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I almost asked if that was worth killing for, but she was a trained assassin. She would have killed for less. I should probably avoid pissing her off. On the other hand, she wouldn't live long after she killed me. If another guard didn't kill her, Bain would hunt her down and do it. None of that would do me much good.
"You're a scary woman," I said. I frowned. "Come to think of it, so is Viva. And my aunt."
"It says a lot about a man who can surround himself with badass women and not feel emasculated," she said.
"Who says I don't feel that way?" I asked teasingly.
"The fact you're not an uptight prick." She was nothing if not blunt. No one but her and Bain would get away with talking to me like that.
I laughed. "Like Bain?" I suggested.
She chuckled. "I think it best if I don't answer that question. I still have to work with him."
"Yes you do." I caught sight of movement in the corner of my eye and ducked instinctively.
The sound of a knife being pulled filled the corridor.
I kept low and twisted around, my back to the wall.
Kerina stood with her knife at the throat of a servant who stood with a feather duster in her hand. Her eyes were wide with terror.
"Keeper," the woman stammered. "I was just going to dust the art. I swear to Hades."
Kerina eyed her, then grabbed the duster with her spare hand. She looked it over, then handed it back and lowered the knife.
"Just a regular duster." She patted the servant on the shoulder and stepped away from her.
I gave the woman what I hoped was an encouraging smile. "Thank you—" What was her name? "Annalisa. Please, carry on. My apologies."
She nodded. "Thank you, Keeper. We're all on edge. I understand." Still, she all but flew off down the corridor, and away from us.
"Yep, not scared of women," I said slowly. "But dusters…"
Kerina snorted a laugh. "Dusting sucks. Any sane person would be scared of it."
I hadn't dusted in my life, but I made sounds of agreement in the back of my throat and waved to her to keep walking.
If she was Viva, I would have watched her ass the whole way. Just thinking about Viva's behind made me start to harden.
With a great deal of effort, I pushed the thought away and focused on what Kerina said about me other than throwing the Alpha. That would make sharing Viva with Knox even more awkward. I added that to an already long list of reasons I wouldn't do it.
"Wait here." Kerina held up a hand to stop me from stepping into the audience room. "I want to check if it's safe."
It should be. Two guards stood outside. Two more should stand inside.
The two outside both looked put out by her suggestion they weren't doing their jobs.
"Do whatever you have to do," I said. I narrowed my eyes at the guards, who both had better things to do than look offended.
Kerina nodded, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. After a minute or two, she stepped back and nodded again.
"All clear."
"Thank you, Kerina." I moved past her and through the doorway.
"There you are," Devlin drawled. He sat with his legs over the arm of a chair, wine glass in hand. "I thought you slept in." He sounded half drunk.
"It was tempting," I said lightly. "But there's work to be done."
