"I knew it!" Riley cackled as he dropped onto his side. He looked up at Toka, who dared peek at him. Riley waggled his eyebrows, and Toka couldn't stop his giggle. "You two are so stinking adorable." Riley sat up, his golden-amber eyes intense and his expression determined. "I'm not giving up, you know. That law is ancient, and it needs to be changed. Why shouldn't you and Rayner be allowed to be together? It's ridiculous."
Toka let out a sigh. "It's how it's always been."
"Doesn't mean that's how it should stay. Believe me. I know a thing or two about shitty laws." Riley slumped back against the tree. "Khalon's just so damn stubborn when it comes to tradition. I might not understand all the rules and laws of the Soldati Realm just yet, but I know this whole 'can't mate with someone below your rank' nonsense is bullshit. If two consenting adults fall in love and want to be together, why the hell shouldn't they be?"
Toka stifled a laugh. Riley wasn't one to mince words. Toka admired that about him. Because Riley had been raised in the human world--his true nature only being revealed a little over a year ago when Khalon found him, and only after his death--he had a certain way about him that differed from anyone else in the realm. He said what he felt, refusing to hold his tongue, propriety be damned. Especially when it concerned something he felt passionately about. Like the fact he believed Toka and Rayner should be together.
"Even if the law was to change," Toka said, his heart aching at the thought, "who's to say Rayner wishes to keep me?"
Riley blinked at him, as if the thought hadn't crossed his mind. "Why wouldn't he keep you? I've seen the way he looks at you. Rayner might joke around, but when it comes to you, he's different. Believe me. The first time I even said your name, I thought he was going to skewer me."
Toka was surprised by that. "Really?"
Riley nodded, his eyes wide. "Yeah, the dude can be scary. I was commenting on how quick Tura, his tailor, was, and Rayner said something about foxlings being captivating creatures. I thought I might get a little out of him, so I said, 'Like Toka?' And you should have seen his eyes. They were almost black. I don't know if he thought I was interested, but when I said you were very sweet and I felt calm around you, his expression changed. He was... soft again. He agreed. Said you had a way about you."
Toka's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't stop from smiling like a loon. Was it possible Rayner cared more for him than he'd originally believed? One thing was for certain. He couldn't wait to find out.
Chapter Two
"YOU LOOK ridiculous."
Rayner blinked at Adira as she joined him in the corridor on the way to Khalon's study for their usual afternoon council meeting. He smiled sweetly. "And a good afternoon to you. Why am I ridiculous this time?"
"You're smiling like an idiot," she groused.
Rayner chuckled. "It's good for the soul. Perhaps you should try it sometime."
Adira released the most indelicate, unladylike snort. "The moment I start smiling like that, I'll hang up my sword. You and Khalon are worse than fledgling Soldati. One smile from those pretty boys and you're stumbling over yourselves."
Rayner shrugged. "What's wrong with smiling? Or pretty boys?"
"Nothing is wrong with either. Smiling is fine, in moderation. There are times I wonder if Khalon has lost his senses."
"It's called being in love, Adira." Had his dear friend ever been in love? He couldn't recall her ever speaking of it, much less displaying any signs of amorous affection toward male or female Soldati, or anyone else for that matter. No, wait, there had been that one time during the Soldati Summer Solstice Festival, where Rayner had spotted Adira tucked behind one of the tents kissing a stunning Soldati warrior with silky dark skin and the most incredible gold-green eyes he'd ever seen. What was her name? Fiorentina.
Adira's eyebrows shot up near her hairline. "Are you telling me you're in love?"
Rayner puckered his lips as if to kiss her. "Why? Would it make you jealous?"
"Not even if you were the last Soldati in the realm." She narrowed her steel-gray eyes at him. "Are you?"
"The last Soldati in the realm?"
Her exasperated sigh was music to his ears. "You exhaust me."
"Did Fiorentina exhaust you?" He waggled his eyebrows, and the scandalous expression that crossed her face was too much. Rayner threw his head back and laughed. Teasing Adira was always such fun. Not nearly as fun as aggravating the hell out of Khalon, but still quite fun.
"You're an insufferable bastard."
"Is that a yes?"
Her noise of disgust was admirable, but the twinkle in her usually hard eyes gave her away. Like Khalon and Ezra, Rayner had known Adira since childhood. As hard as she might try to hide it from him, her eyes could not conceal the truth. It would seem the beautiful Fiorentina did a good deal more than exhaust Adira.
They entered Khalon's study, and Rayner winked at Riley when the prince waved cheerfully at him from his regal seat beside Khalon, who was busy shuffling through several letters. Rayner had grown fond of the young prince from the moment they'd met. Riley was exactly what Khalon needed. He was high-spirited, kindhearted, and more often than not, had a big boyish smile on his face. Most importantly, he was as stubborn and strong-willed as Khalon. Riley had no qualms about speaking his mind, and he wasn't about to put up with nonsense from anyone, not even the king of the Soldati. As for Khalon, he wouldn't have it any other way. He was madly in love with Riley, and although at times Riley drove Khalon mad, he'd confessed to Rayner how he wouldn't change one hair on the man. Riley brought a lightness to Khalon's heart that Rayner feared his friend had lost some time ago. The two were perfectly suited for each other, despite their less than amicable beginning.
Toka entered from the side door, a silver tray in his delicate hands, and Rayner once again found himself captivated. Foxlings were stunning creatures. Toka's large amber eyes were rimmed in black kohl, and his silky hair was a fiery red, falling over his brow and at times his eyes. He was often brushing it aside. His heart-shaped face suited his sweetness, and his plump lips called to Rayner. How he relished kissing those lips. Like most foxlings, Toka possessed delicate features. He was sinewy, graceful, and agile. His beauty--in Rayner's opinion--was unrivaled. He was kind, gentle, and playful. Toka's smile stole Rayner's breath away. Rayner's thoughts went to ear
lier that morning when Toka had writhed with want against him, how his lips parted as he gasped Rayner's name.