Page 35 of These Violent Delights

They walked for a bit in silence.He valued his peace, so he figured he would let her stew until she was ready to talk.

It took quite a while, but finally she said, “I'm jealous.She's gorgeous.”

That was unexpected.He stopped and raised his brows.

“I'm frustrated because I don't want to be pushed into a hasty marriage and there’s a lot happening right now.I want time to think about this, but we're about to be descended on by a horde of cultists.”

“That's fair,” he said cautiously.

She looked at him seriously.“With that said, she will be lucky if I don't cut her head off.I don't like her flirting with you.”

He grinned.“Excellent idea!Let's both do that.I'll start with Yarbo.I don't like the way he looks at you.”

She growled in frustration.“Not funny.”

“It was a nice thought,” he said wistfully.

“We'll both have to contain ourselves, then.Why don't we settle this issue after the battle?”

“Excellent idea!I'll make sure to stock the good wine."

“Confident,” she grumbled, but she wasn't really mad.

He gave her a one-armed hug, playfully squishing her.“This is going to be fun!”

Interloper

The tribes competedwith each other as they waited for battle.It kept them sharp and burned off adrenaline.

Zelda came to her wall early the next morning and looked out, watching the riders race their horses past straw targets, firing their bows with amazing accuracy.The sun was just beginning to rise, casting a golden hue over the training field.The sight of the riders, their skills honed to perfection, brought a sense of pride and determination to Zelda.

At least, she enjoyed it until she noticed Ozzy Redbone was watching Olathe with mellow interest.Granted, he was standing with his friends and he wasn't doing anything other than watching.

Olathe, on the other hand, was giving him boldly flirtatious looks.Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and her smile was confident.

That was just about enough of that.Zelda marched toward the castle gates, steaming.It was illogical, but she didn't care.She couldn't be reasonable every second of every day.

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