“What are you even talking about?”
“Come on now, Ark—you’re clever enough. A rare Conduit shows up in Sophrosyne as political tensions are rising. I gotassignedto keep an eye on you—forgive me if I found ways to pass the time and ease the boredom of following some first-year freshling around.”
“I don’t believe you. There’s something else going on here, there’s something that you’ve been hiding from me,” I accused.
“I mean, I thought that much was obvious,” Kieran purred.
“Shut up. That’s not what I meant, and you know it. YouknowI’m not talking about the sex.”
“Not much else to talk about, is there? I mean, I got what I wanted out of this little game, didn’t I?”
“Fuck you, Kieran! You didn’t spend an entireyearfollowing me for work, and you didn’t use that time to befriend me just to get your cock wet. Not when you could take your eager pick from half of this godsdamned city. You’re a pretty liar, Captain—but I don’t believe you.”
“What can I say?” Kieran shrugged. “I like a challenge, on occasion. The game gets terribly dull when you always win.”
I resisted the rising urge to punch him in the face.
“This isn’t fucking funny.”
His lip curled into a cruel sneer.
“No, you’re right. It’s not very entertaining for me anymore either, Arken. It’s just desperate. And, honestly, it’s a little bit sad having to stand here and watch you scramble like this. I gave you your warning. But if it makes you feel any better, at least the sex was halfway decent. You werealmostworth my time.”
“Please don’t do this,” I whispered. “Please.Fuck your secrets. Fuck whatever it is you’re hiding from me. Fuck this stupid game you’re playing.”
My voice cracked, and it was as if something visibly snapped in him at that same exact moment. Suddenly, Kieran was completely up in my face—his anger resurfacing. He waslivid, but also so close that I could lean in and kiss him if I wanted. If I wasn’t so afraid.
“Oh, you want to talk aboutsecrets? Are you fuckingsureabout that one, Asher?” he hissed in my face.
Yet again, I was thrown for a loop.
“I’m— What? What are you trying to say?” I stammered.
A muscle in Kieran’s jaw feathered as his gaze darkened, like Hel freezing over.
“A bit bold of you, don’t you think? To act as if we wereso close.To waltz your demanding little ass in here and accuse me of hiding shit from you, as if you haven’t been doing the exact same thing this whole time. Do youreallywant to go there?”
This was the first time he’d ever raised his voice with me, and he was breathing hard, as if he was trying to keep his own temper in check. What the fuck was hetalkingabout? And why was he somadabout it?
I swallowed hard, struggling to reconcile what it felt like to be afraid of the one person I had always felt safe with.
“I… I have nothing to hide from you, Kieran.”
“Ah. Well, then. Look who’s the liar now,” he replied bitterly.
“Kieran… what are you talking about?”
“I want you to stay away from me, Arken.”
“What?!Why?Gods, Kieran, I can let it go, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. We can just be friends, it’s fine—”
“I have no interest in being your fuckingfriend,” Kieran growled.
Most of his words had rang empty so far—bitter, but disingenuous. But there was a certain degree of sincerity present now, and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach as I realized... He was serious.
Gods, Arken. What have you done?
My voice was small when I finally found words to reply.