Chapter 5 #2
Daven let his mouth curve into an arrogant smirk. “That’s right.”
He waited for gratitude, fear, anything, but Ryneth looked away first.
The dismissal annoyed him. No one looked away from him. Injured or not, if the man wouldn’t offer his gratitude, Daven would take it. He just couldn’t do it with the Imperial next to him.
“He doesn’t see you anymore.” From behind them, Zimeon gave Daven’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “The sedatives have kicked in.”
Daven snorted. If that was meant to be soothing, the old man had failed.
He watched as the doctor checked the monitors one final time and hoped he and his team would get the fuck out of the room soon. He’d been trying to get into this room since the rescue, just to watch Ryneth’s lashes flutter against his cheeks, his own jaw still tight with the remnant of a pout.
He stayed where he was until the monitors settled, relief curling low when the rest of the team finally slipped out of the room.
Milanov’s cough pulled him from his thoughts. Daven jumped, having temporarily forgotten that his uncle was still there. Of course he was.
“Ryneth is fragile, Daven,” Milanov said once they were both seated.
“He left home for work and ended up beaten, starved, and dragged across a planet he doesn’t understand.
He most likely has no idea why he was brought to Helion, or what’s happening to him.
We need to ease him into this carefully.
I need someone who can house him, guide him, and keep him steady while we work out the rest.”
“I’ll do it.”
Milanov’s purple eyes flickered with an amusement that made Daven growl.
“If you think I’m not old enough—”
“I think you’re perfectly capable of handling him, nephew,” Milanov said mildly. “But why the haste?”
Daven ground his teeth when his uncle cocked his head and took him in with that sparkle of curiosity.
For once he didn’t really know what to say. He just knew that Ryneth would be under his wing. That he’d take Ryneth wherever Milanov wanted him to go.
“All right,” his uncle said after a silence that felt heavy. “I’m putting him under your protection. It’s not like we have many candidates for the job anyway.”
Daven frowned. His insides tumbled at the words. That was…easy. “You are?”
Milanov smiled, then started to stand. “I am. Right now, Ryneth doesn’t understand why he was brought to Helion, or what he is.
The only reason we know how he ended up here in the first place is because of the camera footage Yure retrieved.
If he hadn’t caught the moment he’d tried to fry the bars of his prison on camera, Light knows what they would have done to him. ”
Daven stood too. The thought of being Ryneth’s keeper made his blood boil. “As soon as he’s fit enough, I’ll bring him to my penthouse. They must have finished painting by now.”
Milanov’s lip twitched. “I think they are. And I will tell Kylix to hold off his interrogations for now. He won’t like that, because we are on the clock, but I don’t want to force Ryneth’s mental state. That means I need you to be kind to him as well.”
If word got out that contract workers were being taken on Helion routes, the planet’s safety myth would crack overnight.
“Am I ever unkind?” Daven grinned.
His uncle clicked his tongue knowingly. “I won’t comment on that one. Vandor will also be guarding Ryneth.”
Daven opened his mouth to protest.
Fucking Vandor. That guy’s tongue was only made to lick Kylix’s fucking ass.
“I know you don’t like him, for the obvious reason, but he is a good, decent guard and a trusted member of our extended family.”
Daven bristled but was wise enough not to comment. Favorite or not, his uncle was still the Imperial.
Milanov smiled, pleased. “I’m glad that’s sorted. You’ll show Ryneth Helion life and the Academy. Make him feel at home.”
Daven hummed as he looked at the sleeping man, feeling a throb in his bones. His uncle’s trust felt like a crown. He eyed the hand that lay tucked onto the sheets. Long, fine-boned fingers decorated the silk sheets. “Did he not come here for work?”
“He did. Which means you’ll need to ease him into his new life gently.”
Gentle wasn’t Daven’s strongest suit, and his uncle knew it. Why he had decided to give Ryneth to him was a mystery.
Because that was what this was. Ryneth had been placed in his care. Given to him. Beautiful and breakable and now under his hand. And Daven had no intention of letting him go.
“Daven,” Milanov barked.
Daven jerked. Light, he had gotten carried away, his throbbing cock the living proof.
“Be good to him. And leave it to me and Zimeon to explain to him why he’s here and what he truly is.”
“Of course.”
“Good.” Milanov’s hand gave his shoulder a little squeeze, then walked toward the door.
Daven didn’t follow. He stayed by the bed and waited until the door closed shut. When they were finally alone, he allowed himself to release the rush of air he had kept and stared down at Ryneth’s sharp cheekbones and pale hair.
Beautiful.
Daven bared his incisors, the embedded gems catching the corridor light. They ached with a thrumming in his jaw. The need to possess the man’s attention was a physical ache he couldn’t explain and had never felt before. He wanted Ryneth to look at him and see nothing else.
Reaching out, his fingers stopped only at a hair’s breadth from Ryneth’s bared throat. He didn't care about the Academy. He only knew that he had pulled this creature from the dirt. Something had shifted, and he couldn't step back.
It should have been ridiculous. One rescue. One stranger. And still he stood there like something in him had already chosen.
Next time, he wanted those silver eyes open when Daven put his hands on him.