She pointed a finger at him. “Keep pushing.”
He chuckled softly, clearly enjoying himself far too much. But then he straightened a little, his expression easing. “I doappreciate you coming down,” he said, the teasing fading just a notch.
She blinked. The sincerity caught her slightly off guard. “Don’t get used to it,” she muttered.
“Still counts.”
She shifted her weight and looked toward the glass wall for a second, gathering herself.This is simple, she told herself. All she had to do was go back with him and talk to the elders. Explain that it had been a misunderstanding, a mistake.An honest mistake.Surely even ancient basilisk traditions had some kind of clause for that. Right?
She straightened and put on what she hoped looked like a confident expression. “We go there,” she said briskly, “we explain what happened, they realize it was an accident, everyone calms down, and your family stops being socially exiled.”
He watched her with unmistakable amusement. “That’s your plan?”
“Yes.”
He tilted his head. “That’s adorable.”
Her eye twitched. “I’m serious.”
“Oh, I can tell,” he said, his smile widening slightly. “But you might want to prepare yourself for the possibility that the elders don’t see it quite that way.”
She waved a hand dismissively. “They’re reasonable, right?”
Maldenis didn’t answer immediately. Which was not encouraging.
Liora frowned. “They’re reasonable,” she repeated.
His grin returned, slow and dangerous. “Well,” he said, “they’reold.”
She groaned. “This is going to be a nightmare.”
“Probably.”
She shot him a look. “You’re enjoying this.”
“A little.”
Her eyes narrowed again.
He leaned closer slightly, voice dropping just enough to be teasing again. “You know, for someone trying to get out of being married to me, you did come find me pretty quickly.”
“That was for the mission,” she snapped.
“Of course it was.”
“And for the basilisks.”
“Obviously.”
She glared at him. He looked entirely unrepentant.
Finally, she sighed and rubbed her temples. “Let’s just go,” she muttered.
“After you, wifey,” Maldenis chuckled and gestured toward the exit.
She pointed at him again. “One more comment like that and Iwillpush you off something.”
He laughed as they headed for the doors.
