Fortunately, Seyn had a foolproof way to change the subject of the conversation. “I had a fight with Ksar,” he said, his face warming a little as he tried not to think about what that “fight” had entailed. His wayward cock twitched, and Seyn crossed his legs with a scowl. “Now I’m avoiding him, because I won’t be responsible for my actions if I see his stupid, arrogant face.”
As he expected, Jamil heaved a long-suffering sigh. “For heaven’s sake, Seyn. You should try harder to get along with your bondmate. Every relationship needs work, bond or no bond. Personally, I don’t get why you dislike him. He’s highly intelligent, and he’s perfectly reasonable and polite—”
“To you, maybe,” Seyn said with a scoff. “You’re the Crown Prince of our grand clan. He sees you as his equal.”
“Not really,” Jamil said. “His social standing is quite a bit higher domestically, and a lot higher in the intergalactic political scene. We aren’t really equals, so that can’t be why Ksar’ngh’chaali is perfectly civil to me.”
Seyn’s lips twisted. “It isn’t exactly comforting, you know.”
Jamil chuckled and stood up. Grazing his fingers against the womb’s outer wall again, he turned to the door but paused. “Everyone has their own version of the truth, brother. He’s not a petty man. Have you ever wondered why he treats you differently from others? Think about it.”
And he strode out of the room, leaving Seyn staring after his brother with a frown.
* * *
The horniness wasn’t going away.
He was constantly in a state of semi-arousal, and he had no idea how to deal with it. Harry hadn’t been very helpful when Seyn had stealthily asked him how he had handled it. Bafflingly, it seemed it had been nowhere near as bad for Harry after his bond had broken. Maybe Ksar had been right, after all, and Harry’s different physiology made the difference. In any case, Seyn couldn’t really ask Harry in depth without explaining his own situation. The conversation had been extremely awkward and uncomfortable as it was. It was obvious that even talking about his brief time without the bond was painful for Harry, so Seyn had decided against telling his friend that he didn’t have the bond anymore. It would be like rubbing salt into a fresh wound. He felt guilty enough that he was unbonded while Harry was once again stuck with an unwanted bond.
The only other person he could ask for advice was Ksar, and there was no way in hell he would ask advice from that ass, especially not after…not after what had happened. Not that Seyn allowed himself to dwell on it too much. What had happened in Ksar’s study had meant nothing; these days a strong gust of wind could give him an erection. He had been just too messed up after his bond’s breaking. That was all.
Anyway, the point was, he wasn’t going to ask for advice from Ksar.
But to his utter bewilderment, Ksar contacted him himself.
Of course, because Ksar lived to make his life uncomfortable, he had unknowingly picked the least convenient moment possible.
“Um,” Seyn said intelligently when the palace AI informed him of Ksar’s call. He stared at the ceiling, his hands still wrapped around his cock. Ksar had never called him before. He couldn’t imagine Ksar ever calling him unless it was a life or death situation.
“I will accept the call,” he told the AI reluctantly, taking his hand off his cock and switching on his earpiece. “Yes?” he said as neutrally as he could. After his conversation with Jamil, he was determined to be the better person and try to be civil to Ksar. After all, Ksar had kept his promise. Seyn no longer had any reason to antagonize him.
“Where have you been?”
Seyn’s hackles rose involuntarily at Ksar’s impatient, dismissive tone. It always rubbed him the wrong way that Ksar spoke to him as if he had better things to do and Seyn was merely a nuisance he had to deal with.
“What?” Seyn said, his tone more hostile than before. Screw being civil. Ksar didn’t deserve it.
“You have been avoiding all social functions,” Ksar said. “People are talking.”
“I’m sorry, was there a question somewhere?” Seyn said with fake sweetness. “And since when do I have to explain myself to you?”
“Since I did you a favor and broke your bond,” Ksar said. “If you act suspiciously, people will watch you closely. If you give yourself away, you will give me away, too.”
“I’ll have you know, I’ve been avoiding social gatherings for precisely this reason,” Seyn said sharply, annoyed that Ksar thought he was an idiot. “My control isn’t perfect yet. I’m struggling, okay? I don’t want to give myself away.”
There was silence on the line.
It didn’t last long.
“So you’re admitting that I was right,” Ksar said. His voice didn’t sound smug or anything, just his usual flat monotone, but it still managed to make Seyn fume.