Page 25 of Heart of the High King
Chapter 11
What’s your favorite food?
Rafferty stared at his phone as he sat in his hotel room, and his entire body deflated at the question. Aware that he was fat and how strange that was in their culture, there were moments he wished it were different. Then mealtime rolled around, and he got lost in how much he loved to eat. While it was impossible to have the kind of relationship Aleksander appeared to want, Rafferty still found himself let down that the High King couldn’t seem to help broaching the topic of his weight.
Why? What does it matter?
Aleksander sent a shocked emoji and Rafferty supposed he might be a little sensitive about the topic of cuisine in general.I thought we could serve it here the next time you visit. What’s wrong?
Since writing about how tight his pants always were wouldn’t make the best impression, Rafferty deflected. It didn’t matter what he ate at D’Vaire; it was all delicious and he wished for seconds at each meal he’d been privileged to eat, but Sullivan would never allow that. I like pretty much everything, but potatoes and every other carb are my weakness. I wish I could try more stuff but there weren’t many restaurants near our old court.
Favorite way to eat potatoes?
There are these crispy ones done in the oven with I think rosemary. Yum.
Now I’m hungry.
You started it.
Rafferty wondered if he’d pushed it too far when Aleksander didn’t immediately reply but a minute later, he got a little picture of someone laughing so hard they fell out of their chair. No one in his life was as easy to talk to as Aleksander, even if they did most of it over text messages. When they got together in person it was awkward, but Rafferty had loved being able to shift in the middle of the afternoon with the sun out, and so had his dragon. It was nice to be with another beast who was weird like his, because he knew from the earnest expression on Aleksander’s face that he did understand Rafferty’s struggles. Even before Rafferty hit a century old and his black beast ruined everything, he’d felt like an outsider.
Sullivan was Charlton’s unequivocal favorite, and he deferred to him in everything. Rafferty had long wanted to be a champion for his father, but it was his oldest brother he reported to most often. At D’Vaire, there didn’t seem to be a chain of command. The entire court was together at mealtimes, and if they had a question for Aleksander or his appointed dukes, they blurted it out. Trying to imagine a similar setup at Kestle, his mind blanked.
You fall asleep or something? Come on, that gif was funny.
Smiling at Aleksander, though he couldn’t see it, Rafferty wished they could simply be friends. The more he was learning about Aleksander, the more he liked him, but he was stuck in a quagmire. King Kestle wanted an ally—for what purposes Rafferty had no idea—and the last thing he wanted to do was use Aleksander. As for the High King, he never allowed a day to pass without reminding Rafferty that Fate had paired them. While she certainly had, even if Rafferty could find a way to grow his interest in sex with a partner, a male one would never work in his family.
Not asleep, I just don’t know what to say. I told you I suck at peopling.
I haven’t found that to be true at all.
In this vacuum of technology, Rafferty decided he would stick with as much honesty and bravery as he could muster.We barely speak when we’re together.
Okay, it’s awkward but that’s because we haven’t had enough time in the same room. You guys only stay for a meal, then leave shortly thereafter.
Rafferty couldn’t even blame that on Sullivan—he was the one who would find an opportunity to tell his brother that they needed to leave. Three days at D’Vaire and without fail, he wound up saying something so senseless, he had to hightail it out the door. It was also the most he’d ever shifted in his life, but it was making things worse for him. His dragon fought terribly when he tried to go back to human form. Instinctual and apparently having no issue with homosexuality, his beast wanted Aleksander.
I say stupid shit and have to go.
You’ve never said one stupid thing to me. I wish you weren’t so hard on yourself.
What was it about Aleksander that made him feel better, and why could he see inside Rafferty so clearly despite their short acquaintance? One thing was for sure, Rafferty was already starting to value this tiny bud of a friendship they were building.
I think you’re too nice sometimes.
Do me a favor? Ask me if I’m offended or irritated before you go running back to that hotel? We’re never going to get beyond the awkwardness if we don’t talk the way we do on our phones.
“Are you still texting with D’Vaire?” Sullivan demanded.
“Yeah.”
“Show me what you’re writing. I need to make sure you’re not fucking this up.”
With agile fingers, Rafferty cleared his entire text exchange with Aleksander, which pissed him off. For reasons he didn’t understand, he wanted to keep those words between them so he could read them whenever he wanted, and it wasn’t any of Sullivan’s damn business what they discussed. “No.”
“Excuse me?”
“You dragged me to Arizona to be friends with him. If you wanted to control the situation, you should’ve done it yourself. I can’t work on anything with him if you’re looking over my shoulder.”
