Chapter 25 #2
“Well, I’m not fine. It was an overreaction. If neither you nor Cyrus are willing to shed light on this for me, then I guess I’ll have to go to Fabio himself.”
The reference got Drake to laugh at least, and I joined in.
“Any idea where I can find His Highness?”
“Probably his office,” Drake replied and winked. “Do you remember where that is?”
I knew I could crack him. “Yes, I do.”
I remembered quite well. How could I not? The shock of finding out I had been staying next to Konstantine’s office still made me cringe anytime I thought about it.
“Good luck, Rox. You’ll need it. Stan is one stubborn motherfucker.”
“In case you haven’t noticed,” I said, grinning slyly at him, “so am I.”
I jogged ahead of Drake back to the castle and took the stairs up two at a time.
I paused to catch my breath when I got to Konstantine’s office.
I stood outside the door, debating on what to say.
I had been all bravado and tough talk with Drake, but now that I was there, how was I going to do this?
Did I want to go for the calm approach and ask him nicely what his problem was?
Or did I want to straight up demand he tell me what it was that had his panties in a twist?
Both options, I realized, terrified me. In reality, Konstantine didn’t owe me an explanation.
He could easily tell me to mind my own business and get out of his face—and off his property.
Drake wanted me to let it go, and as I stood there, the thought crossed my mind that maybe I should.
Yet I couldn’t seem to get my feet to move.
I wanted a resolution, and confronting Konstantine was looking more and more like my only option.
Eager to get it done and over with, I forced myself to knock.
“Come in,” he said sharply from behind the door. Hearing him speak had its own effect on me, and I doubled down in effort to keep my salacity in check. It was amazing what just the sound of his voice could do. It was pathetic, really, what I let it do.
I turned the knob slowly and walked in.
“Good morning,” I tried to say but my voice cracked, coming out in a raspy squeak.
“Good morning,” he replied.
I didn’t make eye contact at first, looking past his head at the wall behind him, but I was aware of him assessing me.
His eyes never left my face. I suffered a peek and found him leaning forward in his chair, his elbows on the desk and his hands loosely clasped in front of him.
He sat still as he watched me intently, waiting for me to make the first move.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” I heard myself ask. I didn’t know what demon had taken possession of me. As soon as I’d said the words, I wanted to turn around and run for the hills.
Konstantine remained unflinching. “Would you prefer I did something else?” he answered coolly, bored almost. If not for—
Wait, could it be? Was that… humor I discovered concealed in his voice? I didn’t think the man knew what humor was, much less have any to spare.
For reasons unbeknownst to me, my cheeks grew heated at his response.
“Umm.” I took a deep breath, remembering I’d come with a goal in mind.
“Konstantine, I wanted to talk to you about last night. I’m not entirely sure what happened, but I can’t help but think it had something to do with me.
What exactly that is, I don’t know. Regardless, what you did to Drake, it wasn’t right. You could have killed him.”
“Arax, did you come here to give me a play-by-play of the evening, or did you have a point?”
That snide tone of his should have had me roiling, but I stood my ground, running my tongue on the inside of my teeth.
“Yes,” I muttered under my breath. “To tell you you’re a twatnugget.”
Konstantine’s eyebrows rose microscopically, and the sides of his lips followed suit, telltale signs of a grin wanting to escape.
Even with so little a smile, his expression opened up.
He really was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen, and the breath of humor I’d observed made him that much more appealing.
I shouldn’t be so easily sidetracked, I thought.
“What was that?” he asked, and his grin widened by a fraction. My stomach somersaulted at the possibility of him having heard me.
“I have a point,” I shot back and crossed my arms over my chest. “I know you’re some kind of king around here, or a prince, something. What you say goes, am I right?”
His chair creaked faintly as he leaned back, casually; a noble on his provisional throne unaware of anything or anyone but his own prominence.
“You’re correct, although…” Konstantine’s smile grew into one proper. “I have never been what you would call a prince.”
The way he emphasized that word made me think we were no longer talking about royal titles. I continued, ignoring any and all possible hidden meanings.
“If I am somehow the cause of what took place last night, I’m sorry.
I really am. However, I’m not here for me.
Drake is a good person, and I know you and him are best friends.
He didn’t deserve that.” I squared my shoulders and looked directly into his eyes.
“I really think you should apologize to him.”
“Oh?” Konstantine asked. “And why would I do that, Arax?”
The demon was back to think for me, taking control of my mouth and what came out of it.
“Because I’m asking you to,” I said fiercely, stupidly, unapologetically, and with my chin held high.
My new demon spirit had given me balls of brass, and from the noise they had to have made on the expensive hardwood floor, they’d just dropped.
Had my boldness taken him by surprise, he gave no such indication. He tilted further back in his chair, taking his eyes off of me briefly before descending them upon me again. His expression hadn’t changed much, but his body language communicated that what I’d said was worth considering.
“I’ll think about it” was his tight-lipped response.
While I nodded in acknowledgment, the mood between us took on a new lightness.
I’d come here expecting the worst, but Konstantine had been unexpectedly receptive.
I uncrossed my arms and gave him a relieved smile.
“Thank you, Konstantine, and thank you for taking the time to talk to me. You don’t totally suck. ”
I groaned silently at my predilection toward lunacy and didn’t wait around to see his reaction. Deciding that my loose lips had given me my fill of humiliation for the day, I turned and bolted out of his office as fast as I could.