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My general fades, and in his place, my best friend, Brick, arises.
“You’re not going to like it, Levi. Safer for me not to say anything or risk you giving me a black eye for my honesty.”
“And when have I ever done that?” I laugh.
“Never, but when it comes toher, I always feel like I’m on thin ice with you, no pun intended.”
I let go of his shoulders and take a step back to stare at my friend.
“Say what you have to, Brick. That’s an order,” I demand forcibly.
I swear I think I hear him call me fucker under his breath.
“Fine. But if you’re going to hit me, do it here.” He points to his chest. “I kind of need my pretty face to stay as it is, if you don’t mind.”
“If you think the woman outside will be tempted by a pretty face, you have another thing coming to you. That woman out there, the one that you are unabashedly lusting over, is made of the same ice as her queen. Your fiery hair and beard will not melt such glaciers,” I provoke with a mocking grin.
It’s all the incentive Brick needs to charge at me and push me back a step.
“Okay, Mr. Know It All. You want a reality check, here’s one for size. Last night when you returned from dining with her,youwere the one who looked like a lovestruck fool. It’s the northern stars in your eyes that blinds you from seeing the truth. You’re besotted with her. Don’t try to deny it.”
My smile dies on my lips at his accusation.
“Not only are you seeing things, old friend, but you’re also projecting. It’s your own infatuation for Inessa that makes you see things that aren’t there.”
“Bullshit!” he shouts. “I saw what I saw, and so did every soldier here with a pair of working eyeballs. She’s playing you for a sucker and you are letting her. Go and dine with the northern bitch. See what good it does you!”
I don’t even realize I’ve done it until it’s too late. My closed fist lands right across Brick’s mouth and jaw, splitting his lower lip in two.
“Fuck the gods!” he growls, wiping the blood off his lip. “I knew you were going to hit me! I fucking knew it! Gods be damned!”
Both of us breathe heavily as we glower at each other for a charged pause, only for it to be interrupted by our sudden burst of laughter. I walk over to him and squeeze his shoulder again, while inspecting the damage I’ve done to his face.
“I’m sorry, old friend. I don’t know what came over me,” I confess, rattled that I let my temper go there.
“Oh, I know exactly why. I should have known better than to speak my mind. Live and learn, I guess.” He laughs, already over the sucker punch.
“No, Brick. You are one of the few people I trust in the world to tell it to me like it is. I refuse to have it any other way.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think my face is in agreement. It’s not looking so pretty right now. My lip is going to swell like a motherfucker.”
Guilt accosts me that he’s right. It will blow up to the size of a melon by tomorrow. He won’t be able to eat for days without hurting.
Damn it. Why did I have to punch him?
“Again, I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. I know what I did was wrong,” he mumbles sullenly as he wipes the blood with his sleeve.
“All you did was give me your opinion on last night.”
“No, Levi. I did more than that. I insultedyourqueen by calling her a bitch.” On reflex, my fists instantly close into two fists, Brick’s gaze going immediately to them. “See? You can’t help it. It’s ingrained in you. This incessant need to defend her. Even if only subconsciously.” He sighs. “You need to let go of that shit, Levi. The sooner you realize the girl you used to be friends with is now your enemy, the better. Otherwise, she’ll use that dormant affection to her benefit. That’s what these dinners are for. To prey on your one weakness—her.”
I let his words sink in, knowing there is an ounce of truth to what he’s saying. The thought that Kat would use my misguided feelings for her in our youth did cross my mind. As did Atlas’s, or he wouldn’t have written to me with that same warning.
“Let her believe what she wants. If this is her only strategy, then I don’t see why I shouldn’t use it against her and to my own advantage. Remember, Brick, for all intents and purposes, I’m supposed to be wooing my way to the northern throne. I won’t be able to guarantee she picks me to wed if her animosity for me grows. Which it will, if all she gets from me is my cold shoulder.”
“I would think the Winter Queen would be used to the cold. That she even prefers it,” he tries to joke to lighten the tension in the room.
