Page 125 of The Incendiary
“Where are the others?”
“Gone.” He gave a cordial nod of acknowledgment to someone passing behind me. “I decided to send them away the morning after our get-together on a more important mission. I think I know where Finch went, but I don’t want anyone but you and Valda knowing about this until I’m sure.”
“What’s more important than finding who killed our own messenger?”
The hatred in his eyes made my stomach drop. “Finding the Butcher of Nyrida, Fera,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “Nothing is more important than that.”
My skin pricked in warning. Even if they found Gavin, they couldn’t kill him. He was too skilled, too powerful. And yet, Elias’s obsession with revenge nagged at my instinct in a way I couldn’t explain.
I wanted to ask him why, if taking down the Butcher was so important, he wasn’t doing it himself, but provoking him on this didn’t feel like a smart move. I must have been wearing the question on my face, though.
“I don’t know how long Gerard and the others will be gone. I’d love to kill the Butcher myself, but more than anything, I want the job done.” His fingers flexed over my spine again. “Like I said, I’ve had some questions about their loyalty. Something Gerard said to me made me unsure I want them inside the fortress walls right now. But if they can kill the Butcher, my doubts about them may be assuaged.” Elias hesitated. “Still, if you see them again, you should refrain from taunting them like you did during the other night,” he muttered, eyes bouncing between my eyes and mouth.
“Taunting them?” My empathy and concern dulled quickly. “Defending myself is taunting them?”
He frowned. “No, of course not. I don’t think so, but that’s how they see it.”
“What I’m hearing is that your soldiers have egos bigger than their brains, and I’m not allowed to bruise them.”
“When they’re being particularly stupid, yes. The men in my ranks don’t enjoy being tested.”
I glanced at where some of them stood, faces blighted by scowls at the sight of the Brinnean rogue dancing with their commander.
“Men with small cocks usually don’t,” I sighed. “If they’re so bothered, they’re welcome to settle it on the mat.”
“Believe me when I say you don’t want to settle anything on the mat with Alec Gerard.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “You think I can’t take him?”
Elias released an exasperated sigh. “You’re impossible.”
“Believe me when I say I am not interested in Gerard or any of his friends.” I was more than ready for this dance to be over.
“Who are you interested in?”
His question caught me off guard, but I recovered quickly. “I’m interested in no one.”
No one here.
“I don’t believe you,” he answered. “There’s someone.”
“I don’t give a shit what you believe!” The urge to hide the truth overcame me. I felt guilty for my outburst, but he was out of line. As his queen, it would be reasonable for me to be concerned. As Fera, it was none of his business.
But Elias studied me with a strange resolve I hadn’t seen in him before. “You know, that mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble.”
I laughed ruefully. “I don’t need my mouth to get into trouble.”
His burning eyes locked on my parted lips, hungry in a way I didn’t like. It felt like betrayal to stand here, in his arms, and let him look at me like he wanted to devour me, so I was relieved when the dance concluded. Instead of releasing my hand, Elias jerked me closer. “I’m giving you a warning, because regardless of my best interests, I find myself giving a shit about you. When you’re with me, I don’t care what you say, but when we return, keep your head down.” Unwanted heat simmered between our bodies. “Get too close to the flames, and you’ll burn yourself.”
Like the follower in every pair, I lowered myself into an unhurried curtsy and peered up at him through my eyelashes. When it was time to back away, I paused, holding his stare and standing tall.
“You’d be surprised how well I play with fire, Commander.”
I left him in the middle of the ballroom floor, wholly aware of his eyes on the bare skin of my shoulders as I walked away.
THIRTY-FOUR
GAVIN SMYTH
