Page 90 of Knightfall
He laughed. “I’m heartbroken you don’t remember. It was before the last Fire War. So you might have been six.”
“If I was, then you would have been utterly disgusting, sorry. Boy germs and all that.”
“All that indeed.”
I gestured right and we went down a path lined with evergreens that smelled of juniper and pine.
We walked in silence a moment, appreciating the peaceful crunch of gravel underfoot. The chatter from the rest of the nobles faded to bird-like twitters.
A bluebird alighted on a nearby branch, quite close to Abbas. He stopped, stared at it, then waved his hand to shoo it away.
“Don’t like birds, Prince Abbas?” I laughed as the bird flew skyward but then dived back down toward Abbas’ face, clearly dive-bombing him in retribution. Abbas’ long hair was nearly his downfall as the bird got a piece and yanked. “Ah! They don’t like you. I’ll have to tell Quinn. My knight’s under the impression that woodland creatures and nobility are fond of each other.”
“Little asswipe,” Abbas muttered under his breath.
“Oh, don’t let a silly bird ruin our enchanted outing.”
“Enchanted?” he grinned. “I knew you were taken with me, but enchanted is a strong word.”
“Particularly for you,” I winked.
His smile dropped a little. “May I ask where you heard such awful rumors about me?”
I almost felt bad. But the persona I adopted was intended to push him. To find that secret moment when I pushed too far and the courtier faded and truth remained. Nice wasn’t an option. Not when I was hunting those who might hurt Avia. Or Evaness.
I waved my hand back and forth casually in response to Abbas’ question. “Oh, you know how servants talk. Your youngest brother is supposedly the most impressive. But sadly, he couldn’t come to visit.”
“You certainly know how to cut a man’s ego.”
“Is yours large enough to cut?” I pushed harder.
Behind us, Declan’s blush was hilarious. The innuendo was too much for my sweet knight.
Abbas grabbed my hand and tucked it gently back into his. He clearly had no issues with innuendo. “I’ll let you strokemy egoanytime you want, Princess.”
“I’d have to use my pinkie then.”
His dark eyes glittered as he leaned down toward my ear and whispered, “I love it when you take out your little claws. One day, I’m going jam you so hard that I wipe that smug look right off your face. You’ll be screaming my name.”
“What a lovely double entendre,” I pulled away and turned to Declan. “Can I take that as a direct threat against my person and have him locked up?”
Abbas didn’t look worried in the least. He still held my hand, still had that smug grin slicing across his chiseled jaw. Perhaps he was only playing. Perhaps he wasn’t truly a threat. But those who didn’t have magic had to find their strength in other arenas. Was Abbas a good liar? A skilled manipulator? I didn’t know.
I looked back at Declan, since he didn’t answer right away. “Should we detour to the dungeon? Or not?”
Declan glared at me for making him this uncomfortable in front of a stranger. “Most people would only hear the sexual implications,wife. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s quite enough,” Declan said.
“Damn. I’ll have to goad you into real threats.”
Abbas grinned. “I look forward to it. I thought you were giving me a tour of the grounds.”
“I am.”
“You haven’t pointed out a single plant.”
I put my hand to my mouth in mock horror. “Oh dear. I’m sorry. To your left are trees. And some bushes. And beneath all of those is a marvelous little plant called grass.”
“You’re an illuminating tour guide.”
