The healer didn’t look up from the wide tablet in his hands, but his fingers moved to touch the screen. “You have the biggest tent in the army,” he said absently. “But you already know that.”
It was true, and it drew another growl from him as he hauled the rucksack into the corner. “That doesn’t mean it’s sufficient.”
Jarek simply arched a thin eyebrow and studied him over the tablet. “You do remember that I’m here to decide if your...irregular schedule of Temple visits is detrimental to your temper, don’t you? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you wanted to be sent back.”
“I don’t have a temper,” he snapped. “And if I wanted to go back to the Temple, I wouldn’t need anyone’s permission.”
“Interesting.” Jarek returned his attention to whatever notes he was taking. “I went to school with your cousin, you know. She has your temper. She’s a lot prettier, though.”
“Fuck you. And stay away from Zahra.” He paced to the other side of the tent, his shoulders tense. “She’s too good for you.”
“Undoubtedly true.” He didn’t sound offended. “My file says you saw Dhaval’s niece, but stayed with her less than a day. You’re playing a dangerous game, and I can’t let you rejoin combat if you’re not steady.”
Avani. His chest ached, and he rubbed his hand over it absently. “The priestess attended my needs very efficiently. I’m not going to crack up, if that’s what you’re implying.”
Jarek sighed. “I don’t care if you f**ked the high priestess herself. Twelve hours is insufficient time for a man who’s been under your level of strain. And it shows.”
Again, the quiet healer probably spoke the truth. But, for some reason, the thought of going back to the Temple to see another priestess was unfathomable. And Avani doesn’t want to see you, does she, you sad little bastard? “I’m fine. Just fine, Jarek.”
“You’re not fine,” Jarek replied, his voice flat. “You can tell me what’s going on and we can work through it, or you can lie and I’ll mark you unfit for duty. After the last incident we had with a man pushed too far, I’m not taking chances.”
Rais ground his teeth. “My ill temper has nothing to do with the stress of battle. It’s--” He sucked in a rough breath. “Perhaps you’ll be happy to know I’m in a mood because I’ve been thoroughly rejected. I asked Avani to wait for me, and she refused.”
“Avani?” Jarek’s fingers whispered over the screen, undoubtedly calling up files. “Dhaval’s niece. Previously a novice of the Temple of Luna.” The healer glanced up at him. “She left the Temple after seeing you? Was there an...incident?”
“Just her deeming me unworthy.” Rais wouldn’t ask. He wouldn’t. “Where did she go? Back to her uncle’s?”
“No, actually. To your mother’s court.”
Where she’d be constantly surrounded by eligible courtiers. He couldn’t hold back his growl. “That’ll make her a lovely match, I bet.”
“Perhaps. I hesitate to intrude, but...” Jarek cleared his throat. “You were with her for twelve hours, during which you claim she satisfied a priestess’s duties. At what point did she deem you unworthy? The two seem mutually exclusive.”
He didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “I told you. She did her duty, but refused me as a mate.”
“Ah. So, if I’m to understand correctly, you’re acting like a man on the edge of violence because a woman you’d spent twelve hours with refused to promise the rest of her life to you.”
The healer’s dismissive tone scraped Rais’s raw nerves. “Make light of it if you please, but you’ll do it elsewhere.” If you value your face.
Jarek wasn’t intimidated. He met the glare with cool blue eyes that showed no hint of pity. “With all respect due a prince of the blood? Grow up. If she matters so much, spend more than twelve hours wooing her. And if she doesn’t, stop acting like a sixteen year old with a bruised ego.”
He wanted to punch Jarek right in his smug, calm face, but he forced himself to consider the admonition. How hard had he tried? All he could remember now was that he’d asked, and she’d denied him. She’d wounded his pride, and that had been all that had mattered. “Do we have video communications set up yet?”
“Not stable. The humans are doing something new to block our signals. We can break through in spurts to download data, but video communication would be erratic at best.”
If he could manage to get away without endangering his unit, he could settle the matter with Avani once and for all. “Has Ari made it back yet?”
Jarek returned his attention to his table. “Two days ago.”
“Then I’m taking a few more days.” He arched an eyebrow. “Make it a medical suggestion, if you’d like.”
“Pretend it’s a suggestion if you like,” Jarek replied, his voice a little sharp. “It’s hard enough on the men when their leaders are calm. Don’t come back on edge like this. You’ll get men killed.”
Rais glared at Jarek as he snatched up his own tablet. “I overlooked it when you called me an immature brat because it’s possibly true, but if you treat me like an idiot, we’ll be taking this outside.”
Oddly, the corner of the healer’s mouth quirked up. “There’s the royal temper. Have a good trip. Be sure to forget to give my regards to your cousin.”
Jarek fled before Rais could say another word, and the prince turned his attention toward preparing a message for his mother. He could be at her summer home in two days. Avani would be there, and he could do the unthinkable.
The future king could woo his bride.
Karim was handsome. Not a surprise, Avani supposed. Not with the gorgeous Zahra as a sister and Rais as a cousin. The entire royal family was sinfully attractive, a fact she sometimes thought they were all too well aware of.
But Karim was especially pleasing to the eyes, and he had too much grace to be an unpleasant person. She was in no mood to be courted by a stranger, but even she wasn’t foolish enough to pretend that wasn’t exactly why she’d been summoned to court. Her aunt and the queen had taken an interest in her future now that she no longer served Luna.
An interest in joining their families was more like it. She supposed she should be flattered that the king’s own nephew was courting her with the full approval of his family. She watched him weave through the crowded room toward her with two glasses of wine and tried to summon the slightest bit of interest in him.
“Come, Avani.” He offered her one goblet and leaned his shoulder against the wall. “If it were as bad as all that, you’d have jumped out the window already.”
Her mouth twitched up in spite of herself as she accepted the wine. “You’re assuming I could get it open before my aunt descended on me.”
“I could distract her with my dazzling wit and charm, but then your uncle would challenge me. A mess from start to finish, you know.”
“A pity.” She sipped her wine and found a small smile for him. “I’m sorry, Karim. It’s been a trying month with many changes. I’m afraid I’m not excellent company.”
“Trying is putting it mildly if you had to deal with my cousin.” His grin was mischievous. “You wouldn’t believe the rumors. I don’t believe them, and I believe damn near everything.”
Avani felt warmth rise in her cheeks as she stared down at the wine in her goblet. “I can imagine. Women don’t often leave the Savage Temple at my age without a mate.”
Karim’s light eyes were sharp. “No, they do not. So why did you, little one?”
As if she’d had a choice. Oh, Celine had been very solicitous. Eager to make arrangements that would dispel any rumor that Avani was being sent away from the Temple in disgrace.
Even if she was.
Not in the mood to discuss her shortcomings, Avani sidestepped the question completely. “I’m more interested in hearing the rumors. I imagine they’re a great deal more amusing than truth could ever be.”
“They’re stranger, at any rate.” There was something almost too casual in his demeanor. “The most oft-repeated rumor is that you rejected him. That he wanted you for his mate and you refused.”
Her chest hurt. Her stomach felt tied in knots. It took all the training she’d been given in the art of control to show no reaction but mild amusement. “What kind of foolish girl would reject the king’s own heir?” What kind, indeed?
But Karim didn’t laugh. He didn’t say anything at first, just stared at her as he straightened off the wall. “By the Goddess. It’s true, isn’t it?”
She refused to let herself react. “Are you saying you find me foolish?”
“Of course not.” He studied her face, his brows drawn together in a puzzled frown. “But you loved him when you were younger. Everyone but Rais knew it. What changed?”
She felt another twisting stab of pain, and this time she doubted any amount of practice could keep it from her eyes. She looked away from him and found the queen, a beautiful, regal woman who suffered her own pain with graceful elegance. “Nothing,” she whispered. “Everyone but Rais knows.”
Karim made a soft noise of sympathy and laid his hand on her shoulder. “Your aunt and mine have conspired to throw us together. It isn’t the best of circumstances, but... Well, a man would be lucky, Avani. Me, or anyone else. Just remember that.”
His hand was warm and comforting. He was older than Rais, almost twice her own age. Old enough to have served his time in the war and come home to enjoy the pleasures wealth and beauty could bring. Gossip linked Karim to an endless string of women and no small number of scandals.
An experienced man and a dangerous one, but at least he seemed willing to be patient with her. She lifted her gaze to his and wet her lips nervously. “My uncle has many daughters who gained wealth and power with their matings, but he encouraged them to wait for a man who would cherish them. I’ll tell you what I told Rais, and you might find it equally naive. But I want a man who loves me.”