“You’re not going to tell me what I want to know, are you?” groused Khalida, glaring at me.
I inwardly sighed at her persistence. “No.”
She pouted. “You’re even worse at the cousin thing than you were at being my bestie.”
“Where’s Quillen?”
“Who cares?”
“I thoughtyoumight. Last time I saw him, he was talking to … what’s the name of the Delphiae who’s got her eye on him?”
Khalida minutely tensed. “Trying to distract me won’t work. Especially since I know that you’re lying.”
I glanced to where I’d last spotted him and, yup, the Delphiae was still chatting to him with stars in her eyes. “See for yourself.”
Khalida tracked my gaze, and her face hardened. With a long inhale, she turned back to me. “It’s fine,” she bit out. “I don’t care.”
“Yeah, it seems like you’re good with it.” I stifled a smile as the struggle to remain here played out across her face. Eventually, she cracked.
“I’ll be right back.” She leapt to her feet.
I watched as she stalked over to the pair, her hands perched on her hips. Quillen caught her unimpressed expression and tensed. The Delphiae, too, seemed wary.
Someone plopped their ass on the ground beside me. “Hello, there.”
Meeting Skye’s gaze, I went rigid.
She lifted a reassuring hand. “I haven’t come over here to dump shit on your lap. You’re one of us now. That means something to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve actively tried to dislike you. Really, really tried. But you don’t annoy me—it’s aggravating.”
I snorted. “Uh, thanks.”
“I’m obviously not thrilled to hear you’re sleeping with Talon, but I have no right to bitch at you about it. The fact is I have no claim to him, much as I might wish otherwise.”
“It’s possible you remind him too much of how Eva once looked. He might find it weird.”
Skye gave a grim nod. “I did consider that. Whatever the case, he’s not interested in me. I can accept that. But I have to tell you, Anara, I’m going tolook. He’s just so pretty.”
I snickered. “Just don’t touch, and we’re golden.”
A teasing gleam entered her eyes. “Hmm, possessive, are we? I don’t blame you. He’s certainly possessive of you. At first, I thought maybe he was just keeping you close because he needs to watch and report your every move to the Sovereigns. But no, it isn’t that.”
I didn’t believe so either. “Even if it was, I wouldn’t see that it mattered. He’ll watch me whether I’m in his bed or not. I might as well get some sex out of it.”
Her lips twitched. “I suppose. As of tonight, you’ll have your own bed. He’ll have no reason to take you to his bedchamber anymore. Think he still will?”
“Again, I don’t see that it matters. A bed is a bed.”
She tilted her head, eyeing me closely. “You seem to have your head straight where he’s concerned.”
“I’m a realist.”
“Generally, so am I.” She sighed. “But he makes me think with my lady bits.”
I chuckled. “That’s his fault.”
“Absolutely.”
A pair of legs materialized directly in front of us. I slowly looked up, unsurprised to find that it was Talon looming over us. “Oh. Hey.”
