Orube’s lips quirked into the faintest smirk, her violet eyes shimmering with mischief. “I mean it. Your hair’s a mess, your stubble looks like you fought a bear, and don’t even get me started on the circles under your eyes.”
I blinked at her, utterly incredulous. She was the first woman—ever—to look me straight in the face and say I looked unworthy.
Warriors flinched at my glare. Enemies trembled at the sound of my growl. Girls never reject me. But Orube? She had the audacity to wrinkle her nose at me, as though I were some rogue who had crawled out of a ditch.
“You’re insufferable,” I muttered. My voice came out more tired than venomous. “I don’t have time for this.”
Her smirk deepened. She lifted one delicate hand, fingers curling lazily in the air. And then I felt it—an invisible f
