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I stumbled back, panting and wincing, one hand over the pulsing pain in my side. “Bastard.”
“Not my fault you’re leaving your left side too open. Next time, I won’t pull the punch. I’ll break your fucking rib, Cian.”
He was right. I was favoring one side too much, and pain was an excellent teacher.
We went a few more rounds, Odan solidly beating me every time, though I didn’t let him land another hit to my ribs. By the time a messenger appeared at the edge of the sparring yard, we were both sweating, panting, and sporting half a dozen dark bruises on our torsos.
Odan shouldered his sword with a grunt and gestured to the messenger. “Looks like we’ll have to call it a draw. I think your boyfriend’s in town, Cian.”
“For the last time, Odan. Nevahn isn’t…” I sighed and waved him off, wincing at the pulling pain in my side. “Listen, Odan, about before…”
He grunted and punched my arm. “Forget about it. I have.”
I nodded, grateful, and limped over to the messenger Skaag, who shifted back and forth from foot to foot. “Well?” I demanded.
“The ballistas have arrived. General Morlash said to tell you they’re adequate.”
“Adequate? That’s high praise coming from him,” Odan muttered.
“And the human who brought them? What’s become of him?” I tried not to sound too eager, but Odan still snickered beside me.
The Skaag glanced at Odan and then back at me. “Morlash told him to wait for you in your tent, m’lord. As you ordered.”
“As you ordered, eh?” Odan grinned. “Should I warn everyone away for the next hour?”
“After the bruises you gave me?” I shoved the sword at him to stow away.
“In a gargoyle camp, it’s the male with the nastiest bruises who gets the most action after a good match,” Odan said with a knowing grin. “Maybe you can get the human to play nursemaid, rub you down with some oil, work out some of those sore muscles?”
He elbowed me and I gave him a shove. Odan countered by shoving me back harder. For a minute, we were like a pair of boys, wrestling and ribbing each other back and forth until I caught him in a headlock and held him, squeezing. He tapped my arm, and I let him go.
Odan stumbled a few feet back, shaking the dizziness out of his head, grinning widely. “What are you waiting for? Go on, then. I’ve got fresh meat around here somewhere to train. I think we’ll start with a nice, long march.”
ItwascoolerinCian’s tent, but thin beads of sweat still formed on the back of my neck. The tent floor was an ornate rug, probably worth more than everything I’d owned back in Adros. Scraps of war lay discarded around the tent. A dented helmet hung on a post near a leather belt that had been nearly cut in two. Against another post sat a round shield bearing a set of golden wings.
In the center of the room stood a large, round table with maps and papers spread over it. Various wooden figures that probably represented different forces seemed scattered around haphazardly. Bookshelves along one wall were stuffed to bursting. Of course Cian would bring his books to war.
I picked out a familiar red hardback and smiled. The one I’d gotten for him at the bookshop just before Midsummer. After my weeks of practice, I could finally read the title:The Taming of the Sun.I thumbed through the book, opening it to a random passage. My face flushed as I scanned the text. I couldn’t read it all, but I had enough ability now to understand that the warrior prince Raiden was comparing the taste of the Sun God’s cock to various foods.
“I’m surprised the pages haven’t fallen out of that as much as he’s been reading it.”
I looked up and my breath caught at the sight of Hellion standing in the doorway. Somehow, I had forgotten just how tall they were, how much their presence filled whatever space they stood in. They wore a pale grey tunic that barely reached their mid thighs and nothing else. Even the usual gold chains that were everywhere weren’t present. A thick bandage wrapped around their thigh and one of their bare arms, and their eyes were a bit puffy like they hadn’t been sleeping well. None of that detracted from how attractive they were.
They closed on where I stood, snatching the book out of my hands, and snapping it shut with a look that made my heart pound faster. “Hello, Nevahn.”
“Um. Hi.”
Hellion smirked.
I cleared my throat. “How are you feeling? I heard you were injured.”
“I’ve had worse,” they said, waving a hand. “And I’m better now that you’re here.” They prowled forward a step, tail waving.
I instinctually backed up, but there was nowhere to go but against the bookshelf. My shoulders bumped into it and nearly knocked it over.
“I see you’ve grown a beard. It looks good on you.”
“I…” I swallowed. “Thank you.”
