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“Croll’s been fine. Now be nice to him. He’s grown on me over the last few days.”

There was the chastising again. Not that the small slap earlier hurt; it was the nerve behind the action happening at all that nestled a tumultuous feeling in his stomach. The more he allowed the scolding, the deeper it burrowed, and he couldn’t say he minded, even if he should.

He set his empty cup on the table. “I’ll consider it.”

Lilith raised the last of hers and tipped it back. He tried not to get caught up in the ebb and flow of her throat as she swallowed.

He was only partially lying when he said he didn’t know if this was Lilith.

Her hair was pulled away from her face. Her black hair. A shame, he thought. The natural silver and gray suited her better. What he was thankful for was the absence of red in her wardrobe. It reminded him too much of Chiman and the Vulpes Flare.

She wore a sleeveless, moss-green shirt, her midriff exposed. Lower still—though the table blocked his view—he could picture the gray breeches clinging to her legs, tight enough to seem made for her. Her washed-out black jacket hung loose, but was cropped short, revealing more than it hid. Enough to show how everything beneath followed the shape of her body.

It wasn’t until he caught a glimpse of her eyes hiding behind her shaded glasses that he was confident it was her.

She looked… intriguing. Others might say alluring—the man she was stringing along would, but certainly not Jarek. Maybe, if she were anyone else.

Then why are you still looking at her?

He glanced away, finding no one interesting enough to steal his attention. What if she thought it rude he wasn’t looking in her direction? Jarek wasn’t so prideful that he couldn’t admit the Serpent was enjoying the brighter color of her aura. He didn’t want it to dim.

He decided the safest spot was the top of her arm. Until she shifted her back to the wall, and his eyes wandered to the warm ivory skin revealed as her sleeve slipped off her shoulder.

“Do you think it’s possible?”

Jarek flinched. Thankfully she was facing the rest of the tavern.

Curse all that is dark, focus. That’s what they were discussing originally. The Ashin woman problem that doubled. “Possible, yes. Difficult—”

“I know, I know.” She sighed. “Croll thinks I should only worry about the one girl.”

If Jarek wasn’t already walking a thin line regarding Luka’s fate, he’d be more inclined to agree with Croll. “There’s no need to since you won’t be taking care of it. The armory is the priority. If that’s done smoothly, I’ll retrieve the girls myself.”

That didn’t reassure her like he thought it would.

“That’s too much for you to do alone.”

“Which is why… What makes you think that?”

Lilith pressed her lips and sank further into her chair. “I might’ve picked your associate’s brain over the last few days, and he let it slip that you’re not as indestructible as you let on.” She glanced at him. “It’s not his fault. I was being nosy.”

“What did he tell you, Lilith?”

She flicked nervous glances between him, the floor, the ceiling, and then nothing in particular. "If you use the Serpent too much, you black out. You’re still moving and acting, but you’re not yourself.” She swiveled to face him. “How about I pack the weapons?”

Jarek suppressed the pride in his accomplishment in getting her to do what he wanted without the Serpent. Her aura was calmer and rippled slowly when he used her first name. When he called her Evelian, it jolted as if startled. “Not by yourself.”

Lilith scoffed. “I may not be the best at combat, but I know enough to take care of myself. If there’s guns involved, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Advanced weaponry aside, you’re much too—”

“Weak? Slow?” She tapped her lips with a finger. “Untrustworthy?”

He chuckled. “I was only going to say mortal, but now that you bring it up, yes to everything.”

“Sounds like it’s settled then,” Lilith said, crossing her arms over the table. “I’ll get the girls, and you keep Caiven busy.”

“How is that settled?”