Page 174 of The Last Guardian

Dax looked at Zaid with a frown, and he followed the captain. Zaid didn’t budge, still staring at me.

His eyes brought me back to what happened last night. The intensity of his gaze on me… I clenched my thighs, chasing away the memory as my heart thundered in my chest, and I knew he heard it.

“What’s going on with her?” I cleared my throat, trying my best not to listen to the urge to reach for him.

Zaid shuddered, moving closer to me, and my body tensed in anticipation. “On edge for today, surely,” he declared with a soft smile on his lips. “Nothing to worry about.”

“She looks pretty pissed.”

“She can have a bitter temper sometimes.” His gaze moved to where she had left. He wasn’t telling the truth about her behavior. But I didn’t insist. If she wanted to talk about it, she knew where to find me. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up,” Zaid murmured in such a gentle voice, but his gaze darkened when he added, “I wouldn’t have been able to get up if I’d waited for you.”

“Too bad,” I replied nonchalantly with a little smirk playing on my lips. “I wondered what might have happened.”

Zaid leaned down to speak into my ear. My eyes scanned around us to see if we were making a spectacle, but no one looked. “If you taught me the trick you played the night I found you in the bath,” Zaid whispered into the hollow of my ear, his breath lingering, sending shivers down my spine, “I could share exactly what I would have done with you.”

Zaid pulled back. His eyes bored into mine. The burning stare told me exactly what he would have done. Like he promised last night.

“I already told you, I didn’t do that trick.” I scoffed, frowning. “But feel free to learn by yourself.”

Zaid gave me a smirk, his hand brushing against mine smoothly. “Oh, I am definitely going to do some research about this.”

And with that, Zaid left me there panting as he went to meet Dax at the other end of the deck. I remained lost in thought for a few minutes, remembering the vision we had…

Lyra’s voice interrupted my reverie as she and Arthur emerged onto the main deck.

“It’s already torture being around you right now,” Lyra shouted with a snarl on her face. “Perhaps I’ll jump off a cliff in the middle of the island and finally rest without you there.” Her brown leather jumpsuit hugged her curves. Her long locks flowed freely in the breeze.

“If you require assistance, let me know, and I will gladly lend a hand,” Arthur proposed. Lyra’s amber gaze glazed over, indicating her skepticism.

“If you so much as touch me, I’ll make sure you’re unable to procreate,” she threatened, her voice full of determination.

A chuckle thrummed next to me and I glanced at Dorian, who had just stepped onto the deck, rolling his eyes at the scene.

“Let me tell you about the torture I endured before we reached Lys,” Dorian started. His brown eyes were glued to the action. “I kept wondering when they’d stop being at each other’s throats, stop fighting, and just fuck. Just for my own sanity.”

I burst into uncontrollable laughter, struggling to catch my breath. Covering my mouth with my hand, I bit the inside of my cheek hard to suppress my chuckles.

“Do I amuse you that much?” Dorian asked, glaring at me.

“Don’t be too proud,” I commented, wiping away the tears. “It’s just that seeing them circle around each other like vultures feeding on your agony is quite entertaining.”

Dorian scowled. “It seems that witnessing my suffering brings you joy, then.”

His gleaming silver armor caught my eye. It was similar to Arthur’s, with the intricate lilies. A feeling of unease washed over me.

“I advise you not to repeat that to her again.” I smiled.

“It’s fun playing with them. I can’t wait for the day when they finally give in. Though I absolutely don’t want to be near them. With their temper? They will yell and fuck at the same—” Dorian paused, considering the idea. “Oh, that’s going to be so hot.”

I laughed with a disgusted face. “Huh? You’re unbelievable. He’s our brother.”

Dorian shrugged. “Well, I don’t exactly picture him. I’m just saying the tension, the electricity between them, is scorching. They make me want to fuck something.”

At that moment, I smiled widely and instinctively looked at Zaid, who had just returned, with Dax and Seth on his heels. His eyes gleamed at the sound of my laugh, and a beautiful grin drew on his lips.

“We have weapons for you,” Dax shouted, dropping the weapons from his arms with a clang of metal, as the others gathered around us. “Feel free to pick what suits you best.”

Some knives were already strapped to my leather: two near my hips, one on my lower back, one inside a boot. The obvious choice was a bow, since using a sword wasn’t exactly my strong suit.