Page 61 of Third Offense

Which had left me wondering,What has Auric so bent out of shape?

He didn’t strike me as the type to worry for nothing.

Which meant something had to be wrong.

I suspected he wouldn’t want to open up here, in the presence of all the sentries. So I casually steered us toward the back terrace on the lower level, and onto the rocky path that led to the cliffs.

His expression told me that this wasn’t much better, so I paused to face him. “Want to fly instead of walk?”

Auric’s missing wings confirmed he’d taken the elixir recently, but he’d be able to shake off the spell with a simple desire to fly. That was all it really took to break the enchantment.

However, I preferred only to drink it when necessary for a human-related outing. Otherwise, I kept my feathers free and visible at all times.

He gave me an appraising look. “You want to find Layla and Novak.”

“No. I want to talk,” I told him. “That’s why we’re heading north, not west.” Although, I had taken him west through the compound, just like he’d requested. I just didn’t intend to continue in that direction now.

“Talk, huh?” He sounded skeptical. “Hard to do in the air.”

I smiled. “Well, you’re not speaking much, so I figure it can’t hurt anything.”

“What do you even want to talk about?”

“How about we go for a flight and I’ll tell you in the air,” I suggested, splaying my wings and taking off toward the sun.

I’d purposely worded it as a challenge, very aware of Auric’s type—he wouldn’t allow anyone to show him up. Especially not a male of my pedigree. I was a compatible mate. That made me competition by default.

He didn’t disappoint, playing right into my hands as he sprung up beside me in the clear blue sky, his brow furrowed. “I don’t know what you’re trying—”

“Something’s bothering you and I imagine it’s related to Layla,” I told him, cutting right to the heart of the matter. There was no point in engaging in word games or semantics. Auric would prefer I be blunt, and I’d prefer the same. “What’s going on?”

Auric snorted. “Why the fuck would I even talk to you about something like that?”

It was a clever way to avoid answering my question—he’d neither confirmed nor denied an issue. He’d simply stated that even if there was one, he wouldn’t tell me about it.

While I understood his reluctance, he needed to understand that his verbal sparring wouldn’t silence me.

Why should he talk to me?

“Because I’m a compatible mate, and therefore she’s important to me,” I informed him flatly. “If there’s something wrong, I may be able to help. And you can trust that I value her safety and wellbeing as a result.”

He gave me an incredulous look. “She’s not yours to worry about.”

“Yet,” I replied without missing a beat. “And while she might not be mineyet, I don’t make it a habit of giving up on things I want.”

“Just as I don’t make it a habit of giving up those who are mine,” he returned.

I narrowed my gaze at the insinuation in that statement. “I didn’t say anything about giving her up, Auric. I would never ask her to choose between us. That’s not how mate-circles work.”

His nostrils flared, his expression seeming to darken at the insinuation I’d just thrown right back at him.You may want to make her choose. But I will not.

“You—”

Two sentries approached before Auric could finish his retort, their speed and expressions telling me they were about to advise against this little flight.

As though I would listen to them.

I could handle myself, something most of the guards around here understood. But they’d been particularly anxious over Layla’s arrival, being far more obsessed with security than usual.