Dain turned and stalked off, clearing the field for the next group; his friend spent one long moment looking at me with that same faint smile, before turning and following.

18. Gifts of the Gods

Chapter 18

Gifts of the Gods

I clattered down the stairs and all but skipped towards the rooms where the fighters got ready. They were basically unisex locker rooms, except with racks for armors and weapons in addition to showers, cubbies for clothing, and laundry bins. The one time I poked my nose in I immediately turned around and left, given the number of naked and half-naked sweaty fae. Too weird to explore a locker room idly, but being there to meet someone was an entirely different thing, and I was psyched to get to maybe have a friend. Anyone who hung out with Dain of their own volition had to be strong-willed, and I was sure Zhiolas had embarrassing stories I might be able to tease out of him.

As if a whole bunch of hot, naked fae were no big thing, I strolled into the staging rooms. Since I was a human and Dain's soulmate, I was already out-of-place in the palace, so unless I was at some sort of formal event, I didn't bother trying to blend in. My jeans and silk blouse definitely stood out among the fighters, but I would have stood out in whatever I'd worn. I was no slouch in the physical department, but I'd built my body for climbing, not fighting, and I moved like a human and not a wild animal.

My eyes fell on Zhiolas and Dain as I scanned the room, and I started towards them. Zhiolas had already stripped down to nothing but a thin pair of pants, while Dain still wore every stitch of clothing he'd been fighting in, save for having removed his breastplate. If I admired the strong lines of Zhiolas's back as he toweled off his hair, who could blame me?

Except maybe Dain, I realized, returning my gaze to him. His jaw had gone tight, and he didn't meet my eyes. He had to know how he came out in comparison to the other fae, and it couldn't feel good to always be the brute in a room of beauties. I wasn't going to say anything to him along the lines of how fuckable I found him, because it seemed like a terrible way to try and be friends with someone, but I could at least refrain from ogling one of his two best friends right in front of him.

"Hey," I said as I got close, smiling at Dain. "You wanted to see me?"

His eyes flicked over towards me as I resolutely ignored the way the pale set of washboard abs to my left drew the eye. "Leah, might I introduce you to Zhiolas Ulahana, commander of the third battalion of the second army?" Dain said. "Perhaps you recognize him as one of my companions."