Ares waited Dwyn out, nodding as she told him there was a statement coming that may be hurtful. He was half prepared for the words that flowed out of her mouth.
When she was done ranting he cocked his head. “I can’t say I’m surprised, Dwyn. You don’t seem like Tarben’s type.” God, maybe he really was a masochist. All he wanted was this fricking challenge. Ares nearly chuckled at the thought. “As for the masochism, there may be some truth to that. But really, most of us don’t think the rules are f u c k e d, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. You should be careful around others who might report you.” His chiding tone with these last two sentences might very well serve to trigger her temper, but Ares didn’t care about that. He just wanted to contribute to the health of Tarben already. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that, but next time I hear treason like it I’m going to go straight to the king.” Ares’ voice turned slightly hard. He loved Tarben, and he wouldn’t condone another outburst like this from Dwyn. He was warning her now. He would give her no second chance.
He studied her. The pretty lass seemed on edge, or maybe it was just annoyance and leftover feelings from her outburst. How would she respond to his ultimatum?

“Somewhere another pretty vein just . . . dies!”