“He’s not that bad,” I protested, even though I was unable to contain a grin. “He saved your life.”
Tayrel Kan closed his eyes and let out a sigh, his face twisted in pain. “He wasn’t doing anyone a favor.”
My mirth vanished as fast as it appeared, and a cold shiver ran down my spine.
“Don’t say that.”
He chuckled—a strange, self-deprecating sound I never expected to hear from him.
“Come on, has no one ever told you about me? How I’m more trouble than I’m worth? How they can’t understand why Myar Mal even keeps me?”
I hesitated. I didn’t want to fuel his apparent self-loathing, but I was a terrible liar. He would likely read the truth in my mind, anyway.
“Laik Var told me to stay away from you.”
“Did he tell you why?”
“You know,” I murmured, looking away.
“Come on, I want to hear it. You look cute when you blush.” Without thinking, I lifted my hand to my cheek. It was burning.
Ah, fuck it.
I took a deep breath. “He told me…” I noticed I was rocking in my chair and forced myself to still, “you may try to hit on me.”
He chuckled again, and I felt my blush deepening.
“That’s a nice explanation,” he admitted finally. “Elegant. One that worked without him telling you anything important and still technically not lying; and placed all the blame on you.”
“Why is that?” I asked sullenly. I didn’t like being mocked, even though I came to realize it was just the way he talked.
“Well, you’re the bigot who can’t be trusted around a man who might try to get into your pants.”
“That’s a bit unfair, I think.”
I lived among the Dahlsi for cycles, doing my damnedest to treat everyone equally—man or woman, human or otherwise. I didn’t care what species they were or who they were sleeping with, as long as they left me out of it. Apparently, that wasn’t enough. “Ever since the rebellion started, people who don’t know me assume I’m a bigot, only because my parents came from the wrong world.”
“To be fair, you called me an imp, so I think we’re even.”
My mood soured even more. “Besides, I don’t think Laik Var—”
He cut me short, staring me pointedly in the eye, “He was Dahlsi. You shouldn’t forget that. If the choice was between being fair to you and preserving his own way of life, which one do you expect he’d chose? I mean, come on, look around. Every other man in Dahls has at least experimented. I bet Laik Var didn’t warn you about Saral Tal, hm?”
Once again, I got an impression some things were clear for everyone except me.
“Maybe we’d tell if you asked,” he said, and I mentally cursed all the sorcerers in Dahls. Tayrel Kan only smirked. “Seriously, didn’t they teach you how to shield your mind, or did you just flunk those classes?”
I gritted my teeth. I passed all of my classes, but that was cycles ago. No one had to do it all the time. Reading other people’s thoughts was rude. Get the fuck out of my head, pest!
He laughed, and with the mood completely sullen, I put up my shields. I decided from then on I would have to do it every time we were in the same room.
“So?” he prodded after a moment of silence. “Are you gonna ask?”
I huffed, too annoyed to care. “It’s not really my business.”
“Aw, come on, don’t act like you’re not curious. Don’t worry, we Dahlsi are a gossipy bunch.” He paused, then added with a conspiratorial whisper, “Laik Var wouldn’t mind.”
“All right,” I relented. I leaned back in the chair, crossing my arms. “Tell me.”
“What?” he asked. Was he messing with me?
“Well,” I stammered, at a loss for words, but then took a guess and finished quickly, “you had something specific you wanted to tell me, right?”
He gave an exasperated huff.
“Fair enough. I guess you want to know about your favorite ex-vessár.”
I was more interested in him, but as soon as I opened my mouth, he raised his hand in protest.
“No, you lost your chance to ask. I’m choosing a topic now. Laik Var then!”
Not exactly what I was hoping for. It seemed to be a habit of Tayrel Kan, to change the subject or come up with a new one every time I thought about asking him a personal question. I wondered if he did that on purpose, perhaps even using his mind-reading capabilities to avoid questioning.
“Where do I start?” he continued. “Maybe with the fact that he hated Myar Mal with a burning passion?”
Just like that, my disappointment gave way to curiosity. If Tayrel Kan was deflecting, he was doing it masterfully.
“Why?” I asked, my mood lightening a bit. After all, any information was better than none.
Tayrel Kan’s smile widened and took on his usual predatory sneer.
“Laik Var had a beautiful daughter he loved very much,” he started in clear mockery of narrative tone. “He wished all the best for her. He wanted her to be a sorceress. She had talent. One point three, not bad for an unmodified person. And the brains. Everything went well until she met a charming soldier with a stellar record and a bright future. A bit imperious, but that’s understandable. And that face, oh, by Vhalfr! Pardon my language, but even knowing what kind of bastard he is, if he told me to suck, I would only ask how hard. Anyway, before you know it, Laik Var’s precious daughter abandoned her promising career to follow the pretty soldier.”
Tayrel Kan’s eyes drifted past as he got lost in thoughts.
“Is that it?” I prodded after a moment of silence.
He sighed. “I don’t know, Aldait Han. Some people like to
