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“So, to me, you’re a mysterious, pretty witch who appeared out of nowhere, telling people their mind, and I don’t have to decipher everything you say and view it through the lens of how you could be manipulating me for gain.”
Oh.
Was it strange I understood his reasoning and found it flattering? Probably. Yet I found myself not minding the handsome fae. At least he seemed honest, even if his diplomatic word choices were often overly cautious.
“I see.”
He nodded and sat back, but I wasn’t quite ready to end the conversation.
“If you want to help, we’re looking for anything in this library about different schools of magic and old, powerful curses in general.”
“Is there a particular reason?”
I shrugged. “Just a mere curiosity.”
To my surprise, Aodin sighed. “I wish I could tell an outright lie like that. It would make certain things so much easier.”
Fuck, was I that obvious? Thankfully, Aodin just nodded along.
“I won’t pry, but I hope one day you’ll feel comfortable enough to let me.”
“We shall see.”
Chapter 14
Kai
“Run with me.”
Mad Dog straightened up from where he was wresting a spear from one of the training dummies, then gave me a slight bow. I decided pretty quickly I hated that. I was fine when he saluted me as his captain, but I hated him treating me like a prince.
“Pardon, sir?”
I realized I was more than a bit cranky. I’d woken up with my bed empty, and though I understood why Ayla needed to return to her room before I woke, I was a little resentful, too.
Then I’d tried to focus on looking into the palace’s defenses, but my mother found me and begged that I spend time with her. I’d agreed, as I did love her and wanted us to talk more one on one. We had so much to catch up on, after all.
But instead of having a heart to heart with my mother, she ended up going on about useless gossip, insisting I sample a bunch of different wines and cheeses.
Was it delicious? Yes. But it wasn’t the interaction I was looking for. Honestly, after so many years on a Fort Canid diet, I was beginning to feel sick from all the rich foods I was eating dayin and day out. It was why I’d sought out Mad Dog, hoping we could go on a run together.
“I think I could do with an hour or two on the wolf track. Want to come with?”
“Sir. Now that you mention it, I’d like to stretch the ol’ legs.” He went to put the spear over on a weapon rack before returning to me. “Will Ayla be joining us?”
I shook my head and stepped closer, lowering my voice so hopefully only the two of us could hear my words. “She’s not exactly comfortable in her wolf form all the time, especially not around strangers.”
“Ah, I see. I imagine after today the feelings probably only increased.”
“What do you mean, after today?”
“Oh, uh, nothing you gotta worry about, sir. She handled it like the capable soldier she is.” The large man paused for a long moment, but I could sense he had something else to say. It wasn’t exactly like he played his cards close to his chest. “If you don’t mind me saying, I’m beginning to see the lass as a little sister.”
I grinned. “I’m sure she’d be flattered to hear as much.”
“The only thing is I hardly know her, you know. We went on this whole journey together to go to her old coven, and now they’re all dead. That’s the long and the short of it. Though her wolf form looks awful familiar.”
“Familiar?”
