Page 46 of The Elven Spymaster's Thief

“They think they are being given an exclusive assignment.”

Illeron nodded.

Casimir glared at his brother and bowed to me before stepping into a shadow and disappearing.

“He seemed disgruntled,” I commented.

“Casimir?” Illeron distractedly glanced at me as he strode off toward the end of the gymnasium. “He is always like that.”

“No, he seemed more so than usual.”

“Probably because I woke him from sleep when I summoned him.”

I groaned. “Please don’t antagonize your brother on my account. He already doesn’t like me.”

Illeron paused with two mock daggers in one hand and a scarf in the other. “What do you mean? Casimir likes you.” Genuine surprise written across his face undermined my first impression that he was joking.

“Truly?”

“Avril, he requested to be added to the summons on the spell.”

“Insisted on it actually,” I admitted. “Still, he?” How to say it without being offensive.

“He has always struggled with showing affection.” Illeron approached and offered me a mock dagger. “Trust me, he likes you. If not, he would have never agreed to be added to the summons.”

“I figured he was insisting for your sake since you are attached to me.”

Illeron’s eyes flared silver in mossy green darkness. “I would say I am a bit more than attached.”

Avoiding that intensity, I focused back on the previous issue. “When we first made our agreement, your brother was clearly angry about it. What has changed?”

Illeron sighed. “Our father took a companion after our mother died. It filled at least some of the void left by her death.”

“He married her?” I had never heard of an elf marrying a human.

“It wasn’t a true elven marriage. Just a human one.”

“There is a difference?”

“One is a melding of life forces, and the other only an exchange of vows.” He studied my features with an expression close to longing before abruptly shifting his attention to his weapons. He tossed the dagger into the air and caught it. “Regardless, Casimir struggled with our father’s distance after our mother’s death. Taking a companion didn’t fill the void for our father. And when the woman died, all three of us fell into grieving yet again.”

He eyed me from beneath lowered brows. “When we made our agreement, Casimir saw it as the first step toward pain and loss. Hence the annoyance at my foolishness for lowering my defenses. But risk is a price one must pay to live.”

“Basically, he was just acting like a protective big brother.”

“Little brother,” he corrected with a smirk. “I am the elder.”

I laughed and turned my focus to examining the rubber weapon he had handed me. “What is this for?”

“Practice.” He retreated a few steps. “I am going to attack you, and you are going to fend me off.”

“I don’t think—”

He lunged at me so fast that I barely got my knife up to stop him. Looming over me with a menacing glint in his eye, he smiled. “Don’t think. React.”

∞∞∞

Chapter Thirteen

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