“More than you might expect,” Jildarin said.
Rylana didn’t know how seriously to take the threat of Zilek, but she had no doubt that he was capable of killing her. After all, he’d battled enemies in the war, the same as Jildarin, and survived. She tried to see past Zilek, to her bow and quiver leaning by the exit of the bakery, but he stood in the doorway to the kitchen, effectively blocking access to the weapons. Even if she could get by him and snatch them up, she would still have to untie the tranquility knots, and their magic made that a difficult task within the borders of the city.
“Interesting,” Zilek said. “I hope the gods will be appeased by it. But, my dear brother, won’t you let me obey Aunt Lysilria? As you might recall, you didn’t desire to hire the human female. You can’t have grown that attached to her in such a short time. You even told me that you might have killed her yourself when you first saw her, except that the peacekeepers intervened.”
“We have been through much since then.” Jildarin stepped aside but only so that he could rest a hand on Rylana’s shoulder as he gazed defiantly at his brother. “You willnotkill her. She is not even armed. An attempt to slay even a loathed enemy in such a manner would be ignoble.”
“Would you allow it if she collected her bow, we left Tranquility, and I attacked her while she’s capable of defending herself with her chosen weapon?”
“No, I would not. She is not…” Jildarin looked at Rylana as if groping for a way to explain their relationship.
She didn’t mind the pause. She was touched that he cared and wanted to defend her, and his hand on her shoulder made her think of him offering his warmth when they’d crouched in the undergrowth.
“She is not an enemy,” was how Jildarin decided to finish the sentence, facing his brother again.
“I see that.” Zilek looked back and forth between them. Considering how close Jildarin stood to her? “Perhaps I was wrong. Is Aunt Lysilria correct that this femaleisa distraction?”
“Certainly not.” Jildarin stepped even closer to Rylana, his chest brushing her arm, and a little shiver went through her. “She is my business partner.”
“Have you claimed her sexually yet?”
Mya had been oiling a bowl, but she knocked it on the floor.
“Certainly not,” Jildarin repeated.
Amusement gleamed in Zilek’s amber eyes. “Do you want to?”
“There is no point in mating for recreational purposes.” Did Jildarin sound flustered?
No, that was Rylana’s imagination.
Zilek glanced at her chest. “Oh, there’s a point.”
Rylana clenched a fist. “I might delight in leaving the city so that I could shoot you with my bow.”
Zilek grinned. “She has spirit.”
Jildarin growled, his gaze icy as he glared at his brother. Dangerous power radiated from him.
Zilek’s grin only widened. “I would not blame you for beingdistractedby her.”
“But you would kill her, regardless?”
Growing more somber and thoughtful, Zilek looked at his brother, then at Rylana and also at Mya, who’d retrieved the fallen bowl and gone back to working on the dough, though she appeared to be listening intently. She hadn’t reiterated her suggestion that they leave.
“If the female matters to you,” Zilek said, “I will not slay her.”
“Good.” Jildarin’s expression grew slightly less dark. “I will make the soup you requested.”
“To help me woo the elven ballerina? Excellent. Since her performances have been canceled, she’s probably bored and woefully bereft of companionship.”
“I have no doubt,” Jildarin said.
Rylana thought about mentioning that she’d warned Layothlee about Zilek and hissoupplans but decided against it. Though Jildarin seemed to believe that his brother had spoken the truth when he’d said he wouldn’t go after her,shewouldn’t feel safe around him going forward—that whole clan seemed to have it out for her. She decided it would be wise not to go out of her way to annoy Zilek.
“We are enacting a plan to end the curse,” Jildarin said. “You may leave now. Once we’ve been successful, I will have the goblin deliver soup to you. You may attempt to woo whomever you wish with it.”
“Excellent.” Zilek bowed to him and started to turn, but he paused. He looked back and pointed to Jildarin’s hand, which still rested on Rylana’s shoulder. “For your edification, should you change your mind about recreational mating,thatis not the body part you’ll want to grip.” Zilek slapped a palm to his pectoral before walking out.
