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“Doesn’t constantly feed your ego?” I finish his sentence with a mischievous smile, feeling lighter than I have in days.
“How did you manage to get past the guards?” he asks.
“Who says I passed any guards?” I give him my own wicked smile, letting him deduce it himself.
His brows raise as his eyes dart to the door balcony and back to me. “You climbed up the side of the palace? For a bottle of wine?”
“I like a challenge,” I tell him, and that smile of his turns sinful.
“Stay and have a drink with me.”
I shake my head. “I can’t.”
“This friend of yours does not deserve a moment of your time if he made you get him a drink. Stay and I will make it worth your while,” he promises.
“You’re inconceivable.” I move too quickly and wince, hastily trying to cover it with a forced smile.
He quickly loses any amusement. “You’re hurt?”
I tighten my hold on the bottle and shove down the pain once more. “I’m fine.”
He frowns and turns to find something in a small drawer in his armoire before moving back to me and placing it in my free hand.
“What is this?” A small dark stone the size of half my hand sits in my palm. On closer inspection, I see hundreds of small glittering colors at the center.
“Just wait,” he says and gazes right at me while he grows quiet.
I open my mouth to ask him what he means when I feel it. A soft brush of energy that moves through me, growing warm near my injuries.
My eyes widen as they lock on his when my ribs slowly start to heal, and the aches and pains quickly leave me.
It’s a healing stone. A rare gem that is usually hoarded by only those who are lucky enough to find one or trade a hefty bargain for it. The ability to heal the person that holds it will never expire and can heal all types of injuries as long as they are not too close to death.
How he came across one only proves to me how wealthy he must be. I reach out to hand it back to him, but he shakes his head.
“Keep it.”
I am not one to accept gifts so easily, but with my last few visits from the guards and the Breaker, I will need all the help I can get. But I am also not willing to pay for it in the manner he may require of me.
“And what would I owe you for this? We have yet to come to a deal for the wine.”
“You deserve the wine after the fight and level of skill you displayed earlier, and the stone is a selfish need to ensure you give me another fight.” He gives me a wolfish grin, and the look in his eyes tells me he is sincere.
But it still makes no sense for him to give me a healing stone. Something that is not easy to come by and extremely valuable, even among the wealthy.
“Why?” I ask.
His expression turns contemplative as he silently stares at me. “Maybe I would just like to be your friend.”
“Justmy friend?” I ask with a pointed look. He has made it obvious just what type offriendhe would want in me should I allow it.
A glint of devilment enters his eyes. “I am always open to other suggestions. But for now, yes. And as a gesture to our new budding friendship…” He moves over to the door and speaks to someone outside. I can’t hear what they are saying—he’s too far away to make it out—but once he is finished, loud thumps sound down the hall, quickly reminding me of the guards stationed directly along this hallway.
He walks back to me with a youthful expression full of recklessness. “Your coast is clear, milady.”
“You…” I freeze, glancing over at the door with a raised brow.
“Got rid of the guards?” He smiles with a nod.
