The Frozen Prince (The Beast Charmer #2) - Maxym M. Martineau Page 0,19

to stand beside us. He cleared his throat. “Not to interrupt this stunning display of machismo, but we’ve got company.”

He nodded toward the entrance where a newcomer loitered, hammered-nickel eyes alight with curiosity and deadly intelligence. Glossy, blue-black hair kissed the tops of his ears, with a few locks on either side stretching down to his jaw. The lazy way he reclined against the doorframe reminded me of Noc’s ability to lull offenders into a false sense of security, and panic flared in my core.

Mage. Unbridled power rolled off him in waves, and he straightened himself when Gaige offered his hand. “Interesting start to the day.”

“Indeed.” Gaige gestured toward the table still occupied by Kost and Calem. “Shall we?”

As Gaige and the mage passed us, he spared Noc a glance with a raised brow and an arrogant smirk. He dragged his fingers along the backs of chairs, seemingly claiming the space as his own without uttering a word. Noc bit back a growl and relinquished my hand before following them through the maze of chairs and tables. Great. Another person likely to spark Noc’s oath-induced irritability. Turning back to Dez, I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off.

“You can grab your stuff later.” Hurt lanced his words, and he picked up a rag and began polishing mugs. The broken shards of glass at his feet went unnoticed.

“Dez—”

“You couldn’t trust me with your life, but him?” He scoffed and tossed the rag into the metal basin. “Better join your group.” Stalking through the hidden back door where the ale and liquor was stored, he disappeared and effectively ended our conversation.

Guilt threatened to send me running after him, but the mage wouldn’t wait, and I had a sneaking suspicion neither would Noc. Retreating to our table, I slid into the seat next to him and placed a hand on his thigh. Aside from the slight twitch of a muscle, he didn’t acknowledge it.

“Thank you for meeting with us,” he said to the mage sitting across from him. “I’m Noc. This is Calem and Kost, and you already know Gaige.” Noc gestured around before tilting his chin in my direction. “And this is my pair bond, Leena.”

I swallowed the hefty rock lodged in my throat. Acknowledging him as my partner in front of Dez instead of my anam-cara, or pair bond, had been a mistake. “Partner” could be anyone—a fling, an early romance, a friend. The unintentional burn must have left him reeling. Angry was not the way we wanted to enter this negotiation. Noc leaned his forearms against the heavy planks of the table. The silver ring clinging to his hand caught in the flickering light of the candle.

The man’s eyes went straight to the winking emerald. Slowly, he returned Noc’s gaze. “I arranged a meeting with Gaige. Not you.”

Gaige tossed an arm over the back of his chair, angling his body in the direction of the mage. “My apologies, Eryx. I should have given you notice, but I only happened across this opportunity yesterday.”

Opportunity? My nails bit into Noc’s leg, but he didn’t flinch.

Corded tension knotted tight at the base of his neck. “We need your help.”

Eryx was unfazed. “I’m here to help Gaige. That was the deal.”

“I’ll still hold up my end of the bargain, as promised. I’m just passing off the benefits of your expertise to my friends here. Satisfactory?”

Eryx’s sharp gaze flitted from assassin to assassin. “That’s your call, I suppose.” Knitting his fingers together behind his head, Eryx leaned back in his chair. The muscles across his chest flexed with the motion, visible thanks to the plain white-collared tunic that opened to his sternum. His cuffs were folded up over the black sleeves of his jacket, revealing foreign magic ciphers inked in glimmering black on his inner wrists.

Gaige straightened and extended his hand. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Eryx shot him a warning look. “I’m not a forgiving man, Gaige. If anything should happen—”

“Then I will incur your wrath, along with the entirety of your clan. I can assure you, your prize will be hidden and bound. No one will discover them, let alone read them. We have secrets here too, that need protecting.” Gaige waited with his hand outstretched.

“As long as you understand.” Slipping one hand inside his jacket, Eryx extracted a delicate roll of parchment tinged brown with age, a twine knot holding it in place. “These pages must remain hidden. I cannot stress this enough.”

“Of course.” Gaige gingerly took the parcel from Eryx and