The Frozen Prince (The Beast Charmer #2) - Maxym M. Martineau Page 0,18

match, more of a graphite shade than a true raven’s black, but clothing would be safe from snags.

Our troupe had taken refuge at a small table toward the rear with mismatched chairs, and Noc sat with his back to the wall. With the seat beside him empty, he waited with careful eyes for me to join him. Calem glanced back at me with a wicked smirk and stepped away, effectively jettisoning me from his shadow and leaving me alone to face the music. Calem was fast, but not fast enough to plop himself in Noc’s sight line before Dez turned from his place at the bar and dropped the mug he’d been polishing.

The shattering of glass cut through the murmuring conversations and ushered in a curious silence. Dez rushed around the bar, unconcerned with the way his boots ground shards into the soft wood, and wrapped me in an embrace that threatened to splinter my bones.

“Leena, thank the gods.” His lips skirted across the crown of my head, and I swear I felt Noc’s stare embedding into my skull.

“Hi, Dez.” I gave him a quick hug before disentangling myself from his limbs. “You’ve been busy. This place actually feels clean for once.” The backdrop of muted discussions resumed as patrons returned to their business. Calem’s voice carried above the rest as he tried to engage Noc in conversation, but he never responded.

A goofy grin captured Dez’s lips, revealing too many teeth and hinting at the rugged charm I’d fallen prey to before. “I had some free time on my hands without you around.” A callused thumb brushed the length of my jaw. “You took your sweet time coming home.”

“Dez—”

“I left your room the way it was. No need to thank me.” Voice low, he placed a hand on my waist and squeezed. The jagged scar running from his earlobe to his jaw twisted as he smirked. “I take that back. I’d very much like you to thank me.”

I didn’t even get a chance to warn him. Shadows exploded in a plume of inky black, and suddenly Noc was beside me. Hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers, he ignored me entirely and instead twisted invisible knives into Dez’s hide with his stare. His sudden display of power sent everyone into a frozen state of silence, each one balancing on a tightrope of alarm.

Dez, for all his worth, took one look at Noc and pulled me behind him. “Can I help you?”

Somewhere, Calem cursed.

Eerie calm swept through Noc’s hard expression. “You can take your hands off her.”

“Back off, or I’ll throw you out. This is my establishment.”

“Dez.” I gripped his forearm, and his brown gaze softened as his eyes landed on me. “It’s okay. I know him.”

“I’m not sure you do.” He turned back to Noc. He may have been unaware of the danger lying in wait before him, but I couldn’t miss Noc’s telltale signs. The balled fists in his pockets. The wild muscle ticking in his jaw. Dez only settled further into his heels and folded his arms across his chest. “I remember you. You came in here before to barter with someone over a Charmer’s life. Considering there’s only one of those around, my guess is that’s you, Leena. This man is trying to kill you.”

Noc growled. “That was a private conversation.”

Dez cracked his knuckles. “Nothing’s private in my house. Now, get the hell out.”

“Enough.” Slipping away from Dez, I placed myself between them. Noc’s lack of control was wildly apparent to me. I knew it was all thanks to the oath leaking poison into his veins, but of course, that meant nothing to Dez. “I know about that.”

“Leena, he tried to kill you.”

“There’s a lot going on here you don’t understand.” Touching my chin to my shoulder, I held out my hand to Noc. His fingers twined with mine in an instant, and he gave them a gentle tug. “He’s with me, Dez.”

“He’s with you?” He took a quick step back and looked at our threaded fingers with new meaning. “He’s your partner?”

I let the heavy silence linger just long enough that Dez knew my answer before I voiced it. “Yes.”

Beside me, Noc flinched. His fingers went lax in my hold, but he held his gaze steady. Behind us, the door to Midnight Jester groaned open and thudded closed, but nothing could break the tension simmering to a boiling point between the three of us.

Except for Gaige. Somewhere in the middle of our standoff, he’d come