"And yet here you are," he said levelly, head still tilted in that inquisitive position.
"A queen again."
Rehoboam let silence pass for a second as he tried to gather his thoughts. He could not know for certain that Solomon's decision to banish Nyimara from Tinuvel was the reason that he was here, but it was looking more and more like it had something to do with it.
"I was a boy then, but you tell me what you would have done, were you in my father's shoes Nyimara. Your partner - Aranck," the name of the stallion that had abused both Siobhan and Wren still twisted with loathing in his mouth. The whole situation had been one of the first times Rehoboam had truly been forced to acknowledge the brutality that others of his gender were capable of. The red mare had accussed Nyimara of being complicit in the crimes against her, but Reh personally believed that to be hyperbole. Surely another mare hadn't been a part of such a vicious attack, no matter how much hatred lay between them.
"-Had abused one of my father's mares, and was accused of doing the same to another. He took you to punish him, if I remember correctly, but he couldn't very well keep you." A smile flickered over Rehoboam's lips, although it was so thin and taut it was nearly a grimace. Ysabel would have rained holy hellfire down upon Solomon if he would have tried to keep Nyimara within the Cove, no matter how much Solomon might have been tempted by her golden color and spicy attitude.
Even Rehoboam could see the appeal of a mare like Nyimara. She was dynamic and fierce, beautiful and wild. But she was unpredictable too. As likely to deglove the hand caressing her as she was to lean into the caress. And while Reh couldn't say his track record with women was exactly spotless, he had thus far managed to keep clear of
completely crazy, or so he hoped.
"You had a reputation even then, Ny." His gaze remained focused on her even though his skin was vibrating with tension, expecting this pretense of a conversation to devolve into blows at any moment.
"And your child could have lived with my family. The Cove had no shortage of mothers, if you recall. Besides, hadn't you separated that little red mare from her children? Or am I misremembering that particular fact?"
He wasn't sure if mentioning the red mare would send Nyimara too far over the edge, but now that he had managed to find one tiny edge of her armor, he was determined to pry his hands underneath.
Her final taunt intrigued him more than it should. Rehoboam knew better than to get his hopes up. Nyimara was a skilled troublemaker, and was likely just trying to find a way to get him to trip up and reveal his own weaknesses. He'd done a poor job of hiding them so far, and it didn't look to get better either. The prospect of being able to return to Celestine before she gave birth and therefore secure her somewhere new, somewhere safe, to deliver their child was more than he had hoped for and he knew that the hope in his eyes had likely given him away.
Desperate to corral the eagerness lest it tip the rest of his hand, the grullo watched Nyimara silently for a moment until he had regained control of his voice.
"I am flattered you still think I have something to offer you Nyimara, but do tell." His lips curled into another tight smile, but his umber gaze remained unchanged.
"I'm curious, what else do you presume to take from me?"