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“I’m not leaving you.” His eyes remained locked on mine.

“It’s right downstairs.” I gestured toward the stairs.

“I’ve been worried about you for days, Diora. I can finally see you and hear you again; I’m not walking away now.”

I sighed. “Lav can do my hair in the bedroom, you can shower in here. Come on, possessive bastard.” I held the door open.

He didn’t budge. “I’m fine, Love. Go get your hair done.”

Another sigh nearly escaped me, but I held it back.

Namir had withheld information from me, things that he should’ve told me.

But his intentions hadn’t been bad.

Not even a little.

And as much as I wished it didn’t, that mattered to me.

“Do you still want to talk?” I asked him.

I heard the honesty in his voice as he murmured, “More than almost anything.”

“After training, we’ll meet in your room. Find me chocolate beforehand, and I’ll even try to have a good attitude about it.”

His lips curved upward just the tiniest bit. “Is that a promise?”

“Nope.” I mirrored his small smile before stepping back into the room, closing the door behind me.

“Think you’re going to work things out?” Lavee asked me, as I made it into the bathroom.

“I don’t know. He wasn’t trying to hurt me, I don’t think. He was protecting me the way he thought I needed to be protected. I appreciate that he wanted me to feel safe and secure, that he wanted me to explore the city and learn new things freely. But…” I shrugged.

“But he still kept things from you.” Her hip rested against the stone of the countertop. “Honestly, I didn’t realize that you weren’t aware that the wolf was you. I don’t think Jesh did, either. Not that we talk when Namir isn’t around, but he seemed surprised when you got angry with the king. So I don’t think he knew.”

I shrugged. “I don’t particularly care what Jesh thinks or knows. He and I are not friends.”

Lavee’s eyebrows shot upward as she stepped up behind me. “What did he do to you?”

“On the first day we met, he asked me about my scars. I trusted him with an answer, and he told Namir.”

She whistled. “Bastard.”

“I know. I’m sure everyone was curious about me, but all I really have is trust at this point. That was especially true back then, which is why I would’ve rather had the truth from the start. I’m not sure how I would’ve reacted to it, but that doesn’t prevent me from wishing I’d known.”

Her fingers tugged and wove through my hair as she worked the wet strands quickly. “I don’t blame you for that. But… we’re all just people. We make mistakes. I’m on your side in this, not Namir’s, but it seems like he was trying to respect your wishes to avoid violence and magic and training and whatnot.”

I sighed. “I know. Everything would be much easier if I didn’t know, but I do. We’re going to talk after training.”

She snorted. “I’ll bet you a dozen gold that all you do after training is sleep.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “You know no one’s ever given me gold, Lav.”

Her lips split in a grin. “Then you’d have to get a job and work for it, so I’ll double the bet.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll bet the gold that I can stay awake just fine after training, so Namir and I can talk.”

“And when you fall asleep before you ever get to chat, you’ll owe me.” She winked at me, and I scowled.