Eve sputters out a shocked laugh. “Did you just say family?”

“Alice is another one of my cousins.” As the baby of the bunch, nearly thirty years younger than me, she’s seemed to take it as her mission in life to loosen the rest of us up.

“That’s right. Youngest of seven, gods bless my saintly mother.” Alice loops her arm through Eve’s and turns her easily to start heading deeper into the village.

Saintly mother is one way to put it. Alice’s mother was the strong right hand of Caesarea. She was greatly favored to become the next leader, and although she wasn’t as bad as Caesarea, she had facilitated the monster’s actions and policies. Fear of that, more than anything, is what made me challenge our leader for the position.

I don’t like to think of that battle. I don’t like to think about how it cost me half my family, how it created a divide that I’m not sure will ever be resolved. Before. After. The old way. The new.

Alice doesn’t seem to hold any of it against me, but I still feel awkward whenever I’m required to come out here and interact with her and her people. She leads us to the village square, which currently contains three massive tables piled high with food.

She catches me looking and grins. “Come now, old man. I know this was supposed to be a generic check-in on the community, but you never come out this way these days. I had to make an event of it.”

Of course she did.

I open my mouth to remind my cousin that we’re not staying long, but the words stall in my throat when I catch sight of Eve’s interest as she takes in the sight before us. This may be a little slice of torment for me, but I can endure it if it will make her happy. “Alice, give us a moment.”

She shrugs. “Sure thing. I’m going to see about the band.”

Gods preserve me, I truly hope she did not say what I think she just said. I watch her walk away and veer from one gathered small group to the next, an easy word ready for every single one of her people. Alice may be young by our people’s standards, but she’s a natural leader, and her village has flourished since she took over.

Eve turns to me, a smile pulling at the edges of her lips. “You two could not be more different.”

“I’m aware.” No reason to resent Alice for putting the woman I love at ease when all I manage to do is hurt her. I strive to push down my irritation. “We don’t have to stay long. I just need to do the rounds.”

“Do the rounds,” she murmurs. “Tour the fields? Maybe kiss some babies?”

I’m flushing again. “Something like that.”

“Azazel . . .” She glances at the people gathered. “Could we stay? Just for a little while? It should be safe, right?”

I wouldn’t have brought her with me if I wasn’t sure that Alice ran a tight ship and held a deep hatred for Brosh and all of his ilk. “It’s safe enough.”

She surveys me. “But this makes you deeply uncomfortable. Why?”

If anyone else had asked, I would beg off answering the question. But this is Eve, and while we may hardly have a relationship as such things go, the least I can do is answer whatever question she chooses to ask me. At least she’s speaking to me at all. “I don’t think I should be praised for doing the right thing.”

Eve seems to digest that. She turns her attention to where Alice laughs with a group of children, each holding a ribbon attached to a stick. My cousin truly went all out for this ambush. Finally, Eve says, “There’s praise and there’s appreciation. If it makes you that uncomfortable, why didn’t you send someone else out today? Surely there are other people beyond Ramanu who can do this.”

“Two reasons: It may make me deeply uncomfortable to go through this song and dance, but it makes them happy, and I would have to be a monster to stomp on that.” It’s an effort not to shuffle my feet. “And I wanted an excuse to spend time with you. I knew you would say yes to leaving the castle.”

Instead of telling me she hates me again, her smile widens, blooming from a faint curve to something more real. “If you really want to leave, we can.”

I sigh. “No, we can’t. You don’t want to. And it would hurt Alice’s feelings.”

Her grin reaches her eyes. “Yep.”

“That’s a neat little trap you set for me to walk into.”

She actually laughs. Not a bitter chuckle. Not a choked, angry sound. A true laugh, loud and boisterous, tossing her head back. “You’re high-handed and aggravating, but you have a soft, gooey center, don’t you?” She leans in, her amusement drawing me close even though I know better than to believe this might truly be a turning point for us. Eve lowers her voice, practically purring. “Poor Daddy. Being perceived is deeply uncomfortable, isn’t it?”

All the blood in my body rushes south. I tense. Fuck staying here. If she’s going to speak to me in that tone of voice, I’m going to toss her over my shoulder and haul her gorgeous ass to the nearest clearing to fuck her within an inch of her life. Every thought in my head goes to how lovely she looks with lust flushing her body, how perfect her pussy is when she’s taking my cock, in . . .

Except Eve is walking away from me, a swing in her step, her skirt swishing as she glances over her shoulder and winks at me.

The little brat.

I have to turn away, have to take deep breaths and focus on the sound of my cousin’s voice braying with laughter behind me in order to get my body under control again. It takes a bare minute, but by the time I turn around again, Eve is in the midst of the villagers, chatting easily and smiling as if she’s having a great time.

“I like her.”

I jolt. I hadn’t noticed Alice closing the distance. “I do too.”

My cousin loops her arm through mine. “Let’s get the tour out of the way. Be prepared to ooh and aah over our fields!” She seems to notice that my steps are slow and raises her brows. “I know you’ve had some trouble, but she’s safe here. Every single one of my people would toss themselves on a sword for you, and we don’t undervalue the humans who are in our territory.”

There are only half a dozen or so currently in this village, two of whom are linked to Alice through contracts. “I know.” It’s still hard to walk away from Eve—and that has little to do with the ever-present danger and more to do with the fact she was flirting with me. Not in order to escape. Not out of spite. She teased me just because she could. How can I see that as anything but progress?

True to her word, Alice keeps the tour of the nearby fields short. It’s an effort to stay focused, but I’m here for a reason. I frown as we finish with the last one and turn back toward the village proper. “You’ve expanded quite a bit since last year.”

“We have.” She shrugs. “The land is doing well, and our numbers have grown. We gained three new families in the last six months alone. Not everyone is cut out for city life; they’ve slipped right into our rhythm without much friction at all.”

“Will you need supplemental help come harvest time?”

She chuckles. “We always need supplemental help during harvest time.”

I don’t know how leadership sits so easily on her shoulders. I suspect it has to do with a difference in personalities. From the moment she was born, Alice has moved through the world in a completely different way than I do. “I’ll make sure to put the word out. There are plenty of young adults who can afford to spend a season with you. The city will supplement their wages, of course.”

“Of course,” Alice says dryly. “It’s not necessary, though. We can afford the cost. Our coffers are full, thanks to your trading policies.”

“That’s why I said supplement.” I nudge her with my shoulder. “You have a lot to take pride in here, Alice. You’ve done a good job. But the city is prosperous enough to help, and so it should.”

She’s silent nearly all the way back, only speaking when she pulls me to a stop as we reach the first house. “You’re doing good work, Azazel. I know it’s a thankless task to run this territory, especially with so many of the old guard rumbling about the changes, but the changes are good. So many people who were barely getting by before are prospering. That’s important.”