“You are an odd mix,” Ruv said, sounding amused.
“How’s that now?”
“You. The dragon. The unicorn and the giant. The knight. The gods must have a sense of humor if they have put the fate of the world on your shoulders.”
“I don’t know if you’re complimenting us or insulting us,” I said slowly. “If it’s an insult, fuck you. If not, thanks, that’s a very nice thing to say.”
His smile widened. “She didn’t expect you to be as you are.”
“Vadoma?”
“Yes. And I think it threw her off.”
“She thought I was going to fall in line and do whatever she said.”
“You’re here, aren’t you?”
&
nbsp; And that—dammit. “It wasn’t her.”
He arched an eyebrow at me.
“It wasn’t just her,” I amended. “It was… everything else.”
“What she showed you,” he said.
“Yeah, I guess.” And a thought struck me again, one that I’d let stew in the back of my mind. “Of course, she could have just showed me what she wanted me to see. Magic is manipulation, after all.”
“Perhaps,” Ruv said. “After all, she would want the most powerful wizard in an age doing her bidding, don’t you think?”
“That doesn’t really make me feel any better.”
“I didn’t know it was supposed to.”
I frowned at him. “The whole enigmatic thing you’ve got going on? Stop it. It’s annoying, and I don’t give two shits about it.”
He laughed. “Comes with being the Wolf to the phuro.”
“Being groomed doesn’t mean you get to act like a mysterious dick.”
There was a flash of something on his face that told me I was treading on dangerous ground. “I wasn’t groomed,” he said tightly. “I was chosen because of who I am. I didn’t need to change to fit others’ opinions of me. I’m not you, Sam.”
Ouch. And maybe deserved. But still. “No. You’re not me. And I’m not you.”
He shrugged. “I noticed.”
“The sexual tension just drips between the two of you,” Kevin breathed. “This is like my own private erotic show. I don’t have any money, but will you take requests? And if so, what are your hard limits? How do you feel about object insertion?”
“Against,” I said at the same time that Ruv said, “Depends on the object.”
I gaped at him.
Kevin purred. “I like the desert.”
“How did we even get here?” I asked. “And why do I always end up asking myself that?” I shook my head. “Stop distracting me. I am here for a very specific reason.”
“And what would that be?” Ruv asked.