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“About Ash.” I nodded once. “I know about the bet.”
“Yes. When he found out Ash was gone, he came to me, panicked because he owed them a considerable amount of gold for losing.”
“Ah.” I looked down at my cup. “He wanted you to pay it for him.”
“Yes.” Belial’s tone grew the slightest bit terse. “I’m embarrassed to say now that I had pined for him for some time. It was only then that I saw what he truly was. Selfish and vain and cruel. He came to me because he was so sure I would pay off his debt for him without question.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Well then.” I had a sip of my drink. “It seems the reynards will not be receiving their winnings.”
“Was that what made you kill him?” Belial asked. “The bet?”
I waved a hand. “Mostly, but I’d already told him I would kill him one day.”
Belial’s mouth twitched. “I see.”
“I’d appreciate it if you could keep this to yourself, though,” I said cautiously. “I’ve always trusted you to a degree, Belial.”
“I have no reason to tell anyone, King Lonan. And I won’t.”
I believed him. Belial had never been interested in playing games. “Just Lonan is fine.”
He nodded, watching me with a hint of curiosity. “Will you tell Idony? They were friends for a time.”
“Yes, I’ll tell her.” I arched a brow at him. “Do you know why they stopped being friends, Belial?”
His head cocked. “I assume for the same reason. She found out about the bet. She wasn’t overly friendly with Ash, but I’m sure it left just as bad a taste in her mouth as it did mine. Especially when I told her that he had tried to get me to pay off his debt.”
I hesitated. Perhaps I was meddling, just a touch, but I liked Idony very much. She was fierce but kind, and assertive all ways except, it seemed, this one. I didn’t think Belial had any idea how much she pined for him.
“Partly because of the bet, but it was mainly for the way he treated you.” I paused. “She cares for you very deeply, Belial.”
To my surprise, a deep blue flush stained Belial’s cheeks. He fidgeted, looking down at his cup. “Does she?”
“Yes. When I returned to unseelie, we came across one another in the forest. She offered to help me”—my mouth curved into a tiny smile—“in exchange for my word that I wouldn’t harm you. I hadn’t been planning on it, but still.”
He stared at me in silence. “She could have gotten a favour for herself from an unseelie prince, and she… asked for that?”
“Yes.”
“I…” He appeared somewhat flustered, eventually admitting, “Idony has always… intimidated me somewhat.”
My mouth twitched again. “She is quite self-assured.”
“Yes. I…” He exhaled, shifting in his seat, crossing his legs then uncrossing them again straight away. “When we were young, Idony and I were paired up for a game of favours. She won, and the favour she asked for was”—he cleared his throat—“a kiss.”
I chuckled. “Ah.”
“It made me nervous,” he admitted. “In the end, she only wanted a kiss on the cheek, which was… pleasant. But I—I don’t have… certain desires that most others do. And while I liked her very much, I worried that she might want things that I… didn’t feel comfortable with.”
“I see.” After a moment of silence, I cocked my head. “But you ended up pining for the fae who was skilled at luring mortals into his bed?”
“I know.” He exhaled and shook his head. “Perhaps it was because that felt… safer. Caom would have fulfilled those desires elsewhere.”
“Well, I can’t speak for Idony, but I know she cares for you.” I paused. “And it sounds like she has cared for you for a very long time.”
