Page 37 of Badmouths & Bards

“Fair, but you are worried about them,” Ameriden pointed out. “You wouldn’t have freaked out so badly yesterday if you weren’t.”

“I didn’t—”

“You did.” Ameriden lifted a brow. “And don’t lie to a bard, Moon Maiden, we can always tell when you do.”

Tala might have been stubborn, but Ameriden could easily match her. Once he set his mind to something, he wasn’t likely to back off. It had gotten him into trouble in his youth, but it saved his life when he needed it. Saved him from a destiny that he had wanted no part of, despite every ounce of expectation that had been crowned upon his head before he had been born.

“To show you our sincerity, I thought I’d offer you a gift,” Casimine gestured toward the bowl before either of them could continue arguing.

“You’re giving me a bowl?” Tala mocked.

She was practically pouting. Had Ameriden been too blunt? He would have to revisit that observation later—preferably when she was laying between them. He was starting to suspect that Tala might be a brat in bed, something that could be dangerous as Ameriden was quite addicted to teasing his partner.

“Casi wants to give you assurance that your friend’s alright,” he said instead.

That was enough to knock her out of her sulky mood as she stared at Casimine. He smiled, though a bit teasingly. If she wanted this token of affection, she would have to be a little more agreeable.

“You can do that?”

Ameriden had to give her some credit. Her tone betrayed none of the hope she was trying to hide. He shifted forward, clasping his hands on the coffee table as he waited for Casi to take the lead.

“I can. Scrying is an ability that comes more naturally to my family. I can locate your…friend if you wish.” Before Tala could agree, Casimine held up a hand. “But, you have to be willing to tell me about them. I can’t scry on someone I’ve never met. Objects can help, of course, but there has to be a connection built on top of that.”

Not for the first time, Ameriden was happy he had never crossed Casimine in college. While his face was perfectly handsome, his presence welcoming, his partner had a subtle devious side to him. Casi hadn’t lied—Ameriden remembered briefly learning about scrying in college, a practice meant more for tracking lost ones but was rarely used as such. The connection was what made scrying possible in the first place and what usually prevented nefarious uses of it.

But it’s the way he worded it. Calling this person her friend—he wants to know as badly as I do who this ‘Avie’ is to her.

Whoever this person was gave Tala pause, her hand reaching for the opal at her side. Ameriden hadn’t thought much of it at first. A pretty gem that for all he knew could have been an adornment for the Dauntless Verity. But now it represented something vastly different. An unlucky object that could lead to nursing Casimine’s broken heart while ignoring his own.

“What do you need?” Tala exhaled, loud and frustrated. “What do you need to know?”

It took everything in Ameriden to keep him from pumping his fists into the air. Getting her to agree was the hard part—at least when it came to her end of the experience. Knowing how she would respond to the scry, that was what made him irritable. Not at her, but at what Casi might discover. It was one thing to know that Tala was entangled with another, but to know what this person looked like?

That feels worse.

“Well, a name to start,” Casimine replied as cradled the bowl in his hands. “Amer mentioned their name is Avie?”

“Avelina—her name is Avelina, but I know her as Avie.”

“Describe her to me.” Casimine tilted his head, looking practically lovesick as he stared at her. “Go ahead, paint a picture.”

“I—” Tala stammered, pushing one of her braids behind her back. “Avie’s human, we’re the same age—ah, twenty-six. That’s adult age in human years. She’s shorter than me—red hair, like strawberry quartz. Eyes like steel blue sapphires—”

“Do you associate everyone’s physical traits with gemstones, or is Avie just special?” Ameriden questioned.

“—that’s none of your business, you condescending piece of—”

“Fuck, you’re attractive when you’re being disgruntled—”

Casimine cleared his throat, “We can get back to your aggressive flirting after I scry, hmm?”

“I am not—”

“Only for you, Casi.” Ameriden pursed his lips in a kiss.

“Give me the opal, Tala.” Casi said.

There was resistance—not that Ameriden expected anything less, given her personality. Her fingers fiddled with the fastener at her waist, slow and steady, but also purposefully delaying the inevitable. Knowing about her missing Avie was too great of a temptation for her to ignore. Even when Tala hesitated, hand still clutching the gem just above Casi’s outstretched palm, she somehow steeled herself and let it go.