Page 86 of Threaded
Sebastian knew which “he” she referred to without having to ask. “That feels like … a problem.” He met Ciana’s golden gaze. “Perhaps one for a Lady to help resolve?”
Ciana snorted. “Nice try, pretty boy, but I’m not getting in the middle of those two just because you batted your eyelashes at me.”
Sebastian shrugged. “Worth a shot.”
“I think you should try talking to Andrian first. He may have spoken to her already; we just don’t know. And if hehastalked to her, and has already arranged to be her escort, isn’t that something you, as the captain of the Armature, should know?”
She had a point.
He groaned deep in his throat. “Fine.” He stood from the table, Ciana’s eyes tracking him. He picked up their empty dishes before moving to the sinks lining the far wall. Appearing at his side as he cleaned the plates, Ciana accepted them to help dry as he finished. Once they were done, he turned back to her.
“I guess I have to go find Andrian. Wish me luck and pray to the Goddess he doesn’t try to rip out my throat.”
Ciana giggled, and the sound made him smile.
* * *
“So. This is how you’ve decided to spend your free time? I must say, Andrian, this may be a new low.”
Andrian barely glanced back over his shoulder at Sebastian before returning his attention to his glass of cheap whiskey, downing the rest in a single swig.
It hadn’t taken Sebastian long to track Andrian to the dark, seedy hovel in Verith’s market district. It was Andrian’s favorite whenever he wanted to vanish, to get out of the palace walls and pretend he had a life beyond the one the gods chose for him.
Sebastian only knew this because Andrian had once confessed those feelings to him while exceedingly intoxicated. Sebastian wasn’t sure if Andrian even remembered, and he wasn’t stupid enough to bring it up.
He preferred his head attached nicely to his shoulders.
Sebastian moved to the bar, seating himself on the stool beside Andrian and raising a finger to the wizened barkeep. The man grunted in Sebastian’s direction before placing a second cloudy glass on the counter and filling both it and Andrian’s with two fingers of whiskey. The pungent odor wafted up to Sebastian, and he wrinkled his nose before taking a sip that burned through his entire body.
“By the Goddess, man. You’re drinking straight sphinx piss.”
Andrian only grunted in response before taking a swig of his own. “Tastes fine to me.”
“You’re many things, Andrian, but I’ve never known you to be a liar.”
Andrian shrugged. “I find myself lying about many things lately. Mostly to myself.”
They sat in silence for a long moment, Sebastian’s mind churning over those cryptic words.
Questions for another day, maybe.
“I assume you know why I came down into the city to find you.”
Andrian’s piercing blue gaze burned the side of Sebastian’s face. “I try not to assume too much about anything. Always leads to disappointment.”
Deep breaths. It wouldn’t be a conversation with Andrian without a hint of frustration for everyone involved. He wondered for a moment how Mariah managed to put up with his incessantly maddening conversations.
Probably because they haven’t been doing much talking.
He shut that line of thought down as quickly as he could.
“I know you’re not an idiot. And I know that you’re aware of what is happening this week.”
Andrian lifted a finger to the barkeep, and the man responded promptly, again refilling Andrian’s now-empty glass. He took another swig before staring at a whirl in the sticky, stained bar, refusing to meet Sebastian’s gaze.
“Why should I care about thePorofirat? It’s not like I’m the one hosting the damned thing.”
Narrowing his eyes at him, Sebastian scoffed. “It doesn’t matter to me if you care or not. What I want to know is if you’ve spoken to Mariah about it.”