Page 25 of Silver & Gold
When Raider tilted his head, Seth took the hint and nibbled along the side of his neck. Raider let a sound of pleasure hum in his throat. He said, “My thoughts rarely wander from having your cock in my ass. Sharing me with Atri was your idea.”
Seth nipped him. “It was not my idea, as you know perfectly well. It was a compliment. And if Atri wants you, she’ll have to go through me.”
“Careful, Seth. You say that right at her temple door.”
“When have you ever cared about the gods?”
“Oh, I used to. We’re just not on speaking terms these days. But you care. Isn’t that what matters?”
Seth’s grip on Raider’s hair tightened. “I’ll give her a present then. I won’t give her you.”
Raider turned his head to see Seth. He warned, only partly teasing, “Don’t anger her. She can be vengeful.”
Still with one hand in Raider’s hair, firm and dominating, Seth brought his other to Raider’s face and stroked tenderly along his cheek. Seth’s brilliant green eyes burned with all the intensity that Raider loved as he said in a gravelly voice, “I don’t think my love for you, possessive and greedy though it is, will anger her.”
Raider sucked in a breath. So much had happened since they had first spoken of love in that dark, difficult moment in the olive grove. There had not been time to speak of it again, not in the way they needed to. Raider still hadn’t found the right space inside himself for Seth’s words. He felt them in his chest, at the edge of his heart, but something kept them from sinking in.
Seth’s eyebrows twitched together, like he saw something in Raider’s face that Raider hadn’t meant for him to see. Raider’s heart started pounding as Seth’s lips parted to speak. But Seth didn’t get the chance because Julian arrived with breakfast. Raider could almost have thanked the gods.
Raider pulled away from Seth to walk down and meet Julian by one of the winged lionesses. The young arcanist, who had a large clay bowl in his hands, looked frazzled.
“Did you have trouble?” Raider asked.
“My Kastalan isn’t the best. I thought I asked for three bowls of farro and eggs, but I ended up with—”
Raider peered in at the contents. “One bowl of beef stew?”
Julian grimaced. “I’m not sure where I went wrong.”
Raider grinned, amused. Then his grin faltered as a terrible possibility occurred to him. “Please tell me you at least got the biscuits.”
“Yes, yes, they’re in my pocket.”
Raider took the bowl of stew from Julian and walked it up the steps to Seth, who raised an eyebrow.
“Nothing wrong with stew for breakfast,” Raider said.
“It is hard to eat without a spoon though,” Seth pointed out.
“Oh!” Julian fumbled amid the tattered folds of his yellow kaftan. He pulled out a wooden spoon and passed it to Seth.
Seth took a couple bites then handed the bowl to Raider. Raider took it then extended both hands to Julian, one offering the stew and the other empty and expectant.
Julian fished some sticky honey biscuits from his pocket and passed them to Raider, taking the bowl in exchange. Raider went to sit beside Seth on the steps while Julian sat a couple levels below. A stream of blue smoke slipped from Julian’s pack and solidified into a tabby cat.
Raider picked lint off his honey biscuits then shoved one into his mouth.
“You’re not just having sweets for breakfast,” Seth informed him as he accepted the bowl back from Julian.
“I don’t see why not.”
Seth extended the bowl toward Raider without taking a bite himself. Raider tried to ignore him, but Seth just held it there obnoxiously.
Raider sent him what he hoped was a withering look, but Seth remained stone faced. With a dramatic sigh, Raider took the bowl, spooned up a few bites, and shoved the thing back at Seth so he could enjoy his biscuits in peace.
“We need to make a plan,” Seth said after taking a bite of the stew. Passing it to Julian, he added, “And I need to know your intentions.”
“I have to go to Zarina,” Julian insisted. “She’s my only hope of exposing Kahzir and getting him out of the Arcanum.”