Page 85 of Hunters and Prey

“Grandfather has dreams of me marrying up. He wants that I should wed a priest. Or even another noble.”

“Bah. Don’t pay that any mind. I’m telling you, Vitalis would be happy for you to marry anyone. There’s no actual law against marrying humans, as they’re not part of the caste system.” He quieted, and the corners of his mouth dropped into a tight frown. “It isn’t as if you’re marrying deeply below your station. You wouldn’t be wedding a servant.”

Ouch. Cosmas had been cut loose by the only woman he’d ever loved. Because she was a servant. Because their love was the very definition of forbidden.

“Cosmas…marriage isn’t even part of the equation. I barely know him. We battled together on a ship deck and pushed back an attack from the Gloom.”

He waved a hand. “Ah, that tells me everything I need to know. You battled alongside him once, spent six weeks training him, and now you can’t get him off your mind. Otherwise you wouldn’t be sulking into a delicious drink. Have I summed it up accurately?”

“You have.”

“Would it be their commanding officer?”

“Right again.”

“That makes him awarrior among the humans, so technically that makes him an eligible match if he gains citizenship and if you forsake your claim to the priest caste at the Royal Archives.”

“It doesn’t work that way.” She raked her fingers through her hair and stared glumly at her empty glass.

“Sure it does.”

While she lapsed into a sullen silence, Cosmas signaled the bartender and ordered another round of double gin and tonics. He didn’t push her to talk.

“I truly can’t get him off my mind. He had…the most handsome smile I’ve ever seen. His squad looked up to him, and he adapted in battle to the Gloom as if he’d fought them before.”

“Had he?”

She shook her head. “Not once, he said.”

“Was the interest mutual?”

The memory of his touch sent whispers dancing over her knuckles. And the taste of him. What the hell drove her to seduce him, she didn’t know, but now she wished she hadn’t ensorcelled him to sleep, and that they’d continued the liaison. There’d been so much sexual tension since that evening at the coliseum, she could have pierced it with her spear. Now she’d live forever with wondering what it would have been like to bed him. “Gods, I don’t know. I think so?” Thrusting his cock in her mouth didn’t necessarily mean he wanted more than a roll in bed.

“Maybe I’m not the best person to give relationship advice, considering the mistakes I’ve recently made—”

“You can’t help who you love. Falling for a servant doesn’t make you any less competent than the next person, Cosmas.”

He smiled. “Thanks. Anyway, I gave it some thought. I’ve spent years wondering what it would be like if class weren’t an obstacle between us, and I’ll spend years longer, because I can’t get her out of my mind or my heart. She’ll always be there. That’s how I know I love her. It wasn’t a passing fancy as my father would suggest, or an infatuation.”

“I barely know him to recognize whether it’s infatuation or more. You can’t love someone at first sight, Cosmas.”

“Can’t you?” He smiled sadly. “It’s not knowing that hurts the most. It haunts you. You’ll wonder for weeks perhaps. Maybe a few months. Maybe the interest will be fleeting, and it willpass as my father and uncle hoped for me.”

Though he said nothing else afterward, she heard an unspoken warning in his words, a silent supplication begging her to proceed with caution. What if it didn’t pass? What if, like him, she spent the next two decades and longer loathing her cowardice?

He chuckled and dropped his chin. “I’ve thought of it, you know—leaving and renouncing my citizenship to Atlantis—but that would require the same of her. I would abandon this title and my career in a heartbeat if she only said the word. But I can’t ask that of her in return. Atlantis is her home.”

Heavy discussion about their romantic faults and limitations was the last thing El expected when she set out dressed in her best club wear. But it was everything she needed.

Making the arrangements wasn’t as difficult as Elpis expected. She contacted a travel agent with connections on the surface, received a price quote for a trip to America, and contacted MIRAGE from her office at the barracks to discover if it would be worth the few hundred drachmas. What good was it to pay for a vacation to the surface if the man didn’t want to see her again?

After an hour-long hold, they connected her to Matteo. His features blipped onto the display, looking first startled to see her, then hopeful. She dared to believe it was because he’d missed her.

“El?”

“Hi.”

His green eyes filled with unconcealed glee. “It’s good to hear from you. How’s Atlantian life treating you?”

“Well enough.” She smiled. “I didn’t take the leave offered to me, but now I’m wishing I had.”

“I did take the leave offered to me. I, uh, actually apologize for the delay here. I had to run in to the embassy to take this call and have it patched over.”

“Oh.” She bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know any other way to contact you, and…”

“And?” Matt coaxed, raising those dark brows at her. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to take you up on your offer to show me Philadelphia.”

Without missing a beat, he asked, “How soon can you come?”

---