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I didn’t think humans could, but from the very beginning, something had come between him and that vendetta he carried. At least, when it came to me.

I laid a hand on his cheek. “I like you too.”

He held my gaze for another second, his nostrils flaring with each deep breath he took.

I could tell he was still uncomfortable, so very deliberately I turned my attention from him to the food. “So what happens next?”

And then we moved on with dinner.

“What’s the primuslike?” Asher asked.

We sat outside on the back patio, our food long since finished. The pasta might’ve been good; I didn’t taste much of it sitting across from Asher, every fiber of my awareness focused on him and the space between us. The sun was setting, turning the hunter’s hair into a corona of fire. The dying light of the day also burned in his eyes. He was almost painful to look at.

Beautiful, cold man.

“The primus is a... complicated man.”

Asher gave a little huff at that.

“To be honest, he’s one of the only Infernari I don’t know,” I admitted. “He and I have chatted plenty about our affinity, the war—little things. He shares what he wants to, but there is a lot of him that no one will ever know.”

“Can’t you feel him through your affinity?” Asher asked, leaning forward a little bit.

“I can and I can’t.” I had to pick my words precisely. “When I reach down my connection, the primus feels like—like life itself. He feels inherently good. But he can sense my presence down the line—as I can his—and he’s made me swear an oath not to peer into him through our connection. It’s been a long time since I studied his essence, but I feel it there, along with every other Infernari’s.”

Asher’s eyes narrowed. “He made you swear an oath?”

I lifted a shoulder. “He wanted his privacy. How can I not be okay with that?”

“But he didn’t swear an oath to do the same when it came to you, did he?” Asher’s voice dripped with so much disdain.

I bristled. “He is theprimus. The king. I don’t get to make demands of him.”

He leaned back in his seat, somewhat appeased by that. “And he loves you?”

“Not in any romantic sense.” It seemed important to clarify this to the human, even though an Infernarus would understand the distinction immediately. “He used to have a mate and a child, but they died a long time ago from what I understand.”

Asher frowned.

“His birth family was long gone by the time I was dumped in front of his throne. I think he got lonely, and healers like us... There is the urge to heal and nurture. He wanted to find the last of his close kin, those that share his affinity. He’d looked for me a long time, from what I hear.”

It was my turn to frown as those resurfaced memories flashed through my mind. Of burning tents and burning flesh, of my parents dying.

“I thought for healers like you, all Infernari are close kin.”

Asher had me there. I shrugged again. “Like I said, the primus is complicated.”

Across from me, the hunter leaned his forearms on the table. “So what’s it like being related to the primus?”

All those scared looks from the servants and foot soldiers. All the posturing from the primus’s inner circle. All those long, lonely days spent wandering through the ruins of the old city. Coming topside, as uncomfortable as that process was, was far more enjoyable than the sad monotony of my existence in the capitol.

I looked at my nails. “It’s fine. What’s with all the questions?”

Humans could weaponize questions the way Infernari did magic. Wasn’t that one of the first rules I learned?

Your mate would never harm you,my mind whispered.

“This is what humans do when they want to get to know someone better,” Asher said. “They ask them questions.”