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I gaped at him as he slid from the bed, rifling his hand through his hair, pale strands fluffy and sticking up at odd angles. His body was fascinating, all sharp corners and elegant lines, shimmering scales beneath his skin. My mouth went dry as he bent, rifling through a pile of clothes, his lower cock peeking out between his long, lean thighs. He twisted, eyes sparkling with laughter as he caught me staring.
I tugged the sheet up to cover my blushing cheeks and nodded. "Food is good," I said stupidly.
* * *
"You're completely neglectingyour left side," Laszlo said, frowning and backing away from me, his head shaking.
"I'm exhausted."
"Well, trouble never comes when you're well-rested and ready for a good fight, my dear," he answered primly, chin jutting up. "You have to be well-trained, regardless of the circumstances. And right now, you arefailing to defend your left side. Again."
I scowled at the gryphon and didn't move.
"Evanthia," he said, slightly sharp.
"I'm going to pluck out your feathers while you're sleeping!" I blinked and stiffened, gasping at the venom in my tone.
Laszlo arched an eyebrow. "You couldtry," he answered coolly. I could've sworn he was holding back laughter.
We stared at one another for a long moment. I was sore from sex before I'd even walked into the training room, but Laszlo had shown me no mercy.
Is this loving? I wanted to ask, but was too afraid to speak the words. I'd been afraid of Hywel and Laszlo treating me with tenderness, afraid of how I was supposed to respond to longing looks and heartfelt words.
Instead, I was being snapped at for poor posture while defending myself with a battle axe.
"Evanthia, Iknowyou can do better," Laszlo said firmly. "Even exhausted. Now…again."
I sighed and ignored the burn and tremble of my arms as I raised the weapon once more, pausing to consider the angles we stood at, the patterns of movement Laszlo used when "attacking" me in practice. I'd been leading with my right side, the side I held the weapon on, keeping my left tucked behind me. But Laszlo had repeatedly managed to twist around and catch me there.
My right side held the weapon…my left needed defending…
Laszlo watched, patient, as I puzzled out the issue.
I switched my feet in the stance, turning my left side forward, twisting my body. Now my left side was guarded, but I could easily swing the axe back if Laszlo attacked me on the right.
"Much better," he said with a small smile, and then he leapt forward, wings beating and talons raised.
* * *
I glancedup from my hand at another rough puff of breath from Hywel's lips. His eyes were narrowed at his own hand, at the cards dropped to the table, and there was a frustrated wrinkle on the bridge of his nose.
"He's very bad at bluffing," Laszlo said to me in a false whisper, earning himself a quick glare from his mate. "But he also has a tendency to catastrophize his hands. He's tossed out entire winning hands before, assuming everyone at the table had better."
"Yes, thank you,cariad," Hywel snapped, discarding a knave of hearts to the table roughly.
The deck was old and stained, hand-painted with an ink that had turned from red to rust over the years. I'd seen similar decks before my captivity, and there was something about the castle, these men, and a game of cards by the fire that transported me back to centuries ago. I was going to end up the loser of this game—twoaces in the hand and not a chance to rid myself of them yet—but my heart was strangely light, a smile almost constantly poised on my lips.
I slipped my right foot free of the heeled shoe I'd worn to dance in earlier and tucked it under my voluminous skirt, leaning back in the armchair that smelled of rose oil—some long-lost visitor's perfume, perhaps.
"Perhaps he should be worried this time," I murmured to Laszlo, smiling.
Hywel glared at me now, and his scowl deepened as he pulled a new card, but Laszlo gave me a canny glance from the corner of his eyes and his lips twitched. I had a feeling the gryphon already knew what we were all holding in our hands, what was left in the deck, and how the game would all shake out by the end.
"It will be better when the others return," Hywel muttered. "We'll have proper numbers. Three for Losing Lodam doesn't quite count out right."
Laszlo hummed out a noncommittal agreement and then deftly settled a king to the table, winning the trick. Hywel grumbled, and I tucked my grin against my shoulder.
Laszlo reached for the deck to determine our next trump suit when the loud thunder of knocking sounded through the castle.
