Chapter 73
Florian
Florian loved weddings. He loved the music and the drinking, the spell of romance that hung palpable in the air, inviting all those around to revel in the happiness shared by the newlyweds.
He’d hardly ever been more touched or proud or genuinely filled with joy to watch anyone tie knots than he’d felt as Keira and Caspian made the vows.
It was difficult to imagine how such a wonderful night could have ended so terribly.
The worst part of it was that for the life of himself, he couldn’t figure out why.
Florian rubbed a hand down his face as he sat at the long breakfast table, trying again to puzzle out how it had gone so wrong.
His dismal mood hardly stood out among the others.
It seemed nearly half the court was hungover, staring uncertainly at their food or trying some remedy or another.
Florian wished he could blame his own wretched feeling on overindulgence.
Yet, he’d strangely turned in early and alone.
All the while he’d thought, he’d hoped, that it would be the night he might…
Well, he’d wanted to spend it with Yvette, celebrating her joining the Blades and being free of that wretch, Victor.
He finally felt as though he understood her, and yet he’d never predicted her sending him off like that.
She’d clearly found out about him and Knox, though it was hardly a secret. But how had she? Florian couldn’t imagine Knox actually confronting her, but he also hadn’t been able to find him anywhere after she went up to bed. If he could only find her and explain…
Someone approached the table. Hope blossomed within him for a moment, but it was only Lilith, closely followed by a very hungover Rhea.
“Morning,” Lilith said, nearly chipper.
Rhea said absolutely nothing as she sat down beside Gareth and followed his example, shoveling a heaping portion of eggs onto her plate.
“Have you seen Knox?” Florian asked, skipping pleasantries.
Strangely, guilt flashed across Lilith’s features as Rhea’s sole attention centered on her devouring her breakfast.
“Not since last night.”
“Where did he go?” he pressed.
Lilith shrugged, taking a sip from her flask.
“Do you know why he left?”
Again, a strange expression fell over her features. “You know how he gets near a full moon.”
Florian’s gaze narrowed.
Lilith let out a relenting breath. “You really want to know?”
“Obviously!”
“Fine, Florian. He left because he’s tired of you running off with every piece of ass that catches your eye!”
“Shhhh,” Rhea hissed, eyes clenched against a headache Florian could almost feel from across the table.
“Sorry,” she whispered loudly.
“He’s upset about Yvette? We never even-”
“No, Florian. You were off dancing with some girl. But this proves my point. You can’t even keep them all straight anymore!”
“Did you say something to her?” Florian asked, suspicions coming together in his mind.
“Who? The girl?”
“Yvette!”
Lilith’s brows raised. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. Did you tell her about me and Knox?”
“It’s hardly a secret, but no. She figured that one out by herself.”
“But you did say something,” Florian accused, trying to battle back his rising voice.
“I just told her how you are. How you’ve been with Knox from the start.”
“What?”
“The way you fuck around and leave him to follow after you like a little dog.”
“Lil,” Rhea put a cautionary hand on her arm.
“You have no business in our relationship, in any of my relationships,” Florian snapped back.
“That’s my point, you arrogant dick. There’s nothing wrong with having multiple partners or an open whatever, but only if it’s actually healthy for all the people involved.”
“Knox has always agreed-”
“Of course he did!” Lilith’s whispering was growing shrill to the point of absurdity. “He’d rather have whatever crumbs you leave for him than nothing at all. That doesn’t mean it’s good for him.”
Florian took in a breath, trying to stem the anger brewing within him. “What did you say to her?”
Lilith straightened. “Basically, what I just told you. You wander. And if that’s not something she can handle from a relationship, she should back out now.”
“She could have decided that for herself! I could have talked to her, explained things, reached an agreement. You had no right to step in.”
“I did it for her!” Lilith snapped. “I don’t know what that girl has going on, but I can tell she is not okay. The last thing she needed was you sweet talking her into-”
Florian recoiled, affronted. “You think I’d coerce her-”
“Florian,” Rhea’s voice drew both of their attention.
A pained crease remained between her brows as she spoke.
“She’s right. You’re casual with your partners and expect them to feel the same even at times where it is clear they do not.
And right now, Yvette needs to find out who she is on her own.
Her path is unclear to her, and she is struggling.
That’s why I voted her into the party, to give her a place to discover herself, to heal from whatever mess her life has been. ”
“I just want to help her-”
“Then give her the space she needs,” Lilith stressed. “Let her be her own person for four minutes! Didn’t she just say yesterday she was in love with that ogre turd, Victor? Do you seriously want to just replace him?”
Of course not. Florian’s jaw set. He wasn’t a callous person, and it stung to think that they might be right.
Was Knox unhappy? Florian knew he could get jealous, but surely if he was unsatisfied with their arrangment he would have said something…
He’d never kept secrets from Knox. He’d always assumed that extended both ways.
As for Yvette… He knew she was struggling. More than anything, he wanted to help her. Yet he’d never considered for a moment that it might mean leaving her alone.
Florian was pulled from his thoughts as a round of applause spread through the hall.
Rhea groaned at the sound, resting her head in her hands.
His eyes were drawn to where Keira and Caspian were descending the grand staircase.
Keira was blushing deeply, though it did not dampen the wide smile stretching over her cheeks.
A similar grin shone on Caspian’s face. It was the face of someone who was truly happy, and who had likely spent most of the night fucking.
The newlyweds were immediately set upon by wellwishers. They waded through them graciously before Keira settled beside him.
“I’ll get us some food?” Caspian offered.
Keira thanked him with a smile and a kiss before he was off.
“Good to see you’re still standing,” Lilith greeted her with a smirk.
Keira only smiled wider. “Not without a few battle scars,” she joked. “But what about you all? Did you enjoy the feast?”
“Of course,” Florian offered.
“Some of us too much.” Lilith looked to Rhea, who arched a brow.
“You’re only on your feet because you’re still drunk,” she pointed.
“You have to ease yourself out of it,” Lilith explained, taking another sip from her flask.
Florian shared in a laugh at her antics, even if his heart was only half in it.
“So do you want my help getting home?” Keira offered. “Yvette and I-” She looked around the hall. “Where is she?”
“Probably just sleeping it off.” Lilith shrugged casually.
“I’m not taking another portal,” Gareth asserted.
Rhea nodded in agreement.
“Besides, I heard talk last night that there’s a boar a couple hours south of here with two heads!” Lilith said. “It’s supposed to be massive.”
Florian rubbed his brow tiredly at the thought of tromping through the woods after some possibly fictional beast.
“Safe travels then,” Keira said, shaking her head in amusement.
Caspian returned with two plates of food. “Have you heard what that bard is playing?” he asked as he sat on her other side.
They turned to the far corner of the room, right beside the long serving table. There was a bard there, strumming a lute in an animated tale. Florian heard a few others singing along as he returned to the chorus.
“For not can stand against love’s true call,
Not gleaming serpents forged of gold,
Nor traitorous plots yet untold,
Fair slayer of beasts, before her fall,
The Bloody Bride of Northall!”
“They can’t be serious,” Keira gaped beside him.
“Congratulations,” Florian offered with a smirk.
“How come she gets a song?” Lilith protested. “There’d better be a verse in there about how we saved her ass!”
Keira’s brow furrowed. “How did they even know about the snake?”
That was a fair point, Florian considered, looking to Lilith. It seemed everyone else’s suspicions had landed on her as well.
“I may have told the story a time or two last night,” she admitted. “I didn’t know that lightweight was a bard though- you know what, I’m going to go have a discussion with him about creative differences.” Lilith stood from the bench, and no one made any move to stop her.
Keira only sighed as Caspian looked after her, clearly wondering if someone ought to intervene as she marched toward the singer.
With her gone, the breakfast table fell into a companionable conversation. Rhea and Keira discussed the Blades’s plans for returning to Grimlocke, when she expected to be able to visit or to pick up some of her things.
“Look who I found,” Lilith announced as she returned with Yvette following closely behind her.
Her brown eyes flashed to him and then quickly away as Lilith steered her onto the bench beside her.
“So sorry I slept in,” Yvette offered quietly.
“It was a late night,” Florian excused.
Her small mouth parted in surprise, and Florian kicked himself. It hadn’t been a late night, at least not for them. She probably thought he was making some kind of comment about her leaving early or worse, suggesting that he had indeed spent the small hours in another’s company.
“I mean-” Florian tried to recover, but faltered entirely. “You know, I think I might go lie down, actually.”
He tried to shake off the uncomfortable sensation of their eyes watching him as he left. However, it lingered until he had made it all the way up the grand staircase and out of sight. He sighed out a breath as he entered his room.
That was a disaster. For a moment he thought if he had only been able to talk to her alone then maybe…
But then Lilith’s voice sounded in his ear.
He hated to admit it, but she was right, at least in part.
Florian needed to be patient, which was hardly a strength of his.
But understanding was falling on him as he opened the door to his empty room.
If he didn’t wait for her to heal, to be truly ready for something new, he could lose her entirely.
Fully dressed, he fell into bed. In the quiet, resolve grew within him. He would do what was best for her, even if it meant keeping a distance. Yet, with it fear settled in too. What if he did wait, until she healed. Once she was confident and whole again… What if she didn’t need him anymore?
Florian was in a shallow state of sleep when the door of his room opened. His eyes flashed open and alert only to relax again as he saw Knox’s shape filling the doorway.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“Don’t be,” Florian insisted, sitting up on the bed. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
Knox nodded and shut the door behind him.
“You disappeared last night,” Florian said.
“I just needed to get out. I didn’t think I’d be missed.”
His voice was casual, but still guilt twisted in Florian’s gut. “Are you happy?” he asked.
Knox turned from whatever trinket he’d been studying and looked at him with an odd expression. “Why would you ask me that?”
Florian sighed, standing up to close the distance between them. “Your sister expressed some concerns… That you weren’t happy with our arrangement.”
His brow arched. “Have I ever complained?”
“I know you can get jealous,” he admitted.
Knox shook his head, brushing his fingers against Florian’s neck. He was caught off guard as Knox drew him into his kiss. His scent surrounded him, like leather and wood smoke and herbs. There was a headiness to it that always overwhelmed him.
When they broke apart, Knox’s eyes were still fixed on his. “How can I not get selfish with you?” he said. The tone of his voice was hypnotic, soft and low. “But this is the way that it should be, for both of us.”
His brow pinched. “You’re sure?”
Knox nodded, running his thumb over Florian’s jaw. “Despite what she thinks, my sister doesn’t know everything.”