10. Lenna
10
Lenna
D espite the bright light behind her eyelids, Lenna refused to open her eyes. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in the Fifth knew how long. She would wake up in just five more minutes.
“After the trouble I went through for you yesterday, you could make an effort and move your ass,” an amused, masculine voice said.
“Fucking Cardinals, Theon,” she mumbled, her voice almost too sleepy to be understood. Lenna recognized his voice and tried to open her eyes against the monstrous force that was trying to keep them shut. What she saw was the well-known face of his friend, sexier than she would ever admit to him, especially now that he was looking at her from the end of her four-post bed.
“Morning to you too, sleepyhead,” he said, walking towards a table where she kept everything she didn’t know where to put or couldn’t be bothered to find a place for. Theon sat on her chair, put his feet on the table and the hands behind his head while admiring every single detail in her bedroom.
Lenna rolled her eyes and turned to the other side of the bed, putting the blanket that was a mess on her feet up to her neck. “What are you doing here?” she asked. She was fully aware of the floor-to-ceiling glass doors that led to her balcony open wide.
It was no mystery in the North House that Lenna had visitors every so often when she fancied some nocturnal entertainment. One of the many reasons her dearly concerned father was not happy with her. He was not concerned about Lenna, but about what the North people would say if they knew the successor and heir to the House enjoyed sex with strangers, very non-panom and non-Elite, on a quite regular basis without being dutifully married and bearing babies for the line. She didn’t give a shit about not meeting her father’s expectations.
But still. Theon had never visited her in her bedroom before. Why would he? They only had their daily training sessions together and went out in Borealia, the principal city that surrounded the North House in their petal, with Elite friends a few times. The so-called Elite “friends” were more a pain in the ass than anything close to actual friends to Lenna. Even if they had known each other from birth because of the multiple social nights they held in the House and to which every single Elite member was painfully invited, thanks to their generous donations to the House.
Lenna always thought most of them were disgustingly rich people that had nothing else to do with their lives than flatter her father’s ass too much. When they could clearly do something more useful with the embarrassing amounts of money they handed in too often to her already annoyingly rich family. Starting with not letting kids die from hunger in the suburbs of Borealia.
Theon was not a member of the Elite because he was “just” her trainer and therefore a “mere” servant. The fucked up social standards in Thyria were something that would never stop unnerving her. Not that those standards and rules had stopped Lenna inviting him to some nights out with the Elite.
Her politically correct sister had given Theon so many disapproving looks and not-so-subtle comments throughout the first time that Lenna and Ayla ended up in a big fight when they got home very late that night. Lenna didn’t know if Ayla had finally understood that regardless of her and some of the other’s opinions Lenna would do what she wanted, or if Ayla thought she was a lost case, but she hadn’t been so intense the other nights Theon went with them. And thanks to him , Lenna had actually had fun and laughed on those occasions. For a change. She usually went home earlier than the rest. When she couldn’t cope with so much bullshit and she couldn’t care enough about their sorry lives to tell them off for their blatant lack of morals or ethics beyond their full pockets.
“I figured that with all your secret business yesterday, you wouldn’t have known that they canceled our training session today,” Theon said, looking through the balcony to the beautiful view she had from the city.
Lenna frowned her brows and said, “House, what’s my plan for today?”
A paper appeared on top of her chest, and she picked it up to read it.
10:00 Fifth Ceremony Dress Fitting
01:00 Lunch with special guest
03:00 Curriculum Lesson with Leo Pharlin
“Oh, shut up,” she covered her eyes with one hand in desperation.
“What is it so important that made them cancel training?” Theon said ironically.
Even if her parents had agreed to the sessions, father usually found any excuse important enough to cancel training and add any stupid substitute to her agenda. Lenna knew her father was fully aware of how much she enjoyed her sessions, and she had definitely seen a correlation of pissing-father-off and training-session-canceled over the months. A silent reminder that he still ruled over her life and could take the small things she loved away if she made life difficult for him.
Theon had laughed his head off when Lenna had told him one day their session had been canceled because of some “Teaspoons Selection”. Coincidentally, it had been the night after Lenna spent the night with a blond visitor in her bedroom and had forgotten to shut the doors of the balcony. She guessed the not musical sounds that had come from her room had pissed father more than usual.
Lenna propped herself on the bed with her elbows. “The damn Fifth Ceremony Dress Fitting.”
“Uh, serious fancy panom stuff then.” Theon looked at her, lifting his eyebrows up and down.
Because she hadn’t been in any Fifth Ceremony yet, as only panoms and the people becoming panoms were allowed in the private ritual, she had no clue about what she would have to dress. Everything about the Fifth she had ever asked Leo during her sessions was about the powers themselves, the bit of the Ceremony that she found useful.
“I just hope they don’t want me to wear something ridiculous,” Lenna said, finally sitting on the edge of her bed. She wouldn’t accept being dressed like a puppet. She sighed and tried to remember everything that had happened the day before. It seemed like it had been ages ago. “What did you do yesterday, by the way? I was expecting a full Roix campaign here.”
Theon put a hand on his chest and opened his mouth, pretending to be very offended. “I thought you had more faith in me, Lenna.” He smiled with his full lips closed. “After you almost gave me a fucking heart attack with your sparkly floaty or whatever-that-was message, I would expect some more confidence from you.”
Lenna grinned. “I can’t believe it worked. It was the first time I sent someone ink.”
“Seriously? Well, it did work, and other than scaring the shit out of me, it was interesting to see,” Theon said, returning the grin.
Lenna had always enjoyed practising and experimenting with her magic. She had written golden notes on the wall of her room, but never tried to send ink to a person, or to a place that was not within reach of her sight. Apparently, yesterday she had achieved both.
As if Theon had read the curiosity on her shining-with-pride honey-colored eyes, he said, “I felt a tickle in my forearm and I saw tons of small sparkly things like stars going into my skin, bending together and making shapes and after a moment they were showing your message as if it was written by you but in shiny golden ink. They disappeared as soon as I read it.”
Lenna could remember the message she sent in desperation when she didn’t think twice about going and rescuing Raoul at the West House.
“I asked the housekeepers to take me to Leo, and I told him there was a last-minute Elite meeting in the city and you saw me on your way there and asked me to tell him so he wouldn’t worry,” Theon explained.
Lenna smiled. She wasn’t entirely convinced that wise Leo would have bought such an excuse, but she was thankful to him for not having raised any concerns to her parents. Otherwise, the sisters would have been knee-deep in trouble.
She appreciated Theon not asking what Ayla and she had done to need such a last-minute cover. Despite knowing she shouldn’t, Lenna felt the need to inform him about the entire Raoul situation. She knew it would make her feel better about the knot in her chest.
Lenna took a deep breath. Having the Fifth Ceremony in two days didn’t help. But, on the other side, maybe when she finally learned how to use her panom powers beyond the self-taught very basic stuff she had figured out until now, she would have more resources to help her friend. And that apparently gone mind of his. The knot in her chest tightened.
“Thank you for yesterday. I owe you one,” she said, straightening her wavy red hair with her fingers. She realized Theon was looking at her with attention, trying to decipher her suddenly serious expression. “I need to tell you something, but I can’t be late to the dress fitting. And as much as I am grateful for yesterday, I would appreciate using my bedroom to get ready in privacy.”
Theon stood up. “Sure. And I will enjoy my day off in peace. But expect tomorrow’s session will make up for today, I’ll make you sweat.” He winked, headed towards the balcony and jumped without looking back at her. Lenna exhaled while heading towards the ensuite bathroom that was connected to her bedroom, already dreading what he would come up with in training tomorrow to make up for today. As if it was her choice to do the damned dress thing.
She let the water run in the huge circular bath in a corner of the bathroom while she looked at herself in the mirror. Her fire-colored hair didn’t look as bad as she had expected, and her tan face looked almost acceptable, considering how stupidly tired she felt. The orange satin top and the matching pajama shorts she was wearing, though, looked impeccable and as revealing as usual.
Theon had seen her with multiple revealing dresses on their nights out, and never seemed interested in her how many others seemed to gravitate to her.
He always had a long number of interested young and attractive beings staring at him, from his brown hair to his enchanting smile, and every single muscle of his chest and arms that was always visible through the shirts he loved to wear. Theon wasn’t easily impressed by a pleasant look or a seductive smile.
She couldn’t get the sight of Theon leaning on her bedpost off her mind and knew exactly what types of things he would have thought while she slept with her two orange laced pieces barely big enough to cover some key parts of her.
Lenna felt warmth in the room, surely not only because the hot water was almost filling the bath. She sent some sparks looking to deliver an ink to Theon.
Lenna grinned, thinking he would be cursing right now. She sent the second part of the ink away.
Lenna was writing on her book of Cause in the middle of the quiet library at the North House. Writing her thoughts and notes down in the book that had accompanied her for years was the best use of her time before lunch was due.
The quiet library was quiet no longer when her father, Jasper Brachyan, stormed in with Ayla and someone else.
“In anyway, it was a much needed discarding if they had been repeatedly stealing food. Shame the roixers didn’t catch them earlier. Here you are,” said her father. Lenna didn’t lift her eyes from the sentence she was finishing, whatever they wanted from her was not more important than not losing her trend of thought. “We have visitors, Lenna. I’m going to ensure lunch is ready. If you can kindly introduce them, Ayla?” And with that, Jasper left.
“Give me a minute.” Lenna continued writing. The pain in the ass that having constant visitors and pretending to give a shit about them was.
There was a low chuckle coming from the third person, and Lenna lifted her gaze from the book of Cause, shutting its cover with a bang that hopefully stated what she felt about being interrupted in the peace of a library.
The man looking at her with a side smile was the most handsome man she had ever seen. His amused silver eyes towered over her, so in contrast with his black hair and his smooth skin. He was dressed in dark, neat leathers that marked his torso and arms but also made him someone to be respected. Or even feared.
“What’s so funny?” Lenna asked, standing up from her chair and sitting on the corner of the table she had been using.
“I am trying to figure out which one of you was moaning so loudly the last time I spent a night here,” the man said, the corner of his lips still upward.
Ayla shook her head, covering her green eyes with a hand as she said, “Cardinals guide us. Lenna, this is Jake Coralt, heir of the Organ House and son of the Organ Mandor. Jake, as you know, this is Lenna, my twin sister and heir of the North House.”
“The moans were mine, thanks for your concern,” Lenna winked at him, completely ignoring her sister. “Staying in the guest house in the gardens, I take it. Discarding duty brought you here?”
Ayla answered for him, “He kindly discarded a family of seven last week for sleeping in the streets of Borealia, disrupting the flow of our streets. And today two teenagers who had been stealing for too long. Jake has been very generous and offered us to join him next time, which will be after our Fifth Ceremony.”
Lenna was going to be sick. “And you will gladly join him, will you not, sister?”
“Won’t you be joining me?” Jake asked Lenna before Ayla could reply.
“I wouldn’t join you over my dead body. You and your discarding duty can fuck off.”
Jake Coralt lifted his chin just a tiny bit, surveying Lenna from top to bottom. His eyes darkened, as if he was mentally listing all the ways he could make her moan at his mercy. He was definitely being used to being feared and obeyed.
“Not in your wildest dreams,” Lenna said.
“Precisely in the wildest ones we would have the best time,” his voice was grave.
“Shame I don’t fuck entitled pricks,” she added. Especially not ones used to getting everything and everyone they want, as the illegally attractive subject in front of her.
“But you do fuck many others. I wonder if you'd benefit from another cock in the room. Just in case.”
Ayla almost choked. “May I remind you that profound intimacy between heirs of the Houses is at high risk of a panomquake. It would cause so much disturbance. I'm sure it's not worth your hormones.”
Jake's dropped his stare to every profound bit of Lenna. A silent side smile on his lips, as if he'd love to take the risk of shaking the entire island just to taste her.
Lenna smiled. “She's not the heir. Feel free to offer your cock to her anytime.”
“It isn’t her that I want. You will come begging, sweet fire, and I'll be waiting for you.” His voice was a grave whisper, and Lenna’s core unavoidably tightened.