96. Ayres
Rorax winked at Ayres and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “I am going to go follow Jia, make sure she is okay. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“I’m going to go get a breath of fresh air. I’ll be on the balcony overlooking the Contestars” Courtyard. Find me there when you get back.” Ayres brushed his lips over her temple as she nodded before she stepped away and slipped out of the Great Hall.
Ayres took a glass of champagne off a waiter’s tray as he made his way down two flights of stairs to where the overlook was. He tipped back the glass, draining it completely. The courtyard was deserted but was still lit up with torches. The castle was beautiful in the evening. He wouldn’t mind spending time here with Rorax if she became the Guardian and made this her new home if something happened to Enna.
But gods, what if something didn’t happen to Enna? What if they couldn’t find a way out for Rorax?
The door opened behind him.
“It’s nice to officially meet you . . . Lieutenant.”
Ayres spun on his heel to come face to face with Commander Ye-Jun, the leader of the Frost Dragon brigade. The Commander was almost as tall as Ayres was but was leaner. His long hair was half pinned away from his face, and the hoop earrings dripping down each of the Commander’s ears glinted in the torchlight. He also had a piercing in his eyebrow and one across the bridge of his nose.
Ye-Jun’s purple eyes glittered as he studied him, and Ayres had to admit it left him feeling unsettled. Ye-Jun was one of the most powerful men in the Realms. He not only held an impressive amount of Ice Magick, but he was an Elite; one of the few people in the Illus who held magick that wasn’t one of the twelve major elements sections; his magick let him see into the future. Ayres didn’t know how far in advance he could see, but Talon had reported that it made him nearly impossible to defeat in one-on-one combat. He was also a dragon rider, and the son to General Frostguard, the highest-ranking officer in House of Ice’s Army.
Ye-Jun pulled a joint from his pocket, used the stone wall to light a match, and lit up the end. He breathed in a long pull as he smiled wickedly at Ayres over the glowing ember. As the smoke hit the air, Ayres recognized it immediately. Whitleherb. He was surprised it wasn’t anything stronger.
“What?” Ayres snapped.
Ye-Jun’s eyes tracked over him so slowly and deliberately, Ayres didn’t know if he wanted to snarl or fidget. “I was just noticing how uncanny the resemblance between you and your brothers.”
Ayres couldn’t stop his eyes from widening and the smirk Ye-Jun gave him confirmed that Ayres had given himself away. “Talon has been training with me for years, and if he were to cut his hair you two could be twins. Tell me, Lieutenant, does the Spine Cleaver know that you’re a Prince of Death?”
Ayres startled and looked around the courtyard, confirming that no one was outside with them or standing within earshot of their conversation. “No. Not yet. How do you know?”
“I saw it last night.” Ye-Jun tapped his temple, his purple eyes flashing. Ayres sized up the Commander, and the smile on Ye-Jun’s face grew even wider as he slowly blew out a lungful of smoke through his nose. “It’s humorous that you think I’m your biggest rival.”
“What are you talking about?”
Ayres”s brows furrowed in confusion, and Ye-Jun took a step closer to him. “I took Rorax’s virginity, Lieutenant, did you know that?”
Ayres stopped breathing. He had to look away, focusing instead on the railing beside him, on the worn stones, and on forcing deep breaths into his lungs so he wouldn’t reach out with his power and shred Ye-Jun’s soul.
“But you should know that Rorax came to me.” Ayres”s eyes flicked back to the man in front of him, and Ye-Jun smiled with all his teeth. Ayres couldn’t tell if he was brave, or just wanted to die.
Ye-Jun flicked the ash off his joint with tattooed fingers. “She came to me because she trusted me. We were friends, we were always stuck together on the same fucked-up missions from Katalon, and . . . she knew I had some experience. There was someone else who came later for her, and he is the one you should be concerned about.”
Marras save him, he should have kept his damn mouth shut. “Who?”
Ye-Jun didn’t look away from Ayres’s hard gaze as he shrugged a shoulder. “She’ll tell you, if she thinks you deserve to know.”
Ayres looked back at the Commander as he took another drag, eyeing his face and seeing nothing but honesty and a little smug satisfaction.
Ye-Jun continued. “I wouldn’t say that Rorax is like my little sister because she has the most fantastic tits I’ve ever held, and I wouldn’t hesitate to taste them again if she ever offered.”
Ayres bit into his cheek so hard he tasted blood.
“But I will say she’s still family, and I would do anything for her. She’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had.” A shadow passed over Ye-Jun’s face as he took one last drag from his joint and smashed it under his boot. “You better pray to all your gods, Lieutenant. You’re gonna need them if you’re courting Greywood.”
Ye-Jun moved to take a step around Ayres, giving him a pat on his shoulder. Ayres reached out to grip Ye-Jun’s shoulder, stopping the Commander from walking away, and leaned in close to him. “If you ever talk about Rorax, her tits, or tasting her ever again,” he leaned in closer and whispered, “I will cut out all of your organs and feed them to your dragon.”
A corner of Ye-Jun’s mouth lifted and his eyes glittered dangerously. “I can see why she likes you.”
Ayres opened his mouth to snarl something else when Ye-Jun stiffened next to him.
Ye-Jun’s purple irises that were the exact same shade as Jia’s, clouded over with white. Not like Rorax’s eyes, where the iris itself was white, but like a veil that descended over the entire eye, covering everything.
Ayres watched in awe. He had heard about this, knew that the Commander was an Elite, and had glimpses into the future, but had never seen it in action.
Ye-Jun started laughing, something wicked and disbelieving, and the clouds covering his eyes gave way to purple. “You fool. You should have told her your identity sooner rather than later if you’d planned to keep her, Prince.”
The Commander’s words skated up Ayres”s skin like little shocks, anxiety curling around in his throat. “What do you mean?”
“If you run, you might be able to intercept Rorax from seeing your brother giving your decoy a goodbye kiss,” Ye-Jun snorted loudly.
Ayres”s mouth went bone dry. “Where?”
“Stables.”
Ayres turned and ran, pumping his arms and pushing his limbs to carry him faster through the hall and down two flights of stairs.
He slammed both double doors open, startling the horses closest to the entrance. Rorax came in at that moment through the side door. She saw Ayres, and opened her mouth to say something, when a sound in one of the stalls caught her attention. A moan.
Before Ayres could even think, Rorax was across the room, looking for the source. She froze as if made of stone. She blinked. Then stared at Piers and Conrad kissing desperately as if it was their last moment in this fucking terrible world.