Drakkon

Chapter Thirty-Seven

My mind was muddied with thoughts as I walked around the palace aimlessly. I couldn't stop thinking about Meilin and the Peccata at a time like this. Meilin plagued my thoughts since he had told me he loved me so boldly, while the Peccata were on my mind because of the horrible things that had happened to them. I couldn't stop thinking of the two, my mind lost in thought. I was so lost in thought that when I entered one of the rooms, it took me a second to realize that Fang and Bohai were occupying it.

"Lady Daiyu?" Bohai raised his head when I entered the room. His dark brown hair was messy and he was casually lounged on one of the couches, a drink in his hand and a bored expression on his face. Fang was sitting directly opposite of him, his expression as serious and fierce as ever.

"Lady Daiyu," Fang acknowledged with a nod.

I blinked back, looking around the simple room. Somehow I had walked into the wing of the palace where the commanders typically stayed at. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," I said in a somewhat puzzled tone. I laughed and took a step back. "Sorry for disturbing you both. I'll take my leave—"

"No, no," Bohai said, waving me over with a hand. He jerked his thumb at one of the couches. "Why not sit down and talk? We can even tell you some embarrassing things about Meilin." He laughed and took a swig from the bottle in his hand.

Fang frowned and swiped the drink out of his hand. "You're showing your true nature."

"What, that I'm a gentleman?"

"No, that you're mischievous." Fang sighed and rose from his seat, walking over to the nearest table and placing the drink there. He sat down on the couch. "Lady Daiyu, Bohai might seem like he's a nice person, but he can be a trickster. Anyway, when he drinks, he shows off a bit too much."

My brows came together and I stared at Bohai, who was rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"I'm not a trickster, you stone-faced snake." Bohai sighed and sat more upright. "But, someone has to be a stark contrast between your seriousness."

I took a seat on one of the vacant couches, somewhat interested in what was transpiring between Bohai and Fang. Bohai, in my mind, was a nice, loyal, trusted friend to Meilin. It was hard to think that he was mischievous in any way.

"I didn't know you liked to play tricks, Bohai," I said with a smile.

"I wouldn't exactly call them tricks," he said with a shrug, "but sometimes I like to shake things up. It's fun to . . . toy with people."

Fang raised an eyebrow. "You're a sadist."

Bohai ignored him when he glanced over at me. "Before you came here, we were talking about something funny that we did to Meilin a while ago."

"A few years ago, Bohai and I made a bet with Meilin and forced him to dress as a woman," Fang said with a dry smile while Bohai started cracking up.

My eyes widened. "You're kidding? Meilin would never—"

"This was back when Fang and I were twelve," Bohai said with a smirk as he ran his hand through his hair. "We were traveling through . . . the Da'al empire, I believe. It was right before the time we were going to head to Arile. Well, anyway, we liked to make bets about who could earn the most money by the end of the day, you see. Fang and I usually didn't make any much money, but this one guy we met told us that he needed a really beautiful girl to tag along with him to this fancy party or whatever."