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"And the head of the Council gave you away like you're not worth a dozen crates of artefacts. I hope you don't mind me saying so, but I think he's a sand-headed fool."
"I find I can't disagree with that." I exhaled through pursed lips. I could tell Dex so much more, like how I practiced using my power out of sight of anyone, and that perhaps once in a while used it to guide arrows in the right direction. "Do you need an archer in your army?"
"What makes you think I have an army?" he asked.
"Men like you always have armies," I said easily.
"Do we?" He seemed amused by the line of conversation.
I shrugged. "Are you saying you don't?"
"Possibly, but I suspect they would object to a witch in their midst."
"Ahhh, shifters aren't as enlightened as I thought," I said ironically.
Rather than be offended, he just laughed. "Seeking asylum and fighting beside shifters are an entirely different den of dragons. Not even the Alpha would send witches to battle."
"Is he like you?" I asked. "And your aunt?"
"Oh, Hades's tits no," he replied. "He's a hundred times worse. The gods never put a more stubborn bastard on the face of the world. Or so I had thought." He gave me a sidelong look.
"I'm sure he's not that bad," I muttered.
"Perhaps, but you and he are alike, I think. You'd probably hate each other."
"Remind me not to get on his bad side either then," I said dryly.
"How could you possibly do that?" he asked, a hint of irony in his tone.
"Because I'm a rebellious, difficult witch?" I suggested. "Who couldn't deal with the idea of doing whatever you tell me to do for the rest of my life."
He chuckled. "It happens I like exactly that."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Disobedience doesn't bother you?"
He smiled. "You are forthright, aren't you?" He hesitated for a moment. "I don't need a slave. I prefer people to think and act for themselves. Within reason. Besides, apparently you're a lethal archer."
Now he was teasing.
"Oh, absolutely. I've slaughtered a good many apples in the past. As it happens, they were all rotten." Typical for the Council. There were a few rotten apples I'd like to pick off there.
"The moment I saw you, I knew you were an apple-killer." His teeth flashed white while he spoke.
"Now there's a title to stir fear into the hearts of men," I said grandly. "Viva Apple-Bane, destroyer of fruit."
He laughed aloud and long at that. "Remind me to keep you from the orchards."
"Indeed you should. The oranges and limes would not be spared." I couldn't keep from laughing. I couldn't remember how long it had been since I had.
Once I composed myself again, I asked, "Did the Covener offer you anything else?" Or anyone else?
Dex sighed and drew back, evidently not pleased at the change of subject. "Yes. I declined. Why? Are you offering yourself?" He tilted his head speculatively.
"You're persistent," I told him.
"It's another fault of mine," Dex agreed. "Does that mean you're saying no?"
"I didn't say that," I replied. Honestly, it was so long since I'd been fucked, and he was both hot and attentive. I could just as easily fall into his bed as Bain's.
