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I didn’t think Lefric was that oblivious, and really, he wasn’t.
“Oh my God,” he said a moment later, shoving a hand through his hair as the pieces came together in his mind. “They’re working for whoever killed Gregorius! They were probably just using the rumor as an excuse to kill us and get away with it. We should follow them and find out who that is.”
He swayed forward, starting after the fleeing attackers.
Hayk caught him and held him to his place. “Not without an army of Vikhrov’s men to support us we won’t.”
Lefric stumbled a bit as Hayk’s grip yanked him back, then turned to the rest of us. “But we can take them,” he insisted. “Peter and Neil are fighters now, and Jace is the strongest man I know.”
Jace laughed humorlessly and shook his head. “I hate to say it, but your pretty friend is right. We need to take the pups back to the Hakobyan estate where they’ll be safe, and then we need to tell Lord Vikhrov what’s going on.”
“You said there have been rumors about Lefric and Olympus since they left for the meeting in Hedeon,” Peter said, glancing between Hayk and Billie, still winded from the fight. “Do you know where the rumors originated, who’s been spreading them?”
“And would you be willing to tell what you know to Lord Vikhrov?” Neil asked, seeming to catch on to where Peter was going.
“I’ll tell him everything,” Billie said, apparently unphased by the thought of giving a ruler information.
“So will I,” Hayk said. He grinned at his sister and added, “You paid to have us for the entire day, and it’s barely been an hour, if that. I wouldn’t mind a trip up to the top of a hill.”
Billie laughed and peeked at me before telling her brother, “Yeah, I bet you wouldn’t.”
“That’s settled, then,” Lefric said, switching directions and starting off toward one of the other small bridges leading off the octagon. “Fuck, one of these days I really do want to give you all a tour of my favorite parts of the cities, but something always seems to get in the way.”
We all fell into line with Lefric, keeping slightly closer together than was usual as we made our way along the waterfront and back to the right-of-way path that would take us up to the Hakobyan estate than we would have if we hadn’t just been attacked. Even though Lefric was in the lead, Billie and Hayk seemed to know exactly where we were going. It made me wonder if everyone in Good Port, high and low, knew where all of the special paths were, even if they weren’t allowed to walk on them.
“Looks like we’ll be spending more time together,” Hayk said as he moved in to walk in close step with me.
“Looks like it,” I said, fighting off the waves of lust and embarrassment, longing and humiliation that swept through me as I glanced sideways at him. I had such a strong reaction to the man. I didn’t understand it, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.
“Personally, I hope I get to meet this Dmitri fellow,” Hayk went on, resting a hand on the small of my back as we turned off the main boardwalk and onto the right-of-way path. “I want to see who my competition is.”
“Dmitri isn’t your competition,” I grumbled, scowling, even though my heart thumped in my chest. “It isn’t a competition at all. I’m not a prize to be won, and we just met. I hardly know you.”
“Ouch,” Hayk laughed, clasping a hand over his heart dramatically. “And here I thought we could be friends.”
I immediately felt bad. “We can be friends,” I muttered, hunching in on myself.
“Good,” Hayk said, slipping his hand down to fondle my ass. “Because I’m very good to my friends.”
“You’re such wh—”
I stopped as I realized what I’d been about to say. It was what I always said to my friends when they embarrassed me with their overtly sexual teasing and put me to shame.
“I don’t like to be teased,” I said instead, hating how honest my words were when I couldn’t resort to casual insults. “It feels like you’re just making fun of me.”
“I take it you think people make fun of you a lot?” Hayk asked. Incomprehensibly, he moved his hand to take mine and held it as we started up the long, steep incline to the Hakobyan estate.
I wished I could come up with a smarter, braver answer, one that didn’t make me look pitiful and small, but the only thing that passed my lips was a muttered, “Yes.”
Hayk’s only response was, “Hmm,” and a sideways look at me.
I waited for him to say more as we reached a point on the path where it turned into a bridge over the streets below. It was so steep at that point that I had to concentrate on breathing just to keep up with Lefric, who seemed used to the path and continued to walk fast.
“Who do you think the men who accused me and Oly of killing Gregorius work for?” Lefric asked, addressing Billie, but turning to look at the rest of us as we followed them.
I wouldn’t have had the first clue. I didn’t even know the players in the game.
“It’s someone who wants to undermine the Hakobyans, obviously,” Hayk called up to Lefric. “Which means it’s probably either the Lobes or the Arzumanyans.”
