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“Your honesty is refreshing, Zoei,” Ris said, a thoughtful frown creasing her brow. “Most people mince words around me.”
Sage moved to a low bench that had been placed in the corner, picking it up and carrying it back to the banked fireplace. She set it down across from the armchairs, and gestured for us to sit.
“Should I ring for some tea?” Olympia asked. “Or perhaps something stronger?”
Ris shook her head, perching on the edge of a chair. “We’ve had quite a bit to drink tonight. Perhaps we could shut the windows, however. It’s getting a bit chilly in here.”
Two things happened at once.
Olympia snapped her fingers and the wooden window frame plunged downwards, closing the small gap left by the servants for ventilation. I threw a flameswirl in the direction of the fireplace, and the dry tinder ignited at once. A temperate blaze lit the room a bright orange-red.
Ris’ wide golden gaze reflected the firelight, and I watched with interest as Sage’s hand dropped down to the empty scabbard loop and fisted with veiled frustration in her tunic.
“I sometimes forget about your unique abilities,” Ris said, unable to conceal the awe in her voice.
“Does it scare you?” I asked, folding myself onto the bench.
It was shorter than I expected, and my knees poked up as though I was a child sitting in a squat position.Mostundignified.
As Olympia approached the empty spot next to me, I offered a palm to steady her as she sat. Her eyes narrowed, and she gently pushed my hand away with a shake of her head.
“Not an omega,” she murmured as she sat with a grace and elegance I did not possess. She curled her legs under the bench and elongated her spine as though she were waiting for a meditation session to begin.
Damn it,why did she always have to look so regal?
And since when was offering someone help treating them like an omega?
“Scare?” Ris said as I eyed Olympia. “No. But it is awe-inspiring. Life would be much easier with such powers.”
“Yes and no,” Olympia replied, thinking aloud. “While mundane tasks like closing a window and lighting a fire are done in a pinch, we have other factors that keep us up at night.”
“Such as?” Sage questioned, taking the other seat across from Ris. Yogi perched on the flat arm of Sage’s chair, their arms brushing casually. I watched with thinly veiled fascination as Sage placed a palm on Yogi’s knee in what would otherwise be construed as a friendly touch.
“Fire sorcerers and earth enchanters have never seen eye-to-eye,” I explained, tearing my gaze away. “Our politics is very much like a chess match.”
Olympia bristled, gazing over at me with a measurable amount of surprise.
“Ourancestorsnever saw eye-to-eye,” she corrected. “But we arenotour ancestors, Zoei.”
“Ancestorsis a bit of a stretch,” I cautioned. “My Sire hated your father—I’d say that’s pretty recent. After all, we are the product of our environment.”
“I don’t know about you, but I grew up with a father who taught me patience and peace above all else.”
It was everything I could do to fight the eye roll that threatened to permanently rearrange the set of my eyeballs.
“And a mother who taught you how to be a shrew?” I shot back.
A punch landed on my shoulder, harder and sharper than I’d expected. I winced, rubbing the sore spot.
“You behave like an old mated couple,” Ris said with a laugh. “It is a testament to your friendship, I suppose.”
“Friendship,” I murmured under my breath, the same moment Olympia began: “We’re not—”
Several pairs of eyes swung in her direction.
“W-what I mean to say is,” she backpedaled, swallowing loudly. “Zoei and I haven’t spoken for almost twenty years.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded. “I wrote letters.”
