Page 230 of The Call of Crimson
I tilt my head, studying the prince. “You were rather quiet today.”
“I wanted to see how you handled it.” He pauses. “And frankly, I’m thrilled at your interest in the kingdom’s affairs.”
We exit the room, and I turn toward the guest wing.
“Where are you headed?” Ayden’s brows furrow. “I thought we were training.”
I stop, turning back to him. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of the council or your mother, but you’re overlooking a massive resource in this investigation.”
“And what is that?”
I smile coyly. “The mercenary king living under your roof.”
Ayden curses under his breath. I can’t tell if he’s frustrated that I want to talk to Cillian… or because he didn’t think of it first.
“You’re not talking to him alone,” Ayden warns.
I roll my eyes. “Cillian’s not going to hurt me.”
“It doesn’t mean I trust him.”
“Good. You shouldn’t.”
He curses again but falls into place behind me.
Cillian’s massive figure fills the doorway as he leans against the frame, looking me over with that familiar glint in his eye. “It’s good to see you, Breyla.” His teal eyes flit to Ayden. “And you, princeling.”
“I have a name,” Ayden says, irritation filling his voice.
“Congratulations,” Cillian replies with mock enthusiasm.
Ayden shoves his way into the room, a frustrated growl on his lips.
I catch the amused smirk tugging at Cillian’s mouth and realize he’s antagonizing the prince. It would appear Ayden isn’t accustomed to someone ruffling his feathers in the way he’s used to doing himself.
“Play nice,” I whisper as I shuffle past him.
Cillian closes the door, leaning in to whisper back, “You know I don’t take orders well.”
“He’s the prince and you’re in his kingdom, not mine.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” He chuckles. “Everywhere ismykingdom.”
I sigh, shaking my head. There was a reason I had been attracted to this male for most of my adult life, and the devil-may-care attitude was definitely part of it.
“We need your assistance, Cillian,” I say, standing against the wall nearest Ayden.
Cillian drops into a chair in the corner, his legs spread wide in pure male arrogance. “Are we killing something or fucking something?”
“Why would you assume we need you to kill or fuck something?” Ayden retorts, already on edge.
“Princeling, there are only three reasons someone seeks my help,” Cillian says, holding up a finger. “One, they need someone dead.” He puts up a second finger, then continues, “They need to fuck, or they need me to fuck someone. It’s a win-win on that one.”
Ayden scoffs. “What’s number three?”
Cillian grins wide enough to show teeth. “My personal favorite, a little bit of both. So… which is it?”
They lock eyes, and the tension crackling in the room becomes something palpable. These two should not be left alone together. I can’t tell whether they’d end up naked or dead.
