Page 76 of A Crown of Lies

When his honored guests entered the hall, they all paused, taking in the new setup with wary eyes. Greymark was an old place, its people stubborn and unaccustomed to change. Even something so simple as moving the table gave them pause. No one complained to him about it.

Ewan and Martha took up the second table, while Rowan, Ieduin, and Rixxis took up the first. They weren’t so far away from each other that they’d have to shout to be heard, but it created a small barrier of privacy.

The first course came out, a salad of greens with apples, pears, and nuts alongside freshly baked bread and a seasoned butter.

“What’s the occasion?” Martha asked, taking up her wine. “I assume the special arrangements mean we are celebrating something? Or are you just having a bit of fun at our expense, Rowan?”

The wine bearer came over to Rowan’s table, but he waved them off, much to Ieduin’s disappointment.

“Seriously?” Ieduin grumbled.

Rowan gave him a pointed look. “Seriously.”

Ieduin rolled his eyes, picked up his glass of water and chugged the whole thing.

Rowan turned to Martha and smiled pleasantly. “I can’t just rearrange the dining area at my pleasure for no reason?”

“Anyone else could,” she replied. “But you? I know you well enough to know you do nothing without a reason, even if it takes ages to play out.” She leaned forward to address Rixxis. “I was his teacher when he was a young lad. Don’t let the good looks and fine manners fool you. He’s a menace.”

“A polite menace,” Rowan agreed, lifting his cup of water in a small toast. “Don’t trouble yourself, Martha. No pranks today.”

“Thank goodness for that,” she said, continuing to address Rixxis. “He liked to put frogs in my pockets, you know, or earthworms. The little fox was so slippery, I never caught him red-handed.”

“They were toads, Martha. Toads.” Ewan shoveled a forkful of salad into his mouth.

Martha was quiet for a moment before she again addressed Rixxis. “How is your father, my dear? I heard he’d taken ill?”

“He’s in good spirits, ma’am. Thank you,” Rixxis said. “I just spoke to him. It’s just a fever from being out in the cold. He’ll be fine with a little rest.”

“Well, let him know we’re all praying for his speedy recovery,” Rowan said.

“I will. Thank you.”

Ieduinstabbedathissalad, spearing an apple and a pecan. It wasn’t a bad salad. Actually, it was pretty good as far as salads went, but it was still asalad. It would’ve gone down a lot easier with some wine, or some of that spiced cider they were fond of in Greymark, but Rowan had forbidden it. For someone who liked to brag about all his vices, Rowan could be painfully strait-laced on some things.

It wasn’t like Ieduin planned on getting drunk before their session. Drinking and drunk were not the same thing. Moderation was a thing, too. Why was he being so damn strict? Probably a preview of how the rest of the night was about to go.

“How is the training going?” Rowan asked, looking at Rixxis. “Will everyone be ready to march in two days?”

Ieduin opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when he felt Rowan’s hand on his knee under the table. He frowned and glanced down, his heart racing at the touch. Dammit, how was he supposed to eat or do anything with Rowan’s hands on him?

“If you want everyone to march in time, then I expect not,” Rixxis replied. “But Greymark has some capable fighters, and they’ll follow orders. The joint exercises with the Crows have been a success. If the tactics hold, we stand a chance at the Wytchwood. We’ll have to go over battle plans and coordinate more.”

Rixxis kept talking, but Ieduin couldn’t hear her over the sound of his own pulse in his ears. He was too distracted by the way Rowan’s fingers traced up the inside of his thigh with soft strokes. He wondered what it would feel like to have Rowan’s tongue and teeth there. Gods below, what if Rowan bit him? Not hard, just enough to leave little claiming marks all up and down the insides of his legs…

Fuck, why am I thinking about that? Am I so easily manipulated? I’m practically a puppet, dancing on command.

He couldn’t stop it, couldn’t stop imagining all the different ways Rowan might punish him for what he’d done, and it was making him hard.

Rowan’s hand suddenly closed on his half hard cock through his pants and squeezed. Ieduin jumped hard enough his elbow hit the table, and the silverware clattered.

Rixxis leaned forward, frowning. “Are you all right?”

“Fine,” he said through clenched teeth. “You were saying?” He glared at Rowan, who only grinned in response.

“I was saying we’ll need a more detailed map of the Wytchwood if there is one,” Rixxis continued as the servants collected their dishes to clear space for the next course.

Ieduin had barely half-finished his salad and only taken one bite of the bread. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to eat anything if Rowan kept up what he was doing. He’d gone from squeezing to stroking him to full attention. Yet the bastard was carrying on his conversation with Rixxis as if nothing was happening.

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