking oath’s fault. And stay out of my head.”
Rykr’s lips threatened a chuckle, but this time, something softer lit his eyes. Amusement, yes, but also understanding—like he knew exactly how the oath was twisting our emotions and didn’t resent me for it. That made it worse somehow, made him harder to hate.
Seth rode up beside us. “What are you whispering about?”
Rykr, asshole that he was, tightened his arms around my waist. “Just how much I’m enjoying having her bouncing on my balls. That a problem, Seth? Or do you need a written account of everything that happens in our tent, too?”
My face flamed as Seth’s eyelids practically twitched. Even from here, I saw Amahle’s shoulders shake with laughter as she rode in front of us. I bit my lip, trying to keep a smile from my mouth.
“Dammit, Rykr.”
“Imagine how much he’ll hate it if he finds out we can have private conversations without saying a word.”
The exchange was so easy, so fluid, that I did smile, despite my best effort. “There’s nothing to worry about, Seth,” I said, keeping my tone steady. “We aren’t planning an overthrow at the training camp, and we certainly aren’t foolish enough to try anything with a host of Vangar watching our every move.”
Seth didn’t seem convinced. “Just remember, Seren. The Vangar oath represents more than any individual loyalty to an encampment. If anything happens there, it won’t just be your life on the line.” His warning hung in the air like a sword over our heads.
Seth flicked his reins, simmering frustration evident in the rigid set of his shoulders, leaving only Darya trailing behind us—a silent reminder that we were far from trusted.
“Your taste in men is questionable.” Rykr pulled away from me. “If that’s who you were involved with before. Or has Seren had a long string of suitors?”
I sighed. Maybe this conversation needed to be had, given what Seth had implied about me at the council meeting, but I didn’t relish it. “The ten years we’re required to be in the Vangar, most Viori don’t get married. Everyone turns a blind eye to the amount of bedmates most people have.”
Lowering my voice a bit more, I said, “But Seth was my first—and only—lover.” I’d considered sleeping with others, just to forget him, but no one had ever appealed enough, and I’d spent my free time training instead. “Being petite put me at a natural disadvantage in the Vangar and I had to work harder to keep up.”
And Seth had broken my heart.
Whether Rykr heard that thought or sensed it, he stiffened slightly. “Did you love him?” Rykr’s voice was surprisingly gentle, none of the judgment I’d expected.
“I thought I did. But I was naive. And clearly, he didn’t love me.”
Rykr gazed out at the forest, squinting as we went through a beam of sunlight. “Love and attraction are confusing, no matter what age. It doesn’t mean you were naive, just human. I’m sure a few years from now, someone else will make you much happier than he ever would have.”
I released a light, sardonic laugh. “How very reasonable of you, Rykr. But I don’t know about that.”
“You’re beautiful, obviously, and a force to be reckoned with. A little tornado of fury when you’re angry.” His lips teased a smile. “I’m willing to bet there are more than a few men in your tribe who’d happily sell their souls to be with you.”
He thinks I’m beautiful?
I pressed my tongue to the roof of my mouth, trying to swallow back the strange flutter of warmth that went through me at his words. “I doubt it,” I said at last, with a taut smile. He couldn’t know that my family had always had a tenuous position here, thanks to the twins and my parents’ love for their homelands. Or the lasting effects this marriage would have on my prospects. “What about you? Is there a woman in Pendara that’s caught your attention?”
I’d wondered about his past several times, mostly because I’d been an interruption to it. While he’d assured me he wasn’t married, that didn’t mean he didn’t care about anyone, either.
He laughed lightly. “Are you asking how many lovers I’ve had?”
