Page 65 of Commanding Flame and Shield
August huffed and ran his fingers through his hair. He paced in a tight circle for a moment, with nowhere to escape. After a heaving breath, he turned back to James. His voice was cold, but steady when he spoke.
“You fucking take care of her, James. Don’t hurt her,” his voice was a warning, but he stretched his hand out.
James’ eyes glistened, and he nodded, accepting the shake. But August pulled him in for a hug and patted his back.
August shook his head as they separated, his eyes a bit wild.
“Damn. Strangest year ever. I need a fucking drink. Anybody else?”
My mind grappled with what had just happened, and how quickly August deescalated. James, too, looked as though he was in a bit of shock. But Sam stepped forward, his lean body slicing the space between us all, and he walked with August to the bar to order drinks. They returned only a moment later with a tray of shots, and we each took one.
Sam lifted his glass in the air, and said, “To new beginnings.”
We murmured our assent and drank.
Our little crew dominated one of the back booths for most of the evening, sharing appetizers and ordering rounds of drinks like old friends. James loosened back up, the relief evident in his scent, his relaxed face, and the amount of space he took up in the booth. August had remained pensive for a while, but took to sharing stories with Sam, and soon we were laughing at the ridiculous childhood memories. The three of them had been inseparable all their lives, until August’s ascension. My heart ached for the absence they had to have left in his.
If he’d been hurting, he hadn’t said anything. Always there for what needed to be done. Always there for what I needed. My face flushed as I watched him, and I shook my head before grabbing another potato skin covered in melted cheese and bacon.
August and Sam made to the bar to order more food, the inseparable lovebirds were dancing out on the floor with all the costumed humans, and James’ eyes landed on me.
“So,” he said quietly. “How long?”
“Excuse me?”
He smiled dryly and then threw my words back at me again, “How long?” He raised his dark brows, and his expression was so like August’s it was startling. He nodded at his brother across the floor, leaning against the bar.
“Nothing’s happened but—”
“You want it to.”
“Yes,” I admitted. I had demanded abrupt honesty of James, so it seemed only right I gave him the same level of transparency.
“You haven’t told him yet?”
“Not in so many words. Things are…complicated…”
“I don’t think so. I think we make things complicated.”
“You’re bold for a mortal, aren’t you?” I sighed, “Sex is…complicated. For our kind. Which makes love complicated.”
“That whole, eternal-bond thing?”
I narrowed my eyes. “You boys covered a lot of ground while we were apart.”
“Sam and I didn’t really get much of a chance to cut in. August wasn’t ever one for tall tales, so we assumed if he needed to unload something from his chest, he meant it. He also isn’t one to abandon an empire he built without a good fucking reason.” James narrowed his eyes at me, before asking, “So? Am I right?”
I smirked at his curiosity. Mortals rarely believed what they were told, so I’d never had to sit and answer questions for one before.
“Yes. We take courting very seriously. Soul entanglement is fairly intense.”
“Don’t you think he ought to know…if you want to…entangleyourselves?” He smirked slyly, enjoying as I shifted in my seat, wiping my palms on my jeans. I supposed it was a justified retaliation, so I smiled at him and shrugged.
“I think…on some level. He already does. He must. There was a draw from the beginning, and it just intensified when he freed Layla.” James’ eyes flitted to his hands for a moment, still nervous about my judgement. “There’s something about him that’s just, familiar. Like coming home when you’ve been gone for a long time. Does that make sense?”
He nodded. “For him, too…If it means anything,warrior queen,” he grinned around the words that August had evidently used to describe me, “he never looked like that when he talked about Layla. Through every story he told us today, you were at the center of it.”
My stomach hovered precariously close to my heart. James’ gaze went past me, and curiosity danced in them. He narrowed his eyes. “Although watch yourself, you might have competition.”
