Page 35 of Badmouths & Bards

“What’s going on?” Tala asked instead of greeting him back, eyes drawn to him as he placed the bowl onto the coffee table.

“We thought we should talk,” Ameriden said as he brushed past her to stand next to Casimine.

Tala lifted a brow. “About?”

Had something happened during the night? She was very aware of how absent-minded she’d been since the Valiant Circle had assigned her to them. Avie was rarely far from her mind, and Tala often found herself distracted while patrolling the halls. Honestly, if the pair of them told her she wasn’t doing a good job, she’d rather they just say so.

“We realized we haven’t been the best at communication,” Casimine started. “So, we thought we would have an open dialogue about what our intentions are.”

Was this about—

Warmth bloomed beneath her cheeks as a sense of awkward dread filled her. Fuck, did they know that she had heard them last night? Did they know their bedroom wall was next to hers? That she had willed herself not to listen but failed? That Tala had pressed her thighs so tightly together, felt herself grow hot, but had been too much of a coward to chase the wicked impulse? How close her fingers had been from—

“Intentions?” Tala managed, though her tongue felt thick and useless.

“Yeah, we’re kinda over beating around the bush, here.” Ameriden said.

Tala almost dropped the breakfast basket at his turn of phrase. She had been silent, and she hadn’t even touched herself directly! There was no way they could have known.

“I don’t follow,” Tala blurted as she tried to regulate her embarrassment.

Ameriden caught Casimine’s eye. “I told you she wouldn’t get it.”

“Fuck you guys.” Tala glared.

“That’s the goal,” Ameriden replied with a smirk.

A tidal wave of insults were gathering on the tip of her tongue when Tala suddenly registered what he had said. She blinked, staring at him, then Casimine in turn. His smile was less obviously smug than Ameriden’s, but she recognized it from the one he gave her the other day. Blood rushed to her ears and Tala blinked, her entire body struck with the new information.

“You—” Tala licked her lips. “You’re not—you can’t be serious.”

“We are,” Casimine confirmed. “We’ve been wanting to invite you into our bed for a while now.”

Thunderstruck was a word that popped into Tala’s head as her mind exploded. All the different lines crossed as she tried to make sense of any of it. There was no way they wanted that with her of all people. This had to be a prank or some manipulation tactic because for Tala to think otherwise would open her up to pain.

Swallowing around the lump in her throat, Tala shifted, “I… aren’t you two, like a thing?”

Tala had gathered that much fairly quickly. She never questioned it because it seemed natural the more she was around them. The long stares, the lingering touches, and the most obvious of flirting—all of that Tala had written off as some kind of act. But it was the softness in their interactions that had clued her into there being something more between them. That hunch had only solidified the night before when she heard their mutual moaning through the wall.

“We are,” Casimine confirmed. “But bards aren’t afforded relationships the way everyday folk are.”

“What Casi means is there’s a stigma around bards who have lovers in public. We can tease, share an almost kiss, but we’re not allowed to be with anyone. We’re basically married to our work, to our audience.” Ameriden explained with a disgruntled tone.

“That… sounds like horseshit,” Tala replied.

Which it was—in her mind, at least. She already had a legendary temper when it came to authority, but the idea of anyone telling her who she could or couldn’t court made her want to punch something. It suddenly made sense how the couple had shown slight restraint around Tala when they were together. She had seen them shy away from making out in front of her—at least, that was the vibe she got from their intimacy from time to time.

“Glad you agree,” Ameriden slung his arm around Casimine’s shoulders, “I’ve been telling him that for ages now.”

“While I agree that it’s unfair, we can’t change our audience’s minds over night,” Casimine interjected. “It’s been easier to hide our relationship when we’re not on the stage. Which brings us to the topic at hand. Do you want to be in our bed?”

“You—don’t say shit like that!” Tala exclaimed.

“Would you prefer it if we said we want to fuck you?” Ameriden offered.

“That—how would that even work?!” Before the smug bastard could respond, Tala growled. “Shut the fuck up, I know how it works, you asshole! How would that work when you two are a couple?!”

“You’d join us?” Ameriden shrugged. “I don’t get what’s so hard to understand about that.”