Chapter 17 #5
"Hm." Elethenn very carefully didn't look at me as he considered his response. "I suppose, yes. Although it was not courting. It was not… dating. It was –"
I wanted to say fucking, because I was pretty sure that was the word he was looking for. But here, in the grimy tunnels of Radiant Ward, I could see how flushed he already was and I wasn't sure he'd survive any more embarrassment. "Casual?" I suggested instead.
He nodded, once, then fluted out a short breath. "For him, yes," he amended. But not, I gathered, for Elethenn.
"Oh. Well, his loss. Fuck that guy. Just the one person?
" It wasn't any of my business, it really wasn't, except that I was a nosy motherfucker and I wanted to know just because.
But Elethenn only shook his head, although surely I deserved details, so I decided to prod just a little bit more.
"Do you like Tam? Are you interested at all?
I'll shut up about it if you want me to. "
"I – Yes, he is… attractive." And he did, indeed, flush an even deeper colour, his skin gleaming.
"Not your usual type?" I asked, neck twinging a little as we ducked under a clothes line someone had strung up across the tunnel at a height that was definitely going to choke someone before the night was through.
I rolled my neck, listening to the crackling somewhere near the base of my skull.
That probably wasn't good. I didn't think I'd always crackled like that, but Rodil had cleared me, so it was what it was.
"I suppose he is. He is antali, and I have always been drawn to other arkathi before, although of course he is not abaya, so that is…
different. Many things have been different recently.
" He looked, in truth, miserable as he said it, as if I was going to be shocked and appalled, although over what, I couldn't say.
I shrugged. "Well, I don't think I have a type," I admitted. "My type is almost everyone. Or it has been. I like people who are nice."
Elethenn glanced at me, head tilted. "Hm, yes, I can see that. I – understand the appeal." He swallowed, then added, "You could not ask for a kinder partner than Araxis."
I smiled, then. "Yeah," I said softly. "I know." For a beat there was silence between us, and then I cleared my throat, a little embarrassed – why, because I had a crush on my sinnenthi, like I ought to? – which was silly.
"You are well-matched," he added, stare fetching up somewhere in the distance. "You're kind as well, Sashen. It is one of the things I first noticed. I had not... It had been some time..."
Since anyone had treated him with kindness?
I didn't know what to do with that, my throat suddenly tight.
So, instead, I squinted through the dim light of the tunnel in the direction of Tam's; we were close enough now to make out the entrance, and then I straightened in surprise.
"Oh," I said, glad to be offered a chance to change the topic, "I guess fight nights do draw a crowd. "
We'd made it all the way to Tam's which, while it was in a pretty well-trafficked area of Radiant Ward, definitely never had a crowd outside, not even when Tam had significant people like yours truly getting beaten to a pulp inside.
Outside, there was a line of people waiting to get in; the sign, normally dark, was lit up and pulsing – the neon outline of a red fist and what looked to be a bar bell, which was very on brand for Tam.
I waved a hand as I slid up to the bouncer – a younger gaanith who I'd seen here before, although she was usually cleaning something – and she unclipped the cord blocking off the entrance.
"You'll want to find Dreyko inside," she said, big yellow eyes blinking at me as her spiny ear flaps flexed and ruffled nervously; I guess she wasn't used to public-facing roles. "He'll show you out back."
"What do you think, Elethenn?" I asked as we ducked inside. "Is Tam going to show you what he has out back?"
Elethenn's blush, which had been fading, turned pink again as we worked our way up the dark hallway and into the gym beyond, but the look he shot me was underpinned by a certain affection, so I knew he didn't mind my teasing.
Tam had told me he had fight nights here now and again – he'd suggested I try my hand, but I'd declined; Silver Sea wanted me to charge appearance fees for shit like that, and also I didn't want anyone to ever gamble on me again, thanks very much – but I'd had a hard time picturing how the gym could become anything other than a utilitarian space.
Tam was a great coach, but he wasn't a particularly organized person and so the gym was always a bit cluttered and chaotic, and he was always hauling gear around from one side of the perpetually chilly and dimly-lit training room to the other.
Now, the entire training area had been stripped back: all of the gear was hidden somewhere – I couldn't even imagine moving some of the equipment, but Tam did seem to have a little entourage of strapping up-and-coming pit fighters, so being short on muscle was probably never a problem – and, instead, a massive cage dominated the floor of the training space.
Bright coloured lights beamed down from the ceiling, painting the room in swaths of red and violent purples that made the shadows even darker.
The doors to the maze-like series of halls and rooms out back – the locker rooms, the kitchen, Tam's office, and the storage spaces I could only assume were currently crammed full of gear from floor to ceiling – were all shut, leaving only the large, rectangular training room.
There wasn't a crowd yet, but there was a bar – a big free-standing counter that must have been rolled in from somewhere – and a few of the fighters who were scheduled for the night were chatting amicably next to it.
One brin, who looked particularly sour, was pacing in the cage as if getting a feel for its dimensions.
Across the space, Dreyko beckoned at the two of us.
Honestly, he was probably responsible for the set-up of the space; he was definitely the reason anything was remotely organized or clean at all.
"I don't care who you are," said Dreyko as we approached, gleaming eyes narrowing with good humour even as his nostrils flattened with tension, "but you can't just come swanning in here with weapons on a fight night, Sashen. We check them out back. Come on, I can stash them for you."
"I'm probably not staying," I insisted, pivoting as Dreyko pretended to grab for my blades.
I easily batted his hands away, flashing him a pleased smile.
I was getting faster. I was almost slippery these days.
"We're just here for a chat, and if the music's good we might stay for a little.
If we stay, I'll put my shit in the locker room. "
Dreyko shot Elethenn a knowing look. "Celebrities. So entitled, am I right? I'm sure you'll follow the rules at least." He stuck out one waiting hand, wiggling his fingers.
Elethenn hesitated, glancing at me. I shrugged, which I was sure Elethenn had seen me do enough times to understand what I meant.
Besides, what was going to happen to us here?
It was the walk to and from Tam's I'd been concerned about.
Elethenn nodded, then carefully removed a plasma pistol from where it had been hidden beneath the folds of his jacket.
My eyebrows shot up. I'd fired one of those at the range; they were powerful and incredibly temperamental.
I'd been awful with the one I'd tried, but Araxis had said that if you were really good, plasma pistols were probably the most effective gun you could use in close quarters.
One pulse could hit multiple targets if you knew what you were doing – and if you were extremely skilled.
"I did tell you," Elethenn said, the smallest and most hesitant smile catching one corner of his mouth, like he was afraid to be proud of himself. "I worked in security."
"Which is why he understands the importance of following the rules at public events, unlike certain ex-dancers," Dreyko intoned. "I'll put this somewhere safe for you." He smiled, teeth flashing in the moody lights overhead.
And sure, I should have noticed the little shimmer of tension in his laugh, how his stare kept flicking toward the closed doors that led to the rooms beyond.
But this was my gym, and I knew Tam and Dreyko and the other employees, and I also knew that Tam would never let anything bad happen to me, not in a hundred years.
I was certain of that. I knew Radiant Ward too and, despite what had happened, I was safe here, in this building and with these people.
I had Elethenn next to me; I had my swords across my back. I felt safe, and so I was stupid.
"Anyway," Dreyko continued breezily, Elethenn's pistol vanishing into one of the pockets of his robe, "Tam's pretty wrapped up tonight, but he was wondering if he could steal you for a second, uh, Elethenn, is it?
He wanted to have a quick... chat before he comes out to meet with Sashen. Just a few minutes."
Elethenn flushed under the pulsing red lights, the skin around his eyes tightening with some sort of conflict. He glanced at me; his hands flexed at his sides. I could almost hear him blushing, and I could definitely hear the unasked question.
"Why don't you go and have that chat, since I have some messages to catch up on anyway," I suggested mildly.
Then, with a pointed look, "And don't feel like you have to rush on my behalf.
I'm going to hang out with – oh, give me a second –" I squinted at the sephear who was behind the bar, fiddling with glasses, "Berryn.
I bet I could show her a few new drinks.
" And because I knew the longer I stood near Elethenn, the more he'd doubt himself and the right course of action, I beelined across the familiar room made unfamiliar by the lights and massive cage, and ducked behind the bar.