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I shook my head. “No. It’s more than that.” I realized I was leaning closer to her, her face only inches from mine. Her surprise had dissolved into curiosity, and her fingers shifted in my hand, reminding me I was still clutching them tightly. I caught myself, clearing my throat and straightening a little. “Come on now, we’re going to get you ready. Not that you need much help.” I rose to my feet and pulled her up with me.

She bumped into me a little as we stood, and her blue eyes fixed on me for a moment. She lifted her hand, as though to touch me, and I readied myself for that lightning, that sweet sharp sensation of her hand on my chest.

But instead she balled that hand into a fist, and let it drop. She averted her eyes, and nodded.

“Alright then, Rook. Let’s train.”

It wasn’t much. But it was something.

* * *

Theron regarded me with a grin as he stripped off his armor, dismissing his sparring partner with a wave of his hand. He stretched his wings wide at the same time as his arms, and gestured for me to leave my place at the edge of the training room.

“Well, my friend, how are things?” He asked, running a hand through his sweat-soaked hair.

I nodded, my hands in my pockets. “Good. She’s doing extremely well.”

Theron quirked an eyebrow. “I find it incredible how you assume I meant her.”

“I simply thought you wanted an update on her training.” I rolled my shoulders, clasping my hands behind my back.

Theron sighed. “Go on then.”

“She’s doing exceedingly well. I can’t say I’m not surprised. I never expected her to be so…”

“So?” Theron repeated when I did not continue. “So, what? So unlike all the other Fae you have ever known?”

I cleared my throat. “I suppose so, yes.”

He threw back his head and laughed, clapping me on the shoulder and jovially shoving me towards a table where servants were pouring out water and wine. “You seem rather taken with her.”

“She’s a Fae, Sire. I have no interest in her beyond training her.” The lie made my tongue feel as heavy as lead.

Theron took a huge gulp of water, pouring the rest of the contents of the cup over his head, shaking the droplets out of his hair with a heavy exhale. “Mmm, yes you said that you don’t find the Fae attractive.” He ran a hand over his face. “Butsheis rather extraordinary, don’t you think?”

“Her skill and bravery are to be admired.” I grabbed a goblet of wine, and Gods, I was drinking too much, but my nerves were on edge under Theron’s gaze.

Theron guffawed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Would you stop being so fucking stoic and be a male for once? Come on, even you aren’t immune to her charms if you’ve been having dreams about her.” He leaned in, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “What do you think she’d be like in bed?”

I had to swallow down the wordsDon't you fucking talk about her like thatswiftly with another gulp of wine. I shrugged casually. “She’s probably the kind to just lie there and not do a great deal.”

Theron laughed loudly. “Do you really think so? A warrior like her?”

I clenched my teeth together as heat flooded my face. In my dreams she certainly didn’t just lie there and take it. In my dreams she was fucking extraordinary. Theron was regarding me with a lifted eyebrow, and I cleared my throat quickly.

“The battlefield and the bedroom are hardly one and the same.”

“No, I suppose not.” Theron rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “But a female like that, I have no doubt that with some proper training she’d be, well, she’d be a lot of fun.”

I suppressed a growl. “Training?”

“I wonder if she’s pure.” Theron snapped his fingers, and a servant hurriedly placed a goblet in his waiting hand. “What a prizethatwould be.”

I was becoming increasingly incensed, and shifted on my feet. “Indeed.”

Theron’s eyes fell on me again, and his lips turned up into a grin. “You, my friend, are tense. You need some relief.”

“I don’t know what you-“