“Boom,” Tiggy said, fist/hoof-bumping Gary.
“This is your fault,” I hissed at Ryan.
“My fault? How is this my—”
“You grew that beard, knowing full well that it would make you hotter and that I would find you irresistible to the point where I am starting not to care if we have an audience. You did it on purpose.”
“I had no idea that you would be like this,” Ryan said.
“You liar.”
“And you’ll never prove it.”
I gaped at him. “Sass. My gods, the sass.” I turned and glared at everyone else. “Why are you all still staring? The fate of Verania is in our hands! Do none of you take that seriously?”
The fairies turned away, fluttering off into the trees. Dimitri moved to follow them but stopped when I called his name. He turned, a disturbing smirk on his face, as if he expected it to be an invitation to actually watch me try out Ryan’s beard by riding his face. I felt just terrible at having to disappoint him. Instead I shooed the others ahead of us, telling them we’d bring up the rear, and promptly cut Kevin off before he could make a disgusting remark about that.
Ryan eyed me warily. “What’s this about? What do you need from him?”
And it stung more than I cared to admit that I couldn’t just come out and tell him to trust me, because I didn’t know if he did anymore.
So I smiled weakly at him and said, “I just had some questions about the Great White.”
He nodded stiffly. I thought he was going to lean in and kiss me, but then he seemed to think better of it, and any remnants of the good humor we’d had moments before was gone. I sighed as I watched him trail the others. He didn’t look back, not even once.
“Trouble in paradise?” Dimitri asked me.
“Shut up,” I mumbled.
“It happens. The fire that once burned bright is now in danger of snuffing out completely, no matter how much you feed it. It’s a tragic truth. How sad. I will mourn for the both of you. On a completely unrelated topic, how long is it considered proper before throwing one’s hat into the ring to court another after the demise of their previous relationship? I’m asking for a friend.”
“Oh. I don’t know. I guess it depends on the situation. Is your friend—wait a godsdamn minute.”
“It was worth a shot.”
“I resent everything about you.”
“Spoken like a true ex-boyfriend.”
“We’re not exes—you know what? I’m not even going to get into this with you right now. I’m on a quest, and I am going to save Verania, and I have questions.” I began stomping after the others, sure that Dimitri would follow.
I wasn’t disappointed. He flew at my side, wings flapping furiously. “I’ve told you all I can.”
“Bullshit. You’ve told me nothing.”
“Fairies are an enigmatic bunch.”
“No, fairies are assholes. There’s a major difference.”
“Insulting my entire species probably isn’t the best way to get me to do what you want.”
I bit my tongue at the retort before it spilled forth. He was right, of course. If Morgan and the King could see my diplomacy, they’d be shaking their heads in disappointment in that way that only parental figures could.
I considered trying to flirt with him again, but I couldn’t muster up the strength for such an impossible task, so I said, “Did you know? About Randall.”
“What about Randall?” Dimitri asked, because he was a fucknut.
But I’d played these types of games before, with him and others. If this was how he wanted to go about it, then I would. For now. “That the Great White was his mentor.”