His presence is very loud as is.
“You drag me all the way to the northern mountains and there’s only one bed,” Jax finally drawls. “How convenient.”
I turn to face him.
“Convenient to murder you? Yeah. I know.”
Without waiting for his answer, I head inside the room.
Chuckling, he follows after me.
I toss my backpack on the bed and pad over to one of the windows. The gardens outside are vast, and well maintained. A number of monks are working outside, some tending to the greenery while others are watering the flower beds.
Last time we stayed here, we shared a room, too. But it was so different. Vera was with us. And…so many things were different.
Jax yawns. When I turn around I find him lounging on the bed.
He rubs his hard, flat stomach. “I’m starving.”
“Don’t get too comfortable,” I say and cross my arms. “You’re sleeping on the floor.”
He angles his head so he can look up at me. “You know, you were so much nicer to me while I was in prison.”
To that, I have no answer.
It was much easier to not have all my walls up when Jax was behind bars, facing a death sentence. But now that he’s free, and always around…it’s just complicated.
The way Jax looks at me is earnest and real. It’s so rare that I get a glimpse of this side of him.
A knock on the door startles me. My head whips to the side to find two of the monks—Dravon and Yara—stand in the doorway, one holding a folded mattress and another carrying a bundle of linens.
“Apologies, General,” Dravon says, his voice a low rumble. “I hope we’re not interrupting your resting time. If we may, we’re here to set up the sleeping space for your Blood Sentineal.”
I clear my throat. “Of course, go ahead.”
Dravon nods and they enter the room. Jax gets on his feet.
“The lunch is ready if you are, General,” Yara says sweetly.
My stomach is in knots. But anything is better than being stuck in a small space with Jax. So I nod and head towards the door. “Thanks, Yara. We’re starving after a long journey.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
PHOENIX
There are more monks running this place than I thought. When Jax and I emerge in the large round dining room that’s at the very center of the monastery, there are six long tables occupied with fae women and men in robes of various colors.
Thank fuck the monks are polite. Barely anyone raises their head to stare at me, and those who do only do it briefly and only to offer a respectful bow before they return to eating their meal and sharing a conversation with their fellows.
“General!” Bloom’s voice draws my attention.
She rises from her seat at one of the tables farther down the hall and waves her hand. We head there.
Kazh, Ezkai Emil, Ezkai Bjorn, Ezkai Ravenna, and Fern are here already with plates of food in front of them. I hesitate for a second, but then choose to sit next to Kazh on the edge of the bench. Jax rounds the table to take a seat next to Ezkai Ravenna, but the glare she shoots him makes him halt.
My stomach sinks.
Oh gods. They hate him. Of course they do. Jax is not Jax to them. He’s the GeneralSlayer.
