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"If you had taken their side." I jerked my head toward the door. "You might be head of the Residence guards by now. Pay raise and all." It didn’t pay all that well, but I had a comfortable room and all the food I could eat.
"But then I'd be on the other side of the door," she said. "And I'd miss your sparkling wit."
"You need higher standards," I said dryly.
She laughed softly. "I really do, don't I? Seriously though, you could have taken their side too. It's Dex and Devlin they wanted."
I glanced at both of them. They sat side by side on the bed, listening and looking bemused.
"Then I'd get fired when they take back the Residence," I said.
"Is that the only reason?" Kerina asked.
"Of course not. You know me better than that." She knew me almost as well as Dex did. Maybe more.
She shrugged. "I suppose so. I know you well enough to know you don't like being on the opposite side from Viva."
"Who says I am? I asked.
"The fact she's not here is a hint," Kerina pointed out. "I presume they gave her a choice and she made it."
I looked toward the window without really seeing. "She said she did, but I didn't buy it. She's not—"
"Not what?" Devlin asked.
My eyes swung back toward him. "Not the kind to turn her back on people she cares about. Me, Dex. Knox, wherever he is. Kerina, possibly. Zophia." I had no idea what happened to Viva's friend, but I knew Zophia wouldn't side with Seth and Gwendolyn. Her fortunes were tied to Dex and Devlin. Knots could be untied, but I suspected she wouldn't try to work hers loose. At least not until she knew Dex was done.
"You seem certain," Devlin said. “I’m not.”
"You can be," Dex said firmly. "Viva wouldn't just throw us all away like that." He seemed genuinely stung at the idea.
"I think you might be thinking a bit too hard with your cock," Devlin told him. He nodded toward me. "You too. A pretty face can hide a lot behind it."
I tried not to bristle too hard. "Sometimes what you see is what you get."
Devlin grunted. "That was what I thought. Gwen proved me wrong."
"Viva isn't Gwendolyn," Dex said tersely.
"She really isn't," I agreed. Thank Hades. Viva was hot without having to try. Gwendolyn—I never really trusted her, but I figured it was just some misplaced concern for the Alpha.
Now I knew, it was my instincts speaking loud and clear. Part of me wondered if I should have spoken out about her sooner. The rational part of me knew Devlin wouldn't have listened anyway. Had I spoken to Dex, he might have mentioned it to Devlin. That would likely get ugly pretty quickly.
No, keeping my thoughts to myself was the right move.
"Gwen might be playing along too," Devlin said weakly. He obviously didn't believe it any more than I did.
"She might," Dex said.
"If she's not, I'm going to kill the bitch with my own hands," Devlin growled."And throw her remains to the sand dragons. I'll watch them eat, to make sure she's gone."
Dex patted him on the shoulder. "I’m sure it won't come to that."
Devlin jerked away, his face pink. His anger was clearly not directed at Dex, but he wasn't ready to be comforted. Where his wife was concerned, he might never be.
I understood that. Betrayal was a hard place to come back from. Her infidelity would be a hard enough pill for a man like Devlin to swallow, much less her part in a coup.
Kerina said, "We’ll need to deal with more than just her. That Seth guy, for one."
