“I don’t give a damn.”
“You should. He’s an heir.”
“He’s a prick.”
“Yes, that too. But still. You should probably be careful about who you threaten, especially with fuckin’ aetherblades.”
“Err, yeah. Again, I’m sorry about that,” I said awkwardly, wondering if he even knew what I had done in order to whip out that arcane blade so quickly.
“You can steal my aether any time, Little Conduit.”
Well, that answered that question. I looked away, blushing a bit. Why did that phrasing feel so intimate?
“It was actually pretty impressive. Lemme guess, you literally just learned that earlier today in your entry exams.”
I nodded shyly.
“Godsdamn, woman. Has anyone ever told you that you’re like… irritatingly talented? Most of the Conduits here can’t do that shit even half as fast. Not even the fourth and fifth year students.”
I did not need this stroke to my ego while there was still alcohol in my system.
“Canyou?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
Kieran frowned. “Draw an aetherblade? Of course I can.”
“I mean, obviously. But could you draw it frommyarcana?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I’ve never tried. I’ve never needed to.”
I summoned a small orb of Light in an open palm, offering it to him—but he just laughed.
“Oh, I don’t need to stealyouraether to whip out a blade quickly, Little Conduit. I hate to break it to you, but I’m faster, too.”
I tilted my head as he sheathed his actual daggers back at his sides, shifting his weight into what seemed like a stance intended for combat.
He took a quick breath, and then within a fraction of a second, two flawless daggers—shadowed mirrors of the ones he had just put away—appeared in his hands. He gave me a cocky grin as my eyes widened.
“See?”
“Damn,” I breathed.
“That’s not all,” he said with a sly wink. I watched as he released the aether and then pulled out his actual daggers again, assuming the same stance.
I stared in total fascination as the Shadows crept their way up his hands, wrapping around his wrists as if to strengthen his grip on the hilts. The Shadow aether spread, coating the blades themselves in total darkness, as if Kieran was wielding the sharp edges of the Abyss itself as weaponry.
He laughed again and shook the aether off as if it was simply smoke, sheathing his daggers and reaching out to ruffle my hair.
“As I said. You didn’t need to do that, freshling. I can be plenty scary.”
“I never doubted that. You have a very threatening aura.”
He snorted.
“I am sorry, though, if me stepping in like that was obnoxious or offensive or anything,” I offered with sincerity. “I just… got a little protective there for a minute. I didn’t like how he was speaking to you.”
It hadn’t been the first time I’d heard someone speak poorly about Kieran, but it wasn’t particularly common either. He was charming and well-liked among most everyone I hadencountered thus far. If I had to guess, those around here who didn’t like him were jilted ex-flings or guardsmen who were jealous of how quickly he’d climbed their ranks.
“Don’t worry about me, Arken. I’m used to it. He wasn’t exactly wrong, you know,” Kieran said with a shrug. “Not about that first bit about you and I, obviously, but I do sleep around. I don’t really have friends. Most people don’t really notice that. Most people don’t pay close enough attention to notice much of anything, really, but Anders is a nosy bastard.”