Chapter 38
Razik
The smell of ale and too many bodies assaulted him as soon as he pulled open the door to the tavern by the docks.
While he’d brought Kailia here when he had items to procure, she didn’t know this was the main tavern the Cadre frequented.
They were always watched and scrutinized.
But here, in a tavern off the beaten path by the docks, it was easier to go about unnoticed, which made it easier to actually unwind.
They had to be mindful of their surroundings, but when everyone in the room was trying to be overlooked, it helped.
It was also the best place to hear rumors and gossip first. More than once they’d discovered leads simply by listening to the chatter in taverns like this one.
Of course, when he brought Lia here, it was at the beginning of the day, not the end of the day, when even Avonleyans were finding their way to their beds.
It had been a long day with Kailia suddenly queen in ever regard.
He hadn’t had a chance to talk to his uncle about putting him in the middle of things by making him cast a vote.
A head’s up on the matter would have been nice from either his uncle or Cethin.
Instead, he’d been as blindsided as Kailia had been.
If they’d been discussing the matter for two godsdamn days, either of the males could have told him.
Mostly, though, he was upset with his uncle.
What was he supposed to do? Bring up his concerns in front of everyone at the table?
Not that he had concerns. Maybe not concerns big enough to stop what had happened today, but his uncle hadn’t thought it might be a good idea to ask him before putting him on the spot in front of the king and all his advisors?
Whatever.
It was done now. There was nothing he could do to change it.
The rest of the day had been spent with Kailia as usual, which meant he’d had to sit through the remainder of the advisory meeting and then spend time in Cethin’s presence.
He could tell the king was trying to ease her into her new responsibilities, and Razik was more than a little ready to be done with the day when they retired early for the night.
Except now he had this fucking meet up with Bram.
A quick scan of the room found the male wasn’t here yet, so Razik ordered a mug of ale and found a table in the back. The ale was nearly gone when Bram finally showed up.
“Sorry about that. The streets are busy tonight,” the male said, signaling a server for two more mugs.
Razik didn’t reply. Small and mundane talk was not something he ever partook in.
“Right. Guess, I’ll get to the point,” Bram muttered after the ales were delivered. He slid one across the table to Razik. “I bought a small estate.”
Razik gripped the handle of his mug. “If you had me meet you here to celebrate that, we’re going to have a problem.”
“I didn’t ask you to meet me here to celebrate that, you dick,” Bram retorted, taking a drink. “I’m telling you that because I need you to know I no longer reside in the Cadre barracks when I tell you I’m going to ask Wren to live at my place with me.”
Even knowing the conversation was going to be about Wren, the dragon in his soul still lifted its head with a snarl. Or the snarl was his because Bram leaned away, watching him with a dubious look.
“Males usually retire from the Cadre when they’re ready for a family,” Razik said tightly.
“I’m not looking to retire. I worked too hard to earn my spot on the Cadre to retire from it a handful of years later,” Bram replied.
“Then you don’t need to be sniffing around Wren.”
The look morphed into a glare, his light green eyes seeming to darken.
He leaned forward, the sleeves of his tunic pulling up to reveal pieces of the ink that ran along his arms as he pointed a finger at Razik.
“Fuck you, Greybane. I’ve been nothing but respectful to Wren, and I sure as fuck have been around more than you lately. ”
“You were stationed beyond the Nightmist Mountains a few weeks ago,” Razik retorted.
“And you were in Everfall for a few days, leaving her behind.”
“I still fail to see your point in asking me here,” Razik gritted out.
“I already told you: I’m going to ask Wren to live with me,” Bram said, eyeing him as though he was looking for a hidden catch.
“What does that have to do with me?”
The male sat back in his chair, clearly exasperated.
“Fuck, Greybane. What doesn’t it have to do with you?
She’s your Source. She stays with you often enough, and you’re more than a little protective of her.
For a while there, if I even looked at her, I had to worry about your godsdamn dragon fire. ”
“She’s a grown-ass female. She can do what she wants,” Razik said, bringing his mug to his mouth and taking a long drink.
“But she’ll do what you want,” Bram shot back.
“And?”
“And I’m hoping when she comes to you about it, after I ask her, you’ll put her before your own judgments and interests,” the male said, far too pointedly.
“She has rooms at the castle,” Razik said tightly after a few moments.
“I know,” Bram said. “But I want more for her and us. This isn’t a fling or casual fucking.”
“You’ve only really been interacting with her for a few months.”
“I’ve been watching her for far longer.”
Razik eyed him, asking the question that could potentially decide the whole matter for them. “Do you think she’s your twin flame?”
“As much as I wish that were true, no,” Bram answered.
At least he was honest. Razik wouldn’t have believed him if he’d said yes.
The pull of a twin flame bond was said to be strong, especially for males in the beginning.
If it had been that, he would have expected Bram to become more agitated and irritable, not to mention territorial, long before this conversation.
“And if one comes along one day, you’ll just drop her?” Razik pushed.
“The odds of ever meeting my twin flame are considerable,” Bram argued. “Especially with the Wards and the Fae population dwindling here.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“By the Fates,” Bram growled, running a hand over his short black hair.
“Won’t I be in the same predicament if she finds a twin flame?
No. Wait. That’s not the point.” The male leaned forward again, his agitation growing.
“We live for centuries. No one bases their life around what ifs. So many things can change over the decades.”
Razik knew that. Knew he was asking something ridiculous of the male, but he’d also made a promise to protect Wren. She’d already been abandoned, and he’d found the best way to keep that from happening again was to avoid situations like this.
“What’s she supposed to do when you’re gone on missions?” Razik asked.
“She’s one of the few people who understands what this life entails.
She’d know what she’s getting into from the start because she’s already been living this life with you.
I see her more than I would otherwise because of who she is to you.
To be honest, I tried to get her out of my system, but she’s always around, and…
” He pushed out a long breath before taking another drink of ale.
“I don’t want her out of my system anymore, Greybane. I want her.”
Godsdammit.
What was he supposed to say to that?
“I see her as much as you do, if not more, these days,” Bram repeated, as if he felt he needed to keep defending himself or make a case.
“I already said she’s a grown-ass female,” Razik said flatly. “She can make her own decisions, and I won’t stand in her way. We always knew something like this could happen, and we have a standing agreement.”
Bram’s eyes narrowed, as though he was looking for a catch. “So…if she says yes and we start something, you’ll stop being a godsdamn prick?”
“No,” Razik shrugged, his chair scraping on the stone floor as he stood.
Bram sighed, but he said nothing else as Razik made his way across the crowded tavern and out into the night. He was a prick to everyone; he certainly wasn’t going to change because of this.
“Different clothes,” Razik said when he pushed through the doors to the king’s floor and found Kailia in her usual dress, sitting on a sofa.
She looked down at her attire. The black dress with slits on either side, bare arms, dagger at her thigh, and bare feet. Bringing her gaze back to his, she asked, “What’s wrong with what I am wearing?”
“We’re going to the training arenas,” Razik said brusquely, not in the mood to explain himself or his reasoning today. Of course, he was going to have to because Kailia was who she was.
But to his surprise, she perked up, getting to her feet. “The training arenas? To train?”
“What else would one do there?” he asked dryly.
Taking a minute to think about that, she said, “I’m not sure. I’ve never been to them here. Sometimes the training areas I’ve been in were used for demonstrations or punishments.”
He should talk to her about that. Try to get information about where she trained and who trained her and how long she’d been training, but he was too on edge. He’d already sent a message asking Jarek and Fallon to meet him at the arenas because he really needed to get out some aggression.
So instead of doing any of that, he simply said, “Go change.”
“I train in this,” she answered with a shrug.
She trained in a dress?
Nevermind. He wasn’t about to stand here and argue with her. If she wanted to train in a godsdamn dress, then so be it.
Extending his hand, she took it without a flinch or wince. It hadn’t escaped him how comfortable she’d become around him these last months. He should feel some sort of way about that. A sense of accomplishment. She trusted him, at least to some extent, and that had always been his goal.