Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
Casimir
I’ve spent many hours in the former General Stavros’s presence. I noted the spark of interest that lit in his eyes when Julita turned on her charm. A couple of times, I observed him from afar with one of my carnal arts professors on his arm—a woman of unarguable beauty and sensuality.
In the course of our association, I’ve witnessed him pleased and angry, resolved and disheartened.
But I’ve never before seen the intensity that’s come over him while he speaks to Ivy right now.
There’s immense passion smoldering in his eyes as he gazes down at her, and I can tell with every emphatic word and gesture that the emotion goes much deeper than mere attraction.
From the moment his temper erupted at the sight of her with me after our interlude in the archives, I’ve suspected he has some kind of interest in her. Now… Now it’s obvious and potent enough to stir up my own emotions: approval, compassion, and a dollop of jealousy I don’t have any right to feel.
It’s about time he removed his head from his ass when it comes to her. About time he started treating her like the awe-inspiring woman she is.
After what she’s just been through, the betrayal she’s just faced, she deserves nothing more than full commitment from the rest of us in every way we can offer it.
And I’m starting to think all three of us can offer our devotion in every conceivable way.
I’d encourage Stavros to explore all those ways right this moment, but I can’t deny the urgency of alerting the king to the traitor within his own family, no matter what dire fate Benedikt may already have met.
Who knows if the scourge sorcerers will find some final way to use the royal bastard before they’re through with him?
The shock lingers like a knot in my gut. I was wrong about Benedikt. He put on such a carefree front during our short meetings that I got into the habit of not checking in on his emotional state that closely.
How long has a deeper resentment been simmering inside him without us even realizing—bitter enough that the scourge sorcerers were able to draw him in?
We may never know. Gods help us, I wish I’d paid more attention while I could.
Maybe I couldn’t have changed his mind, but I might have been able to spare Ivy the trauma she endured at his bidding.
Stavros pulls himself away from Ivy with what looks like incredible effort. I can read his reluctance to leave her all through his stance as he turns toward the loop of cord that’ll take him back to his quarters.
I offer him my most reassuring smile.
We’ll take good care of her. We’ll give her everything she could need until he’s able to join us.
I turn Ivy’s cord in my hands. “Leave your loop at the other end open so Ivy will be able to follow it back to your quarters once she’s ready.”
Stavros gives a quick nod and one final, anguished glance over his shoulder at Ivy before stepping into the circle of cord and vanishing.
Ivy stares after him, shock etched on her pale face. It’s a crime how much trouble she’s had accepting that any of us could truly care about her. In Stavros’s case, it must be even more difficult after how harshly he treated her when he discovered her magic.
I slip my hand around her arm again, stroking my fingers from her shoulder to her elbow and back again. Maybe it’ll help her believe if she knows I can see it too.
“If you’re our Signy, I suppose you did need a third paramour.”
Ivy’s gaze jerks toward me. “What do you— He wouldn’t really…”
She trails off, uncertainty mingling with the weariness in her expression. She’s been through so much in the past day.
I brush her amber hair back from her face in a gentle caress. “I think Stav has been fighting with himself even more than he’s fought with you. It’s a relief to see that devotion finally won over fear.”
A blush spreads across Ivy’s cheeks. “He hasn’t said anything. We haven’t done anything.”
I chuckle. “Oh, he’s said enough. And you don’t have to worry. I’m not complaining. You should get all the adulation we can offer you.”
I glance toward Alek, who’s been watching the whole interaction with a mix of concern and bemusement. At my silent prodding, he steps closer to Ivy.
There’s something poignant about the tentative but determined way he tucks his arm around Ivy’s waist, as if he’s still not sure he could be allowed to show her that much affection. The scholar has also had a long journey toward believing anyone could want him, I suspect.
“If Signy’s men could handle sharing between a trio, I’d imagine we could figure out a way too,” he says, and presses a kiss to her hair. “You’ve spent too long with no one you can count on.”
The corner of his mouth crooks upward at a sly angle I’m not used to. “And three lovers opens up even more… intriguing possibilities.”
Ivy arches an eyebrow at him, but a hint of a smile crosses her lips. “You and that poetry book.”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to see you happy—and satisfied.”
I beam at both of them. “I couldn’t agree more.
And to get started with that…” I swipe at a little smudge of dirt at the corner of Ivy’s jaw that the scourge sorcerers missed in their hasty clean-up effort.
“You spent the night in a cave. I think the first step to getting you good as new is a nice soak in a bath, don’t you? ”
Ivy’s blush darkens.
“Just a bath?” she asks, sounding amused.
Remembering how the first bath I set up for her ended sends a quiver of desire to my groin. I lean in to claim a quick kiss.
“Whatever pleases you, Kindness. I simply want you to know we’re here for you however you need us.”
Alek lifts his chin. “Agreed.”
Ivy looks down at herself. “Getting clean would be a relief—I’m sure about that.”
“Then I have just the thing. You two wait here while I make the arrangements. I’ll step through the cords and escort you back when I’m ready—it shouldn’t take long.”
I slip her cord into the pouch on my belt and step through my own ring. After a moment of disorienting darkness, I’m back in my dorm room in the Domi.
A few of my dormmates are chatting in the common room, one who’s training to be a dancer doing stretches on the floor, another who’s about to start an apprenticeship as a bard strumming casually on her lute.
I give them all a friendly nod and head out into the hall to check the reserved bathing rooms.
The companionship division has ten private bathing areas for our exclusive use, in consideration for the services some of us provide and the extensive cosmetic preparations many of us require. I breeze past the smaller options like the one where I brought Ivy last time.
This time, I don’t want the experience to feel like something I’m presenting her with. I want us all on the same level, like real lovers rather than anything resembling courtesan and client.
And having additional space for whatever other activities we might engage in would be ideal too.
The first of the larger rooms has the eyes closed on the face carved on the door, indicating that it’s locked for use. The second is open.
I slip into the cream-tiled space, survey it to confirm it meets my expectations, and secure the door.
With practiced efficiency, I move through the room—turning on the tap on the massive bathtub built partly into the floor, pouring in an oil for relaxing sore muscles and a bubbling powder with a soothing scent, setting three plump towels on the bench for ease of access.
Then I spread Ivy’s cord on the floor in its circle and step back through to the meeting room.
Ivy and Alek are leaning against the table, his arm still around her and their heads bent close together. When they look up at my arrival, it’s clear I’ve interrupted a quiet conversation.
A pang shoots through my heart like the sensation that hit me when I walked in on them kissing in the side room the other day. Like a wordless admonishment telling me that I can never have quite the same shared affection.
But maybe I can. Maybe it isn’t too much to ask that I have a woman who wants me to be happy as much as I want the same for her.
Because as content as Ivy looks in Alek’s embrace, her face lights up at the sight of me.
She’s an incredible woman. I’m still serving both my godlen and my purpose on this earth by catering to her pleasure.
Who could deserve more than the woman who’s putting herself in so much danger to protect us all from divine retribution?
“Come with me,” I say, and quickly add when Alek starts to hesitate, “Both of you.”
We emerge one after the other into the bathing room. Ivy looks around at the sprawling, tiled space and lets out a laugh. “It’s not just a bathroom—it’s a bedroom too.”
There is indeed a large, four-poster bed with covers the same ivory as the frame standing at the opposite end from the bathtub.
I grin at her. “Sometimes people want to relax in a drier fashion once they’re clean. We can accommodate all preferences. If you simply want a comfortable sleep, you’re welcome to it.”
A sigh escapes her. “I might take you up on that. But first…”
She walks up to the bathtub, reaching for the lacing on the basic silk gown the conspirators dressed her up in. So much more confident than the last time.
It warms me to see her assurance growing.
I move to join her, loosening the ties with experienced fingers. “I thought the three of us might enjoy a soak together. I’m sure both Alek and I could use a chance to unwind after all our worries about you while you were missing. And then you’ll have proper company.”
Ivy hums. “Sounds fair enough.”
She casts a sideways glance toward the scholar, and I follow her gaze. At his awkward expression, I realize I may have miscalculated in my hurry.
“Only if you’d like to,” I say to him, unsure of the best approach. Alek has always seemed like a rather private person. “I shouldn’t have assumed—”
“It’s all right,” he interrupts with a crooked smile. “I’m glad you counted me in. It’s only— My mask…”