And still she scoffed at his arguments. “Aeron was so little trusted by his own family that he was banished here to this realm to live out eternity. Doesn’t that give you any kind of qualms?”

“No. Not really. Why should it?” Nick gestured to the forest around them. “This is where one of my own generals was banished after his family cursed him.” He gave her a pointed stare to remind her of how tenuous this argument was. “Do you really want to open that deck, Liv? And have me ask why you were given your position and banished? Trust me. You can’t win playing this hand. Think about it.”

She pressed her lips together as she fumed. “I can teach you to use your powers, too, you know?”

And every fiber of his being warned him against it. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t trust her.

Not even a little bit.

“Liv, this isn’t a contest. You’re not winning or losing. Relax and breathe.”

She bristled. “It feels like one. You always make me feel like I’m second place and unimportant. With everyone. Whether it’s Kody or Caleb or Zavid. And now Aeron. I feel like you like everyone more than me.”

Was she serious? Or insane?

Or just whiney and annoying?

Nick couldn’t believe she had all the power she did and he had to placate her damaged ego. For real?

Yet he did. How could she be so needy and insecure? For that matter, how could she be so dense and immature?

He was the teenager. She was thousands of years old. Surely she didn’t need him to stroke her ego. Did she?

One look at the expression on her face and it was apparent, she did. How weird was that?

Sighing, Nick shook his head at her. “C’mon, Livia. Some of that can’t be helped, and you know it. You are a very attractive woman, and you tend to stand a little too close to me at times.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning I love Kody, and I don’t want her to get the wrong idea about us. Nor do I want her feelings hurt. And not that I ever would, but I could sit naked on top of Caleb’s lap all day long, and spoon him in bed, and eat from his spork at school while he hand-fed and burped me, and she wouldn’t care. You sit next to me while she’s across the table, and it’s open war.”

“That’s not fair.”