23
Alarie
“Looking good, Mand,” Cass greeted me as I appeared out of nowhere, surrounded by inky black shadows. We were in the main bar at House Rein, Rhett’s bar, because I’d asked Cass to meet me here.
I felt Cass’s brown and gold eyes rake over my body. He ignored the fact that the Prince’s arm was wrapped around my waist and allowed his appreciation of the dark green, tight leggings and longline bra I wore to show on his roguish face. He effortlessly pulled me away from the Prince and into the alcove of his heavy, muscled arms.
“Tomorrow, princess,” the Prince said, reminding me of my lesson with him the next day. The Prince gave Cass a nod of his head and then he stepped into a cloud of darkness, disappearing.
When the Prince was gone, Cass asked, “Why does he always have his hands all over you when you travel with him?” It was the closest Cass had ever come to criticizing his Commander.
I pursed my lips, considering his question.
“I—I don’t know. I guess I thought he had to touch me in order for me to travel with him,” I said.
I hadn’t really questioned the necessity of Nik touching me. Since the very first time he had traveled with me, it had been that way. I thought that sometimes he was a little more free with his touches than was necessary, but that was just to annoy me, or Cass, or Luke.
“The fuck he does. Do you think he was wrapping his arm around my waist when he traveled with me?” Cass asked, incredulously.
That. Prick.
Cass grinned at the anger that flashed across my face.
“Come here,” he said, pulling me into his hulking frame. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re cute when you are angry?”
He leaned down and kissed me, pressing his lips against mine at the same time he pressed me to the front of his unyielding body. I was eager to see where he was going with this, but we had to address the elephant in the room first. Begrudgingly, I pulled back from Cass’s embrace.
“Cass, about earlier,” I began.
“Mand, you don’t have to explain yourself to me,” he said, and I knew he meant it. “I won’t lie. I was surprised to find out about Jay. Luke, I would have believed. But I didn’t see Jay coming,” he said.
I grimaced at his comment about Luke.
“Cass, remember when you showed up at my door in the middle of the night and you kissed me for the first time?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Cass replied dreamily. He smiled like he was reliving one of his fondest memories. “That was one of my better ideas,” he said, clearly pleased with himself.
“And you asked if Luke was my boyfriend, and I told you he wasn’t?” I continued.
“Yeah…” he said, his smile faltering. But he stared at me, patiently waiting for me to explain before he reacted. Cool, calm under pressure, just like a good soldier.
“Well, he was, and he wasn’t, Cass. I was dating Jay at the time, but to keep that quiet, Luke and I… We didn’t try to stop the rumors that were going around Court about us,” I explained.
“I’ve heard some of that about you and Luke. So, it isn’t true then? You guys never dated?” he asked.
I was at the crossroads I knew I would one day find myself at. I could tell Cass about my history with Luke leading right up to my time with Cass. But I hadn’t been with Luke since I’d been with Cass. And Luke was with Karina now, at least until his three-month promise to his parents ran out. I’d thought about it, and I just didn’t think Cass would be okay with Luke and I staying such close friends if he knew about the true and recent nature of our relationship. Cass wasn’t like Jay. He wasn’t likely to burn up with jealousy. But he wasn’t like Luke, either—he didn’t want to share. I refused to be forced to choose between my boyfriend and my best friend.
“Yeah. Just Jay,” I lied. I rolled my tongue along the front of my teeth like I could remove the filthy film the lie left in my mouth.
“Hey,” Cass said, taking my chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilting it up to his face. “None of that matters now,” he said, misunderstanding the cause of the dissatisfaction I wore on my face. His words only made me feel worse.
He leaned down and softly kissed my lips, and I returned his kiss with vigor in an effort to show him what my words failed to convey.
“Can’t a man have a drink in peace these days?” Luke joked, bursting into the bar.
Rhett and James followed him in, hand in hand. Cass and I broke apart, but he kept my hand.
“Hey, Al,” Luke smiled. “Cass.” Luke nodded in acknowledgment.
“Hey, guys. Do you want to go into town for a drink with us?” Rhett asked. “Karina should be here in just a minute.”
I looked questioningly over at Cass.
“We can’t,” Cass answered for the both of us. “I have to head back to the wall tomorrow morning, and this one”—he gestured at me—“has to help me pack.”
The proud smile on his handsome face told everyone that he had activities much more fun than just packing in mind for his last night at Court.
“You really have to go back so soon?” I asked, disappointed.
“I really do,” Cass answered. “Drake is going to stay here at the High Court for a little while, so I am going to be bouncing between the wall and the Golden Court for a while,” he explained.
That made sense. High Lord Dumont was not likely to leave his hard-earned seat on the High Counsel empty any time soon.
I turned to Luke. “Do you have to go too?” I asked, trying my best to mask the concern in my voice.
“No.” Luke gave me a small smile.
“Why did you have to go at all?” I asked.
“Because we thought it might be something big; but the bastard is still just testing us,” Cass said through gritted teeth. I knew he was referring to King Vandros. “He threw a bunch of people with magical abilities our way and waited to see how we would respond and who we would respond with, and when he got his answer, he drew back.”
“But don’t feel like you need a special threat to call me in, Cass. We made a pretty damn good team out there,” Luke commented.
My gut twisted into knots. I didn’t like the idea of Cass going back out there to fight, but both of them would be unbearable. As if knowing the worry that tore through me, Cass gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.
“You just keep an eye out for my girl here at Court until then, okay?” Cass responded.
“I’ll always do that,” Luke said fiercely.
The collegial interaction between Cass and Luke so soon on the heels of my lie made me want to crawl out of my own skin and hide.
“Who says I’m the one who needs looking after?” I asked. “The Prince seems to think I may pack a powerful magical punch of my own someday.”
I didn’t believe it, but I was desperate for a change of subject.
Luke and Cass both shared a look that clearly said they thought they were going to continue doing the protecting.
“Okay, fighter,” Cass said, pulling me into his body. “But come help me pack before you save us all,” he joked.
Cass wrapped me in his muscled arms, then his wings appeared with a loud whooshing noise so quickly it was like they had been there all along and simply were unfurled.
“Let’s take the long way home,” he purred in my ear, causing a shiver to start at the nape of my neck and work its way down my body.
“Have fun in town,” I barely had time to say to Rhett, James, and Luke before Cass shot us into the air. His wings gracefully pushed us higher and higher.
I looked down before we got very far into the night sky. Luke was hugging Karina, who must have walked in the moment after we had taken flight. Luke’s arms were wrapped loosely around Karina, but he was looking over her shoulder, and his eyes were locked on me.
I had been on the receiving end of a thousand smiles from Luke, and each and every single one of them had taken my breath away. But the tight-lipped smile he gave me as I drifted farther and farther away from him stole the air in my lungs for an entirely different reason. The light usually surrounding my best friend appeared to dim, casting a somber shadow over his beautiful face.
It felt like someone was squeezing my heart in their fist and was testing to see how much pressure it could take before it simply imploded. Luke turned his back to me, breaking our eye contact, and appeared to offer Karina his seat. Soon, Luke was just a small speck in the distance, and I wondered if he thought the same thing about me as I disappeared into the stars in Cass’s arms.