Page 109 of Tides of Shadows

Tristan, despite our strange beginning, proved rather easy to be around. I had little choice to be honest. He seemed to seek me out as much for his own amusement as for mine. Life in Durminas moved slowly, perhaps he was simply starved for diversion in such a quiet place.

He even started joking with me over dinners, which clearly irritated Aidenar. I could see his jaw clench every time Tristan leaned toward me with another anecdote. Tristan had a gift for talking to people. Words flowed easily, as if he never had to think about what to say. He told me embarrassing stories about Aidenar from their youth, and various White City gossip about people I knew. Some were amusing, others shocking. It was clear he was completely at home in that city, knowing every nook and cranny, every family, every secret.

We were sitting in the library, playing cards. Tristan cheated abominably, but despite his best efforts he was still losing.

“You realize I can see what you are doing,” I said, setting down a card that sealed his defeat once more.

He glanced up and made his infuriating half smile. “But you are still playing with me.”

“Watching you fail so spectacularly has its own entertainment value.”

“You wound me, Nerissa.”

“You’ll survive.” I dealt the next hand, each card falling into place with a satisfying snap. “Your pride, however, may not.”

“I have not yet thanked you,” he said suddenly.

I lifted my gaze from the deck.

“For what.”

“For breaking Magnus’s nose.” He smiled broadly. “Aidenar told me yesterday it was you.”

I laughed softly and set another card upon the table.

“He earned it. And it wasn’t the first time someone should have set him straight.”

“There are many assholes in White City,” Tristan said, turning his diamond ring between his fingers, “but it is a place full of life. Some despise it, others love it. There is always something going on, someone plotting, someone scheming.”

I watched him closely.

“You miss it.”

“I do,” he admitted. He sighed, and his gaze grew distant. “You know, staying here with Mina is hardly thrilling. Life here runs slow and quiet, as if we were cut off from the world. No intrigue, no surprises. Only daily duties and polite talk at the dinner table.”

“So what do you do for fun here?”

“Not much,” he shrugged. “Training, drinking, playing cards…” “Badly,” I murmured.

“Hunting. Sometimes I ride down to the towns.”

“Hunting.” My interest stirred. “What do you hunt?”

“It depends on the season. Deer, boar, wolves if they come too near the villages.” He looked at me with new curiosity. “Why do you ask?”

I hesitated for only a moment.

“Will you take me?”

Tristan’s brows rose.

“You hunt?”

“I used to, with my father and my brother.” I smiled at the memory of those journeys.

“Are all women from the islands like you?” he said, amused, that roguish smile on his lips. “I think I must visit Thalrock.”

For a while he studied my face, as if searching for something beneath the skin.