Fox Of Greed (Greedy Fox Book 1)

~~TWENTY FIVE~~

"Because I'm not wearing them." I dared not look at him; I could already imagine his bewildered stare. "I'm adjusting my lightweight armour for this mission. I need all the mobility I can get."

"Mobility? What about protection?"

I waved him off and walked down the street, headed for the bar. "I'm paying. You coming?" I asked him.

His jaw twitched and I could see the muscles in his neck working. Angry didn't describe what he was feeling but I knew he wouldn't pass up the offer of food. It did, however, leave him open to berate me as we went together.

And berate me he did.

"Some days I wonder if you believe yourself to be invincible. Every single fight we get into, you dive in without a care. And that includes your choices of armour too."

"Look, Hendrickson gave me a run down of the mission. I just don't see the need for so much armour especially when I've got the other Holy Knights around me and the fact that Hendrickson wants me to sit on the sidelines."

"Oh yeah, like Guila is going to keep your back after you thrashed her star pupil in combat last week. And since when have you ever, ever listened on the missions? Remember the other week, you know, against those giant trolls?"

Eyes half lidded, I gave him a glare. "Since when did you become my father?"

"I became your boyfriend. It gives me more right to give you lip about stupid decisions."

"You never made a peep when I wore my lightweight armour differently those other times."

"That's because I was with you!" he shouted and stopped. The people around us moved away. "I was there to protect you."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Leraj, I don't need protecting. Why else would I have trained so much?"

"You know as well as I do why you've been training so much," his voice flat when he stated it.

"So that's what this is really about. Do you really want to go down that path on our first row as a couple? Because I can assure you, you won't win."

"I have to go down that path because you won't, Estra. Common sense exists for a reason but it doesn't seem to in your head. You know as well as I do that your magic at the moment won't be enough against him."

That stung. Even for him that was a low blow. Eyes burning, I stalked away from him. "Buy your own lunch, asshole!" I called back.

He didn't follow.

Why did that hurt even more?

I headed for another bar, palming hot tears away as I went. It wasn't until I was some distance away that I realised he was, in fact, right. When Hendrickson told me the mission was to face the Seven Deadly Sins, I'd jumped at the chance without a second thought.

My only thought was on battling him.

The man that took everything from me. The man that I could still see the silhouette of every time I thought about the day everything changed for me.

Common sense or revenge? Which would I listen to, which would I give in to?

The food at the bar had no taste and I ate bitterly, a battle raging within me. By the time I returned to my room, the sun was beginning to set, painting the world in golden rays. He wasn't in there and I frowned before face planting into the bed.

Why was it all so hard?

There came a knock at the door and I rushed at it, throwing it open to see...