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“Of Mazekhstam.”
“The continent.”
“The world.”
“The-”
“We get it,” Mathias said.
“He isverypretty,” Lilia cooed, fluttering her eyelashes at me. “Now we see why you would risk the lash, Nathanael. Look at those legs! His lips!”
Mat groaned. “Please stop objectifying him.”
“Why?” one of them asked.
“We’ve never stopped objectifyingyou,” the other said.
“Or did you think it was you we missed?”
“Because it was your...”
Mat flushed and they both giggled, clearly not serious.
“Please continue,” I said graciously. Mathias flashed me a warning look that I chose to ignore. “Tell me aboutallof your favourite parts of him.”
“My tolerance and sense of humour,” he growled out, displaying neither as he smacked me on the arm.
“And your distaste for violence,” I said pointedly, trying not to cackle too loudly when he scowled. The women displayed no such restraint, their laughter echoing around the small room that was filled with simple wooden furniture, thick furs, and brightly coloured woven cloth used as everything from blankets on the bed, to curtains, to rugs on the floor. A fire licked hungrily behind a grate, dangerously close to a haphazard collection of plants spilling from their pots.
“Oh, I’m justsohappy you’re back!” one of the women exclaimed joyfully, and with how excited and pleased she sounded, I expected it to be Lilia. So I was confused when Zovisasha flung herself at Mat and pulled him into a long hug that he eagerly returned. Maybe she’d just needed time to come around?
But then I noticed the sulky glare Lilia was now gracing my lover with, and how her shoulders had stiffened.
“Fuck you, Nathanael,” the redhead snapped. “You turn up out of the blue and expect us to be happy about it?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it again, utterly confounded.
“Cease your games for an hour, I beg you,” Mathias pleaded, finally unwrapping himself from Zovisasha’s embrace. “You’re going to give Ren a headache.” He offered me a rueful smile. “They’re never…”
Both women stared at him with raised eyebrows and he seemed to carefully reselect his words.
“Still,” he said, his shoulders visibly relaxing when they both just shrugged, as if he’d narrowly escaped a death sentence.
Zovisasha flapped a hand. “Unless you boys are here for some fun,” – she glanced at me hopefully and I grinned, both of us deflating when Mat shook his head firmly – “then I expect you want something. What is it?”
“Ren and I need to speak to Astrid,” he said, “without telling the entire continent we’re here, which means the front gates are out.”
Lilia clicked her tongue. “So what do you want us to do about it?”
“I know you know of another way in,” Mat cajoled, dropping his voice into soft imploration.
“We’ve told you a hundred times. We can’t-”
“Can’t sneak Mazekhstam’s hostage out of the castle because two dozen guards would be on us in moments, yes,” Mathias said, rapidly firing off the words as though they’d indeed been relayed that many times. “But how about sneaking an ex-hostageintothe castle?”
The women glanced at each other.
“I suppose we could-”
