“Then explain the flowers.” I demand.
“She was being nice!”
“The sweets.”
“She was sharing!”
“The perfume on your wrist.”
“She wanted me to smell it!”
“The hand on your waist? Why did she touch you?”
“There was a cart!”
“The necklace at your throat?”
“She thought it matched my dress!”
I glare at them.
“Convenient explanations.”
Lis wipes tears from her eyes, still grinning like a lunatic. “You are unbelievable.”
“No,” I say coldly. “I am observant, and perhaps the only one who can see through your schemes.”
“You followed us through half the market because you thought I was trying to steal your mate.” Lis shakes her head, still laughing.
Heat floods my face at being called out in the open like this. Especially when several nearby merchants turn to look at us, chuckling and gossiping aboutme.
Moe goes utterly still beside me.
“That is not what happened.”
Lis arches a brow. “Really? Because from where I stood, you looked one moment away from starting a bloodbath over candied fruit.”
“I was assessing a threat.”
“You were stalking us through alleyways and glaring from behind pillars like a deranged ex-lover.”
“I was being discreet,” I say in my defense. I am a shadow wielder now so I can at least cover my tracks.
Moe makes a choking noise.
Lis turns to her with a look of theatrical sympathy. “My condolences. Possessive males are exhausting.”
“I am not possessive,” I snap. Well, perhaps a little. But she says it like it’s a bad thing. I’m just protecting what’s mine.
Both of them stare at me. Then both burst out laughing.Again.
Lis steps closer, lowering her voice with infuriating amusement.
“For the record,” she murmurs, “if I wanted to steal her from you…”
Her gaze flicks deliberately to Moe.
“I would beverydirect about it.”
