Chapter 57
AIMILIA
Aimilia was at the west tower over an hour before Turpis was going to meet her so they could figure out her next steps. At Eleni’s funeral he’d told her that he couldn’t get his hands on the cerberus. The one that killed Eleni had been put down.
She reached up at her eyes and scrubbed at them again.
Nikias’ voice had been ringing in her head for hours, even since she’d overheard him and Eleni’s husband.
“There will never be a woman like her again in my life.”
Of course he still loved Faustina. He was never going to stop loving Faustina.
She’d been foolish to think his attention to her could ever hold a candle to his devotion to Faustina.
She’d been foolish to think she could ever hold a candle to Faustina.
Aimilia could at least be grateful she’d been smart enough to keep her distance over the last few weeks. It had saved her from doing something foolish like kissing him or revealing her changing feelings for him.
Whoever it was that she had feelings for.
Aimilia leaned against the wall next to the door that led back inside, staring out at the horizon, the sun inching toward it getting ready to set.
It had been weeks since Hypatia’s warning began tormenting her and she was no closer to figuring out who Nikias truly was than when she’d started.
Was he still the grand manipulator who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted?
Or was he truly the man she’d seen find that little girl and gently care for her injuries, believing no one would ever know?
Aimilia wrapped her arms around her as a breeze cut through the air. She curled her fingers into her chiton over her heart. The organ beat against her hand in response. The ring was cold against her skin.
Was she just falling for it again?
At night when she was tossing and turning, trying not to think about whatever trap Clelia attempted next to kill her, she was tormented by her memories of Nikias. But it wasn’t of memories like in the hallway as he took Marcella away, or when he arrested her after she helped Gavril save Marcella.
That Nikias was easy to fear. He wasn’t trying to hide his darkness.
No.
What haunted her now had been the Nikias before.
He’d been so perfect. He’d been just enough of the Nikias she knew that she wasn’t suspicious, while also saying all the right things to get her to follow his plan and do as he wished.
She’d gone to see Gavril at his command every time he told her to.
They’d met together constantly, discussing Gavril’s progress and their next moves and how she would get Gavril back.
And that was what scared her the most. She’d been completely blind to the fact that he was just using her to get Marcella back on the table.
Since Faustina’s death, Nikias had wanted one thing and one thing alone. Revenge.
“Nothing has faded. Not a single memory. Not a single feeling. Faustina might be gone, but she remains in my heart.”
Aimilia had managed to evade his search by hiding behind a couple behind him and Ovidius. She’d heard every word, and while it tore her in two, none of it surprised her. He still loved Faustina just as much as the day he buried her. Aimilia was a fool to think she could ever compete with that.
Nothing was sacred to him, save Faustina.
Not even his brother’s own marriage vows. Aimilia had foolishly believed Nikias that they could somehow be broken. She’d had no idea he’d meant with Marcella’s death.
Aimilia knew what Nikias was capable of when he had a goal in mind. He was ruthless in his pursuit. And if she was the goal now…
Nothing terrified Aimilia more than the fact that she very well could be falling for his tricks again. This time, however, it would end with her being bound to him forever.
Could she take that risk? Could Aimilia ever truly trust him again after what he’d done?
Did it matter?
He’d never claimed to love her.
Maybe his manipulation would only go so far, and not even that was a line he could cross. Aimilia was certain if she gave Nikias even a hint of her love for him, whether he was genuine or not, he would hold onto it, and he would not rest until his name was on her for forever.
Aimilia kept staring at the horizon, the sky starting to turn a golden hue as the sun began to set.
Aimilia had been turning over every interaction and every memory again and again, dissecting Nikias’ looks, inflections, and mannerisms. She compared the way he was when he’d been manipulating her to the way he was now, and finding very few differences.
He looked at her the same way he had then.
That was when the door opened.
Aimilia pushed off the wall, ready for Turpis to at least distract her from one problem with another, but the dark brown hair and height gave him away immediately.
Nikias.
He flew through the door, a whirlwind of black and red. He turned on his heel, eyes frantically darting about the balcony until they landed on her.
“There you are.”
Aimilia pushed off the wall, immediately narrowing her eyes. “How exactly did you know I was here?”
Nikias froze, then he tilted his head. “Is this not the west tower? Didn’t you mention it was your favorite spot to watch the sunset?”
She had.
But there was still something in his eyes…
“It is. But considering this is the first time I’ve been here since we arrived, you’ll have to forgive me for being a little suspicious that you also happen to find me here.”
Nikias said, “If I was looking for you and couldn’t find you anywhere else, why wouldn’t I come here first?”
He was making sense…
But Aimilia still couldn’t shake the feeling something was off. Was it just her paranoia?
“Well, what do you want? If you’re in this much of a tizzy about it, it must be important. Let’s make this quick.”
Nikias held out his hand. “I don’t like you being up here alone.
My mother has targeted you twice, and I can’t trust that she won’t attempt to have something happen to you before the next trial as well.
I want you to stay with me where I can protect you, or in your room where she can’t get to you.
You were right; I wasn’t doing enough to protect you before. I won’t make that mistake again.”
Aimilia needed to get rid of him, and quickly before Turpis arrived.
“I appreciate the concern, but that’s not what I meant.
I think I’ve proven that I’m more than capable of defending myself against anything your mother might throw at me.
If anything, you’re the one who should be worried about her cornering you alone.
Since we’ve been here, she hasn’t landed a scratch on me. ”
Aimilia’s stomach churned as she forced the words out with a casual air, despite the fact that they were anything but. She didn’t want to bring it up, even just through implication, but her best chance at getting rid of Nikias was to use it.
What kind of monster did that make her? She would turn his shame against him, if it was convenient for her.
Nikias paled, but he didn’t immediately snap or run off like she’d expected.
“I thought you wanted me to be alone with her; how else am I supposed to stand up to her? You know full well I won’t be able to do so without consequences.
Even so, my mother doesn’t want me dead.
I can withstand anything she might have for me, but you don’t have the luxury of being her eldest, as well as the only viable heir she has to the throne. ”
Aimilia glanced back at the setting sun. She needed Nikias long gone before Turpis arrived. “Noted. Still, I think I’ll be all right up here. I would like to be alone right now.”
Nikias took a step closer. “I will happily stand here in silence, if you’d like. Being alone doesn’t mean you have to be defenseless.”
“For one, I’m a Runai commander. I’m never defenseless. Secondly, within the last few weeks, I have lost not only my dearest grandfather, but another cousin of mine, that one thanks to your mother. I don’t need silence. I need solitude.”
“Your grief is all the more reason for me to stay. I’m trying to prove I’m here for you. I barely even saw you at the funeral.”
He was a persistent creature.
Nikias reached out for her again, fingertips brushing her arm as he stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Just come inside. Come with me.”
Why did he want her off this tower so badly?
She pulled her arm back. “Nikias, I told you I need to focus on the tournament right now. I can’t have you distracting me.”
Nikias’ hand settled on her forearm, thumb brushing over the soft skin. “Tell me, what makes me so distracting to you? You’re too skilled a commander for anything minor to trip you up. Maybe if I knew how I was distracting you, I’d be able to give you what you need to focus.”
She could think of one way he was distracting her right now. He pulled gently on her arm until she took a step toward him.
Then she saw his eyes flicker toward the sunset.
He said, “Talk to me, please. Tell me everything, and let me understand you.”
He was too good at this.
Aimilia, however, was not one to repeat mistakes.
She pulled her arm out of his grip and stepped back. “Why do you want me to come inside, Nikias? The view out here is lovely. Surely we could stay up here for hours, if that’s what you want.”
Nikias’ eyes widened. But she wasn’t going to give him the chance to lie his way out of this one. “If you insist on talking so much, how about you try talking about the truth now. This wasn’t a lucky guess for you, was it? You knew I would be here.”
Nikias shook his head. “Why is it so hard for you to believe I know you well enough to find you?”
Fine.
“Only one person knew I was going to be up here. Why exactly would he tell you that?”
Nikias said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. What are you doing up here meeting someone else?”
He just couldn’t stop lying, could he?