Wild Magic Three: The Shade of the Earth- a M/M fantasy shifter romance

9- Emerald Eyes

*****Super long chapter incoming. Enjoy Sami's shenanigans ;P :)*****

ROBERT—

The dungeon rotation was the closest thing to torture I was familiar with. Nine hours of staring at the same black stone walls, nine hours of yawning and trying not to fall to sleep sitting up. Nine hours of squatting on a stool my ass hung off of, listening to a group of men complain about the accommodations.

"Oy," I growled at the annoying whines, finally losing my temper and glaring the men down. "Keep your mouths shut. You're here because you chose to make a gods-awfully stupid choice. That's on you. Now zip it, or I swear to the gods you'll not get your lunch."

Most of the men fell silent, a few grumbling a bit more before settling back against their cots. Prince Lhiam was far too lenient with them— they were given books and card games to pass the time. Unfortunately for me, I was stuck with Erik, who was a notorious asshole, and I knew he wouldn't play cards with me even if I asked.

Sami stayed right on top of my boots for most of the day, purring off and on. He was in and out of sleep, mostly, but he stayed fairly alert, his eyes on the bear shifter in his own cell across from the other men. Sami was wary, but calmly so, relying on the metal bars and the proti collar that held the man's bear back.

The man's eyes were on me and Sami most of the day as well, watchful and curious, but not antagonistic. He was silent, reading through a few books while the men in the cell across from his played together and occasionally called out something derogatory, antagonizing to him. He ignored their jabs each time, almost seeming to not even hear them.

"The little one," the man said around noon, just after our lunch dishes had been cleared by a handful of servants that had brought the trays in. The prisoners were fed the same as me, Sami, and Erik, another way Prince Lhiam was far too kind to the men who nearly killed the Emperor. "He's your mate?"

Sami woke, his eyes drifting open lazily, glancing up at the bear shifter and then to me. As if wanting to see what I would reply.

"What's your name?" I asked, in place of an answer. How many ways could I say "I'm not interested in him, but he's got himself fixated on me" without going mad with it?

"Eigsti. Griffin Eigsti."

"I've been wondering something, Griffin," I began, meeting his swirling, metallic eyes. "How does a wild mage come to be part of a group of mercenaries hunting wild mages? It seems a little..." I trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence. Traitorous? Brutal? Cruel?

I didn't know the word for the level of hell a man like this would be sent. A man who hunted his own kind, selling them to the highest bidder, into slavery, death, or worse? Gods have mercy on him, for I wasn't sure if the Emperor would, not with his infatuation with Cain. I was sure he would see the trials of each of these men through personally and ensure they were punished for attacking him, but also for their involvement in what Cain had been put through.

If I didn't know any better, I could've sworn the man flinched, but then he shrugged and sneered. "They weren't after me, so it wasn't my problem. I made money, and that's all I really care about."

I snorted and raised my brows. "That's some moral code you've got there, Griffin."

"It's kept me alive so far," the man answered with a smirk and a slight hitch in his shoulders I didn't think could be called a shrug. "Now hush. I just got to an interesting part in this book."

He held the book up and I had to hold back a snicker. "The Best and Most Accurate Uses for Toadstool, and Other Herbal Answers."

"You borrow that from Lady Sera?"