Chapter 23 #2
We entered the inn far too soon and headed back upstairs to our room. Ladon knocked twice and Cyrus opened the door, looking rejuvenated with clean skin and wet hair.
He smiled and backed up so we could enter. Inhaling deeply through his nose, he asked, “What did you get? It smells incredible.”
Ladon laid out the trays of food and told Cyrus the difference between them. “You can choose which you’d like first.”
Cyrus waved to me instead. “No, ladies first, of course. Emilie, which one would you like?”
I grabbed one of the meals and went to sit on the bed since there were no chairs or tables inside our tiny room. “Jade’s still gone?”
Cyrus nodded and took a seat next to me with his meal in his lap. “Yep. Between you and me, I’m grateful for her absence. She brings the mood down, don’t you think? Would it kill her to smile occasionally?”
I gave him a half-hearted smile. I could admit that the atmosphere lightened while she was gone, but I also was curious about where she had run off to.
When would she be back? Did her little outing have something to do with Reyna?
I’d be irritated if that were the case. She should’ve allowed us to come with her.
Jade might’ve had her own reasons to hate Reyna, but her dying breath belonged to Ladon and me. I wanted to see the light fade from her devious eyes.
Once we had eaten, Ladon opened the bottle of wine and poured it into three cups. We drank while I listened to them tell more stories of their childhood. It was clear that Ladon had always looked up to Cyrus, and Cyrus had always protected Ladon.
From the day their father died, Cyrus stepped into the position of not only leader of a country, but leader of their family.
“Do you know how hard it was to keep this one out of trouble?” Cyrus laughed, nudging Ladon with his elbow.
“He was always sneaking out of the castle to meet up with friends or girls.” Ladon scowled, but Cyrus carried on.
“You know I’m right. Gods, it was like you had a different girlfriend every other week for a while. ”
Ladon’s eyes met mine, and I tried to give him a sympathetic look. Of course I knew he wasn’t celibate before we met.
“You’re exaggerating,” Ladon grumbled.
Cyrus took another sip from his cup and then frowned, realizing he’d drunk every drop. His cheeks were pink, and his eyelids seemed too heavy to keep open. Normally I was the lightweight in any given group, but maybe the wine had been too much, especially after being in a coma for weeks.
“I’m only teasing,” Cyrus said. “I do sometimes wonder, though…” he trailed off, his body sliding down until his head rested on a pillow.
“Wonder what?” Ladon asked.
Cyrus yawned and closed his eyes. “What happened? You were such a ladies’ man. And then you just…weren’t.”
I watched Ladon with curiosity, but he only tucked his brother in before clearing our cups.
“So,” I said after a moment. “What was the reason?”
He placed his hands on his hips and stared at the wall.
“You don’t have to tell me,” I said quickly. If he wasn’t ready to talk about it, I wasn’t going to pressure him.
He turned to face me. “Do you want to get out of here?”
I spared one glance at Cyrus, who was already breathing evenly in sleep, before nodding. I wasn’t tired at all, and after the afternoon I’d had with Ladon, I was eager for more time together.
He grabbed my cloak and threw it around my shoulders. Then he opened the door, and we scurried out. Once outside, he took my hand and led me down the street. I didn’t bother asking where we were going. I’d follow him anywhere.
We turned left down an alley and weaved through a busy side street. Night had settled upon us, but the streets were well lit with lanterns hanging over most doors we passed.
The rain was still coming down steadily, and it didn’t take long to feel the water in my boots. I held on to the hood of my cloak so it wouldn’t fall and jogged to keep up with Ladon.
When he turned another corner, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you know where you’re going?”
He paused to smile back at me. Then he tugged my hand, and I launched forward, falling into his chest. We stumbled a few steps until we collided with a stone wall. He spun and suddenly he was towering over me, water dripping down his face and across his parted lips.
I didn’t hesitate for a second to reach up and lick the droplets from his lips.
They curved into a soft smile before connecting with mine.
He kissed me slowly and sensually, making every inch of my skin sizzle with heat in the cool rain.
Alternating between gentle and a more commanding pressure, he knew exactly how to make me melt.
I wrapped a leg around his hip and tried to pull him closer, but his laugh interrupted my carnal desires. He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and kissed my forehead.
“Come on,” he said, pulling me inside the door to the left.
Inside, music filled the air, and a sea of patrons all faced a small stage where a band played their song and a man and woman sang a lively duet. I looked around the crowded tavern, unable to find a single open table.
Ladon must’ve noticed the same thing. He took my hand again and said, “Let’s go to the bar.”
There was only one stool available, and he pulled it out for me to sit, standing behind me with one arm around my waist. He signaled for the bartender and ordered us a couple pints of mead. I leaned back into his chest and sipped from my mug.
“It was my mother,” Ladon said, and I twisted in my seat to look at him. He swallowed a drink and licked his lips before looking down to meet my gaze. “The reason I became… less social.”
“Oh,” I replied, though I was uncertain how Sophia played a part in his changed behavior.
“After my father died, I went through a really tough time. You know that. Eventually, it got easier—living without him. I started to get used to my new normal. And while Cyrus was busy becoming a king, I made new friends. And yes, many of them were girls my age.”
He rolled his eyes, though I hadn’t given him a hard time about it.
“I came back one night after sneaking out of the castle. I thought for sure that either Cyrus or my mother would catch me as I tried to make my way back to my bedroom. Instead, the halls were abnormally still. It was silent except for the sound of someone crying. I followed the noise until I was standing outside my mother’s bedroom.
She moved into a different, smaller room after my father died.
Because of our bloodline magic, I was able to open her door without knocking. ”
He looked tired, as if reliving this memory drained him physically and emotionally. I almost told him he didn’t need to finish the story, but then he spoke again.
“She didn’t hear me come in. I remember seeing her lying in bed, curled with her legs tucked against her chest and squeezing her pillow tight.
She sobbed and pleaded with the gods to bring back my father.
It was killing her. All that time, I was so focused on my own sorrow that I didn’t notice hers, or Cyrus’s for that matter.
But my father’s death was literally killing her. ”
Ladon paused and swirled the mead in his mug, looking around for the bartender so he could order another.
“So you wanted to be a better son? Make life easier for her and stop sneaking out?” I asked, trying to fill in the blanks.
I felt his chest rise and fall against my back as he sighed heavily.
“I love that you think so highly of me, but no. I wanted to make sure I never felt that kind of pain. To lose the one you love—your soulmate… I didn’t think I could survive what my mother was going through.
So I stopped giving my attention to the girls in town.
That I became a better son and a better brother was an accidental side effect.
I devoted myself to my family and training to become a better warrior and never went back to my less honorable habits. ”
I squeezed him, and he leaned down to kiss me, cupping my face. His lips brushed mine as he spoke. “You have all of my attention now, Emilie.”
The words left unspoken were louder than the music and singing on stage.
Don’t leave me, Emilie. Don’t die. Don’t be the reason I can’t go on.