Chapter 24
“You’re coming to game night?” Charles asked from the doorway on one of the rare instances I was in my room.
Since the ball, I’d even started moving my clothes over to Cillian’s chambers.
Not like I had any particular attachment to the room I’d first settled in anyway.
The West Wing that had once been forbidden to me was now as familiar as the rest of the Spires—apart from the locked room, but I respected his privacy there.
However, this week, he’d started to grow quieter, a bit more withdrawn, and the curiosity rose inside me again, the burning need to know what was going on.
Maybe someone would drop a hint at game night.
I wasn’t sure what information he’d shared with his friends, but every bit I could gather was valuable.
“Yeah. Are folks starting to arrive?” I asked, sliding my shoes on.
“It’s a full crowd already,” Charles said. “And Cillian’s there.” He waggled his brows.
“I’m well aware.” I rolled my eyes, even though a smile twitched at my lips. He loved to tease me about our relationship, but I’d rarely gotten this kind of lighthearted, comfortable ribbing from others in the past—because that would require deeper friendships.
“Figured with how attached at the hip you’ve been, you might want to be there too.” Mischief danced in Charles’s eyes. “Though you’re not walking funny anymore, so maybe the honeymoon’s over.”
I snorted. It had taken me a little while to adjust to Charles’s tendency to overshare, but now that I was used to him, I appreciated it. “Mmm, I wouldn’t say that.” Cillian had fucked me so good the other night my throat was raw from screaming. I craved him again now, just at the mere thought.
“Scandalous,” Charles said. “I can only imagine Cillian’s got an addictive cock. When Theo knots me—fuuuuck.”
I smacked him in the shoulder. “Come on. I’d rather play games than hear about your boyfriend’s cock.”
“Your loss,” he said with a shrug and a grin. “It’s lovely.”
We moseyed on down the hallway, a comfort and ease to walking with him that I appreciated.
Amelia, Charles, and Theo had become closer friends than any I’d ever had before, and I even anticipated seeing more of the people I’d talked to at the last game night.
Cillian surrounded himself with genuinely good companions, a reflection of who he was behind the reticence and cool demeanor.
“So are the two of you…” Charles asked, waiting for me to fill in the blanks.
We’d been doing this for close to two months now, and I didn’t have an answer for him.
We were living day to day, and I knew I didn’t want to be apart from him.
Yet, at the root of it all, a part of me needed to be free to choose him, to choose this, but I wasn’t.
I shrugged. “We’re enjoying each other’s company.”
That was paltry compared to the depth of what I felt for him, how much he’d changed my entire life, but I didn’t have any answers. Charles’s bright smile slipped for a moment, a flash in his gaze I wasn’t sure how to interpret. Maybe he thought I was toying with his friend.
“Cillian hasn’t brought anything up, and neither have I, so until we have that discussion, I can’t give you more of an answer,” I clarified.
Charles nodded and let out a weary sigh. “He’s stubborn to a fault.”
That was the damn truth.
We turned down the corridor toward the dining hall, and voices traveled our way from the open room.
My heart sped up. I wanted to delude myself into thinking it was nerves over who awaited us there, but the truth was, the second I heard Cillian’s rich voice, my body and soul awakened for him.
I’d known from the moment I met him that he inspired a reaction inside me, but I hadn’t understood why the strength of it had been there from the start.
He and I could never have been anything casual.
We were destined for either a love foretold by the stars themselves or absolute ruin.
I still wasn’t sure which.
When I stepped into view of the dining hall, I sought him out on instinct.
He sat at the head of the long table they’d formed out of several pushed together, and he chatted with Sofia and Mal.
Another woman was at the table, one I recognized from early on in my time here.
The one who I’d also spotted in wolf form.
When Cillian’s gaze landed on me, the slow smile that rose to his lips made my heart thump harder.
I wandered his way instantly, my feet carrying me toward him.
I slipped up beside him, and he reached out to drag me closer.
When he tilted his chin up, I took the cue to lean down and kiss him, and my whole body sang from the contact, even though I’d seen him mere hours ago.
However, the fact he didn’t hesitate to claim me in front of his friends still vaulted me higher and higher.
Having this man’s esteem—that meant something.
“Sit here,” he said, spreading his legs and patting his lap.
“Then I can’t play,” I countered.
Mal pushed up from his spot—I’d met him at the gala the other night—and found another open seat farther down.
Even though he wasn’t wearing the high drama outfit of the other night, his bright purple crop top matched his eyeshadow and nails.
His dark curls were glossy and well taken care of, and his eyes were a hypnotic green with slits for pupils.
“I’ll move just to spare myself the show. ”
I accepted the proffered seat by Cillian’s side.
“I wouldn’t mind watching the show,” Sofia teased, seated on the opposite side of me.
“Gretel keeps you plenty busy,” the other woman muttered.
“Don’t be jealous, Fae,” Sofia teased. She glanced between her and me. “Have the two of you ever had an official introduction?”
“You were staying here for a spell, right?” I asked. Cillian coughed into his fist, and I locked in on Sofia. I’d begun piecing things together about why certain monsters resided in the empty rooms temporarily, but no one had given me a confirmation.
Sofia shook her head, an amused smile on her graceful lips. “Cillian, I don’t understand why you’re keeping it a secret from this boy.”
“It’s not a big deal,” he grumbled, and I kicked him in the foot.
“Well, now I need to know.” I crossed my arms and stared him down.
“He facilitates a safe space for monsters in need,” Charles announced from the other end of the table. “When someone in the community is in trouble, these upper rooms in the Spires are a place where they can escape for a little or recover.”
Theo snorted. “You’re fearless.”
“That’s why you love me,” Charles said, snuggling against Theo, their seats nudging together.
All of the goings-on up here clicked into place. How the dining hall had mysterious visitors, same as the ones who filled some of the rooms. A thrill rose inside me at the realization of what he’d been involved in all along.
“I was one of them not so long ago,” Fae said. “Though I’m living in an apartment in the city now.”
“Where did you come from?” I asked.
“A Human First commune out in the countryside of Arcosa,” she murmured, her gaze darkening and head dipping.
Sofia let out a disgusted noise. A shudder ran through me at the mention of Human First, an order of humans who believed in expunging supernatural-kind. While I wondered what they’d been doing with a monster in their midst in the first place, I didn’t ask. Clearly, it was a sensitive subject.
“So when she came to Haven, looking for somewhere to go, I sent her to Cillian’s to recover,” Sofia said. “We’ve worked out quite a system over the years.”
“Are others involved?” I asked, my mind whirring at this point, my curiosity in overdrive.
“Many of us take on a role where we can,” Mal said, a wan smile on his lips.
My gaze landed on Cillian, and my heart squeezed tight. Every secret exposed revealed a new layer to him, one that drew me closer. Despite him being the owner of the Spires, he truly had the heart of an architect. Except he wasn’t just trying to create buildings, but communities as well.
And he’d created a magnificent one here. I’d never been prouder of him.
I reached under the table and threaded my fingers through his. He glanced my way, and the cockiness there dimmed with a vulnerability I found I liked far too much.
“So, it’s a secret railroad for monsters,” I clarified.
“I adore that.” My heart filled with pure sunlight.
These people could’ve utilized their power and wealth for destruction, for terrible things, but instead they helped those who needed it the most. Fae’s tumbles of black hair were pulled back into a ponytail, which revealed scars around her neck.
Even the way she fidgeted with her hands revealed more scars around her wrists.
Whatever had been done to her in that commune, she was clearly haunted by her time there.
“Are we going to gossip or actually game tonight?” Cillian asked, a slight gruffness to his tone, even though his hands never left mine.
“I don’t know,” Sofia said. “I think I want to enjoy a little more of your discomfort.”
“Sadist,” he muttered.
She arched a brow. “You’re one to talk.”
I choked on a laugh, earning a stern look from Cillian. One I happily met with challenge.
“Are we waiting for Amelia?” Charles asked.
“She’s busy tonight,” Cillian said. “Date.”
“Ooooh.” Charles’s voice echoed through the dining hall.
“Jaffar will get here at some point, though we can play a few rounds of Bones while we’re waiting,” Theo said, bringing out a bag of bones with runes carved into them.
“And if I’m unfamiliar?” I asked.
“Then we’ll teach you,” Cillian said, squeezing my hand under the table. God, the casual care from him, the way he didn’t hesitate to help—if there was anyone on this earth I could fall for, it’d be him.
And I was so close, freedom be damned.
“It’s good to see you happy,” Sofia commented, her voice low enough that only Cillian and I heard.
A blush hit my cheeks at once. This wasn’t the first time someone had said that, and the idea that I’d helped bring the change about blew my mind.
She fixed her gaze on me. “Don’t let him push you away, either. ”
“Like he’d listen,” Cillian commented dryly.
I snorted. He wasn’t wrong. Stubbornness had always been a foundation block of my personality.
“Bones?” Theo asked again.
“Stop offering everyone a bone,” Charles teased.
“Is that supposed to be a wolf joke?” Fae asked, a wan smile on her lips.
“I mean, we all know how I was intending it, but both works.” Charles grabbed the bag of bone tiles from Theo and began to pass them out. “Here, before my boyfriend expires on the spot. Let’s get some gaming in.”
“Did you order food yet?” Sofia asked Cillian.
He nodded. “Delivery will be here shortly.” His thumb absently stroked my hand, our fingers intertwined beneath the table. The contact from him meant everything.
“I’ll just distribute the pieces at this point,” Theo said with a huff as he started to pass out the bone tiles. I reluctantly let go of Cillian’s hand and gathered my pieces.
“Okay, explain what we do.”
And so we got into the game.
We played a few hands of Bones, and then Jaffar arrived and we delved into a different game.
Cillian had ordered sandwiches from a local place, and everyone tucked in.
The laughter flowed freely, and I’d never felt lighter.
Unlike a month ago, when I’d been worrying about Cillian, when the tension between us had been new and unexplored, our connection now added a richness to the interaction I hadn’t realized I’d love so much.
He casually touched me and kissed me in a way that made me feel claimed, that made me feel like I belonged, not just here, but also to him. And I’d never reached those exultant highs before in my life.
Eventually, Mal decided to leave, then Fae. Jaffar and Charles were deep in a conversation at the table, and Cillian and Theo discussed the meal plan for the week. I sank back into my seat, happy to listen. I didn’t need to yammer, and my well was full from our time around the table tonight.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out. It was rare I got a message, enough that I usually checked them.
Dad had texted.
I’m in trouble. Deep trouble. This will be the last time you hear from me.
Fuck.