Chapter 16 Razik #2
“We already discussed this. You’ll need to use different arrows. That’s why there’s a quiver full of them attached to your saddle,” Cethin answered pointedly.
“Why would Cethin have one of your arrows?” Razik asked, homing in on that bit of information.
“He stole it,” Kailia answered simply.
“I did not steal it,” Cethin cut in.
“You knowingly took and currently possess something that does not belong to you without permission or payment. That is the definition of stealing,” she fired back.
“Perhaps you abandoned it after you shot it at me,” Cethin retorted. “Consequences, tiny fiend.”
“You stealing from me is certainly a consequence of saving your life.”
“I was under the impression you could create more of these arrows,” Razik cut in.
“She can,” Cethin answered.
“When I have all my arrows,” Kailia snapped. “Which I do not.”
“Wait, is that why you were picking up the arrowheads that day?” Razik continued, as new pieces of that day clicked into place.
“Yes. I have them all except for one,” she said, glaring at Cethin.
“For fuck’s sake, Sutara. Give her back the arrow,” Razik said, wondering why the fuck this was even a debate.
“I will in time,” Cethin gritted out. “She knows this, but beyond that, it’s none of your business, Greybane.”
“It will be when— Fuck!”
Razik ducked as an arrow flew directly above his head. A moment later, a bird fell from the air, landing on the path ahead of them with a soft thud onto the forest floor.
He turned to find Kailia still with her bow raised, gaze focused on her kill. “Are we keeping score on this hunt?” she asked, slowly lowering her bow. “If so, I am ahead.”
Cethin glanced at Razik, where he’d stopped his horse to dismount and collect the game. Rubbing at the nape of his neck, Cethin said, “The Cadre often makes the hunt into a friendly competition, but we don’t have to—”
“Then I am ahead,” Kailia cut in, her eyes seeming to brighten.
“A fan of competitions, Lia?” Razik drawled as he remounted his horse and tossed the dead bird over Wren to Kailia. She caught it, but not before blood splattered across her tunic.
Sliding her gaze to his, she held up the fallen animal. “You threw this at me.”
“Your perception is truly astounding,” Razik said dryly, urging his horse forward again. Those in front of them had kept going, while Draven and Ariadne had stopped behind them. “Perhaps next time, you can use that skill to not shoot a fucking arrow at my head.”
“I shot the arrow at the bird,” she said, lifting the animal higher in emphasis.
“And nearly took me out in the process.”
“It wasn’t even close to hitting you. I have better aim than that.”
He stared at her for a few extra silent seconds. “Lia, if I hadn’t ducked, my ear would have a new piercing along with my godsdamn skull.”
She had the audacity to roll her eyes. “You are as dramatic as your king, Raz.”
He felt his eyes shift to vertical slits at the insult, smoke wafting on his exhale.
“Okay, everyone take a moment,” Wren interjected, always trying to diffuse situations. “Kailia was just caught up in the excitement of the hunt—”
“Which I am winning,” Kailia interrupted.
“Not for long,” Razik muttered under his breath, straightening his tunic as he looked straight ahead.
No one spoke for quite some time after that.
“She’s different, isn’t she?” Jarek said when he and Fallon joined Razik where he was roasting a couple of the birds they’d harvested over the open fire.
“Who?” Razik grunted, still in a sour mood from the day’s festivities. Not the being shot at part, but the being compared to Cethin part. And the fact that Kailia still had the most kills today.
“You know who,” Jarek said, keeping his voice low.
Cethin and Kailia were across the small clearing where everyone had decided to set up camp for the night. The couple was tending another fire with a few rabbits roasting, while Ariadne, Bram, and Draven had a third one.
“What do you think of her?” Jarek pushed, taking the bottle of liquor Fallon passed to him. “I ran into her in the city with Wren the day after the Esbat Festival, and we all know she’s the one who stabbed Cethin that night and again the next day.”
Yeah, they did all know that. Those rumors had somehow made it outside the castle walls too. Cethin had made public statements about those stabbings being misunderstandings. If it’d only happened once, he might have been able to convince people easily enough, but twice?
“Not sure what you’re looking for from me,” Razik said, rotating the roasting spit a quarter turn.
Jarek rolled his eyes. “No need to play dumb, Greybane. There’s a reason you willingly left the Cadre to be her personal guard.”
Razik glanced at him sidelong. “You had your opportunity to willingly leave too, you know.”
“I never wanted the opportunity. Didn’t think you had either,” the male said, taking a pull from the liquor bottle and passing it back to Fallon. She had a heavy fur cloak wrapped around her shoulders, her braid loose from a day of traveling and hunting.
“Sometimes duty requires us to do things we’d rather not,” Razik finally said, stoking the fire.
Jarek scoffed. “If you gave a fuck about duty, you’d have left the Cadre long ago. Something lured you, and knowing you, it has something to do with history or a way around those duties.” He paused, and Razik could feel the male’s eyes on him. “Or you want something you shouldn’t.”
“Jarek,” Fallon chastised, bumping her knee against his.
“I’m just saying what everyone is thinking.”
Razik turned to him, his features devoid of emotion as he asked, “Who’s everyone?”
“The Cadre. The forces. The streets of the kingdom. You can’t tell me you haven’t heard the whisperings, Greybane.
We’re trained to know the rumors before they even start,” Jarek said, leaning forward to turn the spit again.
“And I know you don’t give a fuck what people think, but in this case, you probably should. ”
“I’m not trying to steal Cethin’s things if that’s what you’re suggesting,” Razik said flatly, reaching around Jarek to pluck the liquor from Fallon’s hand.
“As long as the king knows that…and the future queen,” Jarek added pointedly.
Razik huffed humorlessly. “I’m not the one she’s stabbed, Ophanim. Remember that.”
“Exactly. Which would make it appear you are the one she’s more beholden to.”
“Not if you knew her,” Razik muttered. He shifted on the log he was perched on, stretching his legs out. “Like you said, she’s different, and while I find her interesting, there is nothing else from either of us. I can assure you of that. I have no interest in any sort of bond ever.”
“Not even a twin flame someday?” Fallon cut in, her sky-blue eyes full of genuine curiosity.
Another humorless bark of laughter left him. “I’m denying the gods with every breath I take. They’re not going to gift me a twin flame, Fallon. Even if they did, I’d still deny it. I don’t want any fated bond or twist of destiny. The ones who are supposed to care never do.”
Jarek and Fallon both fell quiet after those words.
They knew enough of his past to know where the words came from, and more than that, they knew he would bury them in any attempt to try to rationalize away motives and actions.
You don’t abandon the ones you’re supposed to love.
He was better off simply not having those people in his life at all.
Fallon tipped her head against Jarek’s shoulder, the dancing flames reflecting in her eyes while Jarek’s hand held her thigh.
The male’s thumb stroked lazily as he took another swig of liquor.
If Razik wanted to be a real ass, he’d bring up their sham of a relationship.
If Kailia wanted a definition of fucking versus lovers, they were the prime example, but he didn’t bring it up.
He made it a point not to stick his nose in other people’s godsdamn business, whereas Fallon made it a point to be a busybody.
Wren appeared then, holding a cloth full of nuts and dried fruit. Razik swiped a few up as he slid down to make room for her. Her dark hair was loose, strands peeking out of the hood she had pulled up.
“Where have you been?” he asked, pressing a hand to the small of her back so his dragon fire could warm her.
She gave him a grateful smile. “Seeking out berries for breakfast in the morning,” she answered.
“You were in the trees by yourself?” he asked, glancing down disapprovingly.
Her gaze darted to the side. “No, I wasn’t alone.”
“Who— You didn’t,” he snarled.
“And that’s our cue to take a walk,” Fallon said, getting to her feet.
“Wait, why? I want to watch this,” Jarek protested, but Fallon leaned down and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet and leading him to another fire.
The fire where Bram was now standing, a satisfied smirk on his smug fucking face.
Razik turned back to Wren, and she shrank back a little. “Don’t look at me like that,” she said, sounding more confident than she looked. “He simply accompanied me. Would you rather I had gone off alone?”
“I would rather you asked me to accompany you. What happened to wanting to be off limits to the Cadre, Wren? This was something we agreed on from the start,” he said, trying to keep his voice low.
“It’s nothing like that,” she argued.
“The fuck it’s not. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You being unattainable has made it a game to him. You’re not a fucking game, Wren.”
“I know that, Razik,” she tried. “But he didn’t try anything. He walked with me in the woods, looking for berries. That’s all.”
He scoffed, a sneer curling on his lip. “I know you’re not this stupid. He’s not going to just come right out and ask to fuck. He’s laying the groundwork. By the gods, Wren.”
She straightened, her cheeks flushing with anger as she leaned away from his touch. “We also agreed this bond was an equal partnership. That you didn’t have any claim over me when I agreed to be your Source. There was a respect there that apparently isn’t anymore.”