Liar (Madison Kate #2)(39)

"Fuck off," Archer snapped. He held something in his hand and slammed it down onto the table in front of me before taking his own seat.

"Uh, what's this?" I asked, eyeing the black velvet pouch with extreme suspicion.

Archer just shot me a quick glare, then focused on filling his plate with more food than I could eat in an entire week. "Maybe open it and find out for your fucking self, Princess Danvers."

I scowled back at him, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. Kody and Steele were, though.

"What are my odds of losing a hand from opening this?" I muttered under my breath, mostly rhetorically, but Kody answered me anyway.

"Something that small, with how hard Arch put it down? Pretty low chance."

I shot him a flat glare. "Thanks, Kodiak."

He grinned back at me, licking some syrup off his fork. "You’re welcome, babe."

Archer was ignoring all of us, eating his food like it held the answer to his crappy attitude. But when I opened the neck of the bag and upended it onto the table, I caught him watching me from under his dark lashes.

My breath caught and my heart stopped. I stared at his gift, then up at him with an accusing frown.

"What the fuck is this for?" I demanded, running my fingertips gently across the gleaming metal of the folded butterfly knife. It was predominantly purple, but as the light glinted off it, a holographic shine showed off blues, greens, and even some golden-yellow tones.

Kody let out a low whistle and Steele made a small grunt of surprise, but Archer just gave an infuriating half shrug. "It's a knife, Princess. What do you think it might be for? I'll give you a hint. It usually needs cleaning afterward." His tone was dry and snarky, and I wanted to put my new knife to good use already. Right in his fucking throat.

"I can see that, you juiced-up baboon; I meant why are you giving it to me?" I needed to growl the words through clenched teeth for fear of snapping and shedding blood all over Ana's perfectly starched tablecloth.

Archer just gave me a flat glare back, like he sensed my desire to hurt him and didn't give two shits. "Because you're the walking definition of victim, Princess Danvers. Maybe if you had some way to actually protect yourself, we wouldn't be forced to chaperone you all day, every day."

I scoffed. "Like you didn't bring that on yourself."

Archer didn't show any emotions, just kept eating his breakfast like he was starving. Steele shifted slightly in his seat beside me, though, and Kody murmured something under his breath too quietly for me to hear.

For several minutes, there was silence as everyone finished their food. I couldn't stop running my fingertip over the mesmerizing, holographic-purple metal, though.

When Archer scraped his chair back, standing up, I looked up at him.

"It'll take more than a pretty knife to apologize for your shitty behavior, D'Ath," I told him with a level stare. "But it's a start. I appreciate the gesture."

His expression didn't waver for even a second, and he shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, Princess Danvers. Just don't accidentally stab yourself before Kody can show you how to use it."

He stomped out of the dining room, and I shifted my gaze to the two boys, who stared after their friend with some degree of shock.

"Uh, I'm guessing Arch was more of a douche last night than usual?" Kody asked, turning back to me with raised brows. He scrubbed a hand over his short stubble and shook his head. "I'm kinda gutted I missed it. Care to fill us in?"

I scowled, the embarrassment and hurt from Archer's cruel rejection bubbling inside me once more. "No."

"That bad, huh?" Steele commented, wincing. "Still... Arch has never given out one of Phillip's knives before. He must be feeling pretty guilty this morning."

It shouldn't have, but that statement gave me warm fuzzies inside. "Good," I muttered, "maybe he'll lose the surly grouch bullshit."

Both Kody and Steele started laughing at that, and even I had to crack a smile. Yeah. Right.

"Come on, gorgeous," Kody said, pushing back his own chair. "Me and Steele will give you some training today."

I cocked a brow at him, and a lust-filled grin crept over his lips.

"On how to use your knife without cutting a finger off, obviously." He rolled his eyes, but that smile still played over his lips, as Steele and I wandered out of the dining room with him. "Unless you were into whatever else you just thought of? I'm totally on board for that, too." His wink said it all, and my cheeks heated.

Sex. He meant sex. With him and Steele.

Fuck me, that was tempting.

"Maybe later," I teased, giving him a grin. "I want to know how to safely carry this thing first. I've got enough scars to last me the rest of the year at least."

"Boom." Kody held his hand up to Steele for a high five. "Maybe later is as good as a yes, bro."

Steele snickered a laugh, threading his arm around my waist as we walked down the long corridor to a section of the mansion I hadn't seen yet. "I'm not high-fiving that, Kody. God damn, how do you ever get laid?"

Kody's grin was pure arrogance. "Dude, have you seen me? I'm like walking sex."

Steele laughed, and I groaned.

He wasn't wrong, though.