Chapter 694 (2/2)

“Do you wish to talk about your upcoming bout with Helen?” Azriel asked.

Randidly chuckled because Azriel intuited the general focus of his thoughts if misconstrued his motivations. “Thank you, but no.”

“Am I correct in thinking you two have had sex before?” Azriel asked.

Randidly did a double take. “What? Why-”

“Ha, do not treat it as such a special thing,” Azriel said with a deep frown. “Helen and I have engaged in intercourse regularly in order to release stress.”

There was a moment when Randidly just stopped. His mouth was wide open as he looked at Azriel. Then her eyes crinkled up in the corners and Randidly glowered at her.

“Ha ha!” Azriel’s laughter was low and warm. “Truly, you are a delight to bother. You should not act so seriously. It will impair your ability to read feints. Social skills are necessary even for a warrior.”

With an exaggerated sigh, Randidly turned away from the burned grassland and walked down the staircase of the stone walls. Azriel followed close behind. By an effort of will, Randidly forced himself to relax. Azriel was perhaps correct, if a little weirdly focused.

Finally, he said. “Yes, we had sex. And honestly, I bet Helen would have blushed worse than I did if you suggested you two were coupling up. Try that joke out on her”

Azriel raised her eyebrows. “Do you think so? Hmm, intriguing. Well perhaps. Her reactions are generally violent. I do not mean to bring such ancillary things up, but I suspect the tension you are feeling is due to the previous sex.”

In spite of himself, Randidly chuckled. “There is no tension, Azriel.”

“Then why are you two not speaking? You spoke before, and you are not speaking now. All has changed due to this minor duel.”

“Minor duel? From you? Haven’t you staked your entire reputation on this tournament? No need to downplay the reverberating implications of this.” Randidly said to Azriel over his shoulder. She frowned at him, so Randidly continued on a more gentle tack. “We aren’t talking because she won’t like what I have to say. Better to wait and let the fight speak for itself.”

“I suppose fights are an oddly erotic activity,” Azriel said while scratching her chin. “It makes sense that your emotions could be successfully sublimated during the tournament. Just have a care that you don’t disappoint her.”

“I don’t want to have sex with her, Azriel.” Randidly said, giving Azriel a sharp look.

She grinned at him. “Because you want to have sex with me?”

“Yes.”

This time, Azriel blinked and found herself at a loss for words. Then her face scrunched up into a look of annoyance. “I suppose I deserve this, but I don’t appreciate these jokes.”

“Welcome to adulthood,” Randidly said grandly. “Where we look each other straight in the eye and lie about the sexual tension.”

“I am your elder, but should you ever desire true courtship I would be open to the concept. Hopefully, your opening gift is persuasive, to make up for all the work I had to put into your spear skills.” Then Azriel barred her teeth. “But I do not share such things with another. You would be forced to make a choice.”

Shrugging, Randidly let the matter drop. There was a lot to do, and now was not the time to chase fleeting emotions. They would either prove true on their own or burn out. A joyless outlook, perhaps, but one that put the fate of the world much higher than his libido.

“So do you have time for a spar?” Randidly asked. He was itching to really push himself after seeing the destruction caused by Aylwind. And his match against Helen was the morning of the day after tomorrow, so he wanted to push his PP up as much as he could in the interim. Because according to his plan, everything would start after that first match.

Azriel clicked her tongue, a habit she had learned from Randidly. “We just spoke about the sexual aggression of violence. So, of course, my answer is yes.”

Randidly rolled his eyes.