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All right, maybe he did. The point was, he’d never do it himself. He was too proud for that. No, he probably had minions, just like Pearl had had. The two of them were alone here right now, though, so Taylor was ninety percent sure nothing physical was going to happen to him.

“Yes, I’m aware of my job description. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m on my day off, and I have something planned.”

Ilias didn’t move. Instead, he stared Taylor down, almost as if he expected him to be cowed. Taylor wasn’t afraid of Ilias, though. Maybe he should be, but as much as he disliked Ilias, he knew the dragon was smart. He wouldn’t do anything that would get him in trouble.

“You shouldn’t fraternize with the king’s brother,” Ilias said. “You’re his guard. Twig is in line for the throne.”

Taylor snorted. “Is he? As far as I know, Killian’s children are in line for the throne, and he has two of them.”

Ilias sniffed. “They’re not related to the old king.”

“I don’t think Killian cares about that. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s relieved they’re not related to the old king. From what I’ve heard, the man wasn’t exactly well-liked.”

“He didn’t always make the best decisions, but he was our king. Killian is king now, but one of his siblings might take his place eventually.”

“And you don’t want whoever that might be to fraternize with humans.” That was ridiculous. There was no way Ilias actually wanted Twig on the throne, except maybe to manipulate him. Taylor thought Ilias was weak, which was laughable, but it was obvious he wanted the throne to go to one of Killian’s siblings, because they shared their father’s blood. Killian wouldn’t allow that to happen, though. He didn’t care about blood. He cared about the clan and what was good for its members, and he knew that meant him and his kids.

“Even if Twig never becomes king, he’s still a council member. He’s still the king’s brother. He needs to act accordingly,” Ilias said. “And for that, acting accordingly means not dating a human.” It wasn’t a question. It was obvious. “There’s no reason for him today—” Ilias caught himself. “You are not a good partner for him. You never will be.”

As much as Taylor wanted to laugh in Ilias’s face, he knew better. Instead, he just nodded curtly, hoping Ilias would tire of this conversation soon. “Well, I hear your concerns. Thank you for bringing them to me.”

Ilias blinked, looking surprised. “You should know better, but as long as you correct this, it won’t be a problem.”

Taylor wanted to ask if Ilias had been planning on making it a problem until he thought Taylor had agreed with him, but he didn’t bother. He didn’t care what the dragon wanted or what he was insinuating. He didn’t care if Ilias tried to make his life harder.

Ilias had no right to decide what Taylor and Twig wanted.

Taylor nodded again and turned to leave. He half expected Ilias to stop him, but instead, he managed to walk away in silence. He could feel Ilias watching him, but he didn’t care. He wanted to get away from that dragon—just being around him made his skin crawl.

He felt a new wave of pity for Killian and Twig, who had to spend far too much time with people like that. He was glad he’d never be a council member.

Bringing up the possibility that Twig might one day become king, in an attempt to keep Taylor away from him, had been stupid. Taylor knew Killian well enough to be sure the man would raise his children to be good rulers. It didn’t matter which one eventually took Killian’s place on the throne. They’d both be raised well, and they’d both work hard to keep the clan safe and happy.

And that was what Taylor wanted too. He wanted to keep Twig safe and happy. He didn’t care what Ilias or anyone else thought about the relationship, although he realized it might make things harder on both of them. Killian would probably be fine with it, but Twig’s life was already complicated enough without adding this to the mix, wasn’t it? He already had to deal with people disapproving of him being on the council and thinking he was too weak or not good enough.

Which was why Taylor had every intention of letting Twig set the pace and make his own decisions. Taylor knew what he wanted. There was no reason to push, especially while he and Twig were still becoming something more than friends. Maybe that was all they’d ever be, or maybe there’d be more to it. Only time would tell, and Taylor was excited to find out.

Of one thing, though, he was sure.

Ilias wouldn’t have any say in what that future looked like.

Chapter Eleven

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KILLIAN WAS RIGHT, wasn’t he? The only thing that mattered was how Twig and Taylor felt about all of this, and Twig knew how he felt. His decision had already been made, even though he hadn’t realized it until now. He didn’t need to ask for advice. The only thing left to do was talk to Taylor, but that was the hard part.

What if Taylor didn’t want the same thing? What if Twig made a fool of himself?

And what if everything went well? What if Taylor wanted the same thing?

There was only one way for Twig to know. He might be anxious, but he’d spent enough time with Taylor to know that however this went, it would be okay. Taylor wasn’t a cruel person. Even if he wanted to let Twig down, he’d do it kindly. He wouldn’t want to hurt him. Twig wasn’t looking forward to finding out if Taylor didn’t share his feelings, but it was either find out or keep this to himself—and he wasn’t sure he could do that, not while still being Taylor’s friend. Taylor mattered too much to him, and Twig didn’t want to lose him. He just wanted things between them to change.

He kept thinking as he left Killian and Hedley. Killian had an appointment, and Hedley was taking the children back to their room for a nap. Twig had had a lot of fun, even though he hadn’t been thinking about that when he first decided to talk to Killian. He wanted to get closer to more of his siblings—Killian had always felt intimidating as king. Twig had assumed he’d feel more anxious after spending time with him and his family, but the opposite turned out to be true. Now that he had, he realized they were just people.

Of course, Killian held a lot of power in the clan, and Hedley stood right behind him as his consort, but in the privacy of their own family, they were like everyone else. They wanted Twig to be happy, and both of them had made sure he knew it. They’d given him the exact advice he’d needed to hear. Now he just had to act on it.

There was no time like the present. Twig took his phone out of the pouch he kept around his neck and found Taylor’s number. He’d used it plenty lately, but only as friends. Now, as he texted Taylor that he wanted to see him, his stomach churned, and he felt like he might throw up. He didn’t like feeling that way, especially after being sick for so long, but it was just nerves. No one had poisoned him again.