Chapter three
THE MOMENT YOU LOOKED AT ME
Orion
Riordan slammed the door to his office once we returned to Ergastiri from Balor’s prison, and it startled me.
“Easy! We knew that it was unlikely Balor would ever cooperate with us,” I reminded him, my concern spiking as he continued to stalk away. “What is wrong with you? First you snarl at Amira this morning and now—”
“I am fine. My apologies, Orion. I am not at my best right now,” he admitted with apparent exhaustion.
“What is wrong?” I insisted, but he merely shook his head as he took a seat behind his desk. “Riordan.”
“You would not understand,” he tried to dissuade me, but his avoidance only made me more determined.
I moved into his space, forcing him to sit back in his chair as I took a seat on the desk right in front of him.
“Talk to me,” I ordered in a tone that was reserved for when we were alone. One corner of his mouth twitched in amusement at my audacity to make demands of the king, but it faded as he considered how best to explain.
“It is… Amira.”
“What about her?” I pressed, surprised when a flush begancreeping up his neck and tinged his cheeks.
“I am… We have not… hadtimetogether since I have been too busy and exhausted from—”
I cut him off with a disbelieving laugh.
“I am sorry, but are you telling me that this foul mood is because you have not been fucked? You were celibate forcenturiesand now you cannot even last a couple of days without her?” I verified.
“It is not the same—” Riordan began but stopped with a frustrated shake of his head.
“What is not the same?” I asked, but he stayed silent, glaring at me as I regained my composure. “I am sorry for laughing. What is different about what you are feeling?”
Riordan continued to frown, clearly uncertain he even wanted to satisfy my curiosity after my outburst. But then the king heaved a sigh as he averted his gaze from mine.
“Ktínos indulge their urges. Imítheos save them until they find their mate,” he revealed finally.
I hesitated in astonishment as I realized what he was telling me. All this time, I had thought his people simply did not feel desire, but it was much more complicated.
“So you are saying your… drive is heightened?”
“Why do you think my people traditionally leave court to seclude with a new mate and theirskiáfor a month?” he demanded. His tail swished moodily over the edge of his seat as his flush of embarrassment darkened.
This time I was the one who had to look away for fear of what my reaction might betray. I was familiar with the custom ofmínas agápis.But I had not realized it served a purpose beyond providing an excuse for newly bonded trios ofskiáandtaírito go on extended vacations.
And now all I could think about was how tired Amira often seemed. Was that really because she had been trying to keep up with a carnal appetite meant for two?
I pulled my mind away from such tantalizing thoughts beforethey could register on my face and quickly got up to put some space between me and Riordan.
“I will not mock you about it again. It is clear that this causes you genuine distress,” I acknowledged.
“Thank you,” he murmured as he leaned over his desk where I had just been sitting. He braced on his elbows as he rubbed his hands over his face and into his hair.
“I am also… afraid, Orion. Iwill notlose either of you to this war,” Riordan stated firmly.
“I know,” I reassured him, my stomach sinking with an uncomfortable feeling while I stared at his forlorn profile. “We feel the same about you,” I added, but I could tell it was not what he’d wanted to hear as his jaw clenched.
“I need you to… keep making an effort with Amira so you can be there for one another if I am—”
