Yosef always pulls through. “Great. Tell him I’ll have a whole keg of his favourite ale ready for when he comes back.”
“I think he’d prefer a naked woman jumped out of that keg, man.”
I laugh. “Well, the only naked woman I have contact with these days is Eirabella, and she’s not available for parties.” I turn to my nightstand, pulling out a small, velvet-lined container from the drawer. I slip it into my pocket, feeling the weight of what I’m about to do settle in.
Mathis watches me, his grin fading just a little as realisation descends. “Is that what I think it is?”
I glance at him. “Depends. What do you think it is?”
He whistles low, shaking his head as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing. “Rylan. I think it’s a sign that you’ve officially lost your mind. Tell me it’s not what I think it is. Tell me you’re not going to do what I think you are.”
I shrug, though my chest tightens, my defences activating. “And why shouldn’t I?”
Mathis’s eyes harden, his voice taking on a rare note of seriousness. “You know why, Rylan. Don’t be stupid, man.”
I stop, the teasing tone between us fading. “When have you ever known me to be stupid?”
“Never!” he hisses. “That’s the point. But ever since…”
A warning narrows my eyes. “Step so fucking carefully, right now. Choose wisely what you say about Eirabella,” I growl, my voice low, almost hurting with the rough way it leaves my throat. “You’ve always had a problem with us,” I say. “Why?”
“You know I’d never say anything bad about Eirabella. I think she’s…” his words taper off and he actually looks insulted.
“What? She’s what?”
“Well, she’s incredible.”
“Yes. She is. But there’s more to it, isn’t there?” The words come out sharper than I mean them to, but I can’t stop now. “I see the way you look at her. And you do have a problem. Not her, but withus. Man up, and admit it. Admit what you feel for her.” His mouth opens at the accusation, but the truth isalready in his eyes, and a flicker of guilt. A bitterness rises in my chest, and I let out a short, humourless laugh. “Wow. Thirty seasons of friendship, Mathis. Thirty, and we’ve never fought over a woman.”
“We’re not fighting over her now, Rylan,” Mathis says quickly, his tone careful, trying to rein me in. But it’s too late. When it comes to Eirabella, I have zero restraint.
“Good.” I step closer, my eyes locked on his. “Because she’s mine. She always has been, and she always will be. The sooner you understand that, the better for you, and the better for our friendship.”
Mathis’s jaw tightens, and for the first time, I see the hurt in his eyes. He holds my gaze for a second longer, then shakes his head, his voice quiet, steady as he holds his emotions in. “Yeah, and don’t we all know it. You never took a moment to think, did you? Maybe…maybeshe could have wanted to be with someone else? But you never gave her that chance. Never gave… someone else a chance.”
Incredulity scalds my expression. Is he really trying to suggest that I should’ve stepped back and watched some other man try to take what was mine? “Is that what you wanted? A chance with her?” My voice is rising now, harsher than I intended. Jealousy burns as the doubt starts to creep in, knowing he’s right. I never even gave her a chance to explore any possibilities with anyone else. Why would I? I’ve wanted her from the first moment I saw her. “Is that what all those little walks into town were about? Telling her that scarves matched her eyes? Yeah, I know about that.” Fear takes the place of doubt. Any woman would be lucky to have Mathis’s love and devotion. Who would she have chosen given the chance?
Mathis’s eyes flash with anger, but he takes a moment to calm himself. He takes a breath, shaking his head. “You’ve lost your damn mind, Rylan. All I am saying is that the moment yousaw her in Larilea, it’s like you’ve become a different person. And I’m not sure you’re understanding the implications of everything that you’re doing.” He cricks his neck. “As for Eirabella, yes, of course I enjoy spending time with her. Anyone would.”
I step even closer, my voice dangerous now. “Don’t act like that’s all it is, like you weren’t trying. You think I didn’t see it?”
“I was trying to be her friend. Something you barely gave her a chance to have,” Mathis shoots back, his voice sharp now, the calmness cracking. “You’re too possessive, Rylan. You’ve always been that way with her. And it’s going to kill everything that makes her… her.” He clears his throat as if stalling while he ponders a thought, and then he decides to say it. “You’re pulling her into your world. It isn’t the place for her. She will not thrive here. It will stifle her. If you really cared about her… you’d let her go.”
His words slam into me, but instead of backing down, I feel the jealousy and anger rise higher. “She’s Aquilith now. She’salreadyin my world.” No, more than that. Sheismy world.
When he speaks again, his voice is almost pleading for understanding. “That is not what I mean, and you know it. You think you’re doing what’s best for her, but you’re not. You’re trapping her here, the place you’ve always tried to escape from yourself. How is that fair to her?”
My chest tightens, the weight of his words pressing in, but I refuse to back down. I step forward, my voice low and fierce. “That’s not for you to worry about. Eirabella is mine. And I will be the one looking out for her best interests. And you need to remember your place, Captain Corvane.” My voice sounds cold even to my own ears.
Mathis’s eyes flash again with hurt, and for a moment, I see something raw, something I’ve never seen in him before. Betrayal. “You think pulling rank is going to change anything?You think that title of yours means anything to her?” He scoffs. “Maybe you don’t actually know anything about her after all. So used to women falling at your feet because you’re Prince-fucking-Rylan. You’re about to find out what it takes to keep a woman of value.”
We stand there, nose to nose now, the air between us charged with tension. I can feel the heat of the argument coursing through me, my heart racing. Neither of us says a word for the longest time, and when I finally speak, my voice is quieter but no less possessive. “And you think you know what it takes?” I let out an empty laugh. “Someone thinks highly of himself.”
“I think that if she were with me, she’d never have to worry about not knowing me, about wondering where she stood with me. Can you promise her the same?”
Fuck. Straight for the jugular. The problem with arguing with someone who has known you your whole life is that they know just where your weak points are.
I square my jaw as well as my shoulders and stare at him front on. “Eirabella sees who I am, more than anyone else ever has. I’ve shown her whoIam beyond the crown. And she still wants to be with me.”
