7. Chapter Seven
I’d returned the letter to Sapphire and left for the guest house before the topic of conversation had a chance to shift. Eero remained behind for a few moments, but by the time I’d found myself pacing in front of my bed, the front door creaked open.
My heart was pounding, and my eyes were so red from unshed tears, I wished for nothing more than to cry. I wouldn’t, though—it wasn’t deserved. Kings and their heirs executed traitors. That was who Julius was—he’d participated in espionage, kidnapping, and treason. He, a former lover and best friend, had made a dire mistake.
He chose the wrong person to confide in. His involvement with the Summer King would be his downfall.
“Witchling,” Eero murmured after grabbing hold of my elbow. I stopped pacing and let him pull me into his chest. We shared a silent moment, and my chest ached. I closed my eyes at the gentle drumming of his beating heart as my head rested upon his chest. “You have to be prepared for tomorrow. I understand he was a friend.”
I bit back a laugh before parting from his embrace, clawing my fingers through my hair and tugging at the scalp. “Julius was the worst decision I’d ever made, Eero, but you’re correct. He was often a friend. More, even, but more than that, he was a mistake. A stupid, careless mistake.”
Eero watched me collapse onto the bed, pulling my hands over my face. I cared little for Julius in the grand scheme of things, especially considering how badly he’d betrayed me, but he was a pillar in my teenage years. We played games, we grew, we fought. I’d shared many firsts with him and even more regrets.
And, in the end, he nearly killed me.
I shouldn’t care if he gets his head sliced off his soulless body. Yet, here I was—caring. Caring for a man with no ambition beyond a gamble and quick odd-job. It wasn’t because of the firsts. It wasn’t because of the heartaches he’d caused. Those were such a distant thing of the past—it was because I doubted he was wholly evil.
The man I grew up alongside wouldn’t sentence me to be maimed, assaulted, and stripped.
He’d all but killed men for doing less.
When I let my hands slide onto the bed, I captured Eero’s stare. He stood at my knees, arms crossed over his chest with a knitted brow.
“Alright. So he was a special friend, then.” I breathed a bitter laugh before sitting up slowly, bringing my knees to my chest to hug them. Eero kneeled, resting a hand on my legs. “You know, I felt this same way when my late wife was murdered. Knowing you can’t control the blade wielded by others is a terrible feeling, but Aurelie Cane, you can care. You should.”
I rested my chin atop my knees and narrowed my eyes. “Why should I care about him?” I muttered. “He is the reason I wound up in that terrible place.”
Eero’s soft smile faltered, a twitch trembling on his lips. “I have thought of many ways to punish him for the part he played in your misery, witchling. Do not doubt that. But your sadness—the sort that exists because you fear his mortality—should not be mistaken for rage. If you worry about his death, worry away, but I have no doubt we will make him answer for the things he put you through, should he be as wicked as my mind leads me to believe.”
I blinked. “You’re giving him the benefit of the doubt?” I asked quietly.
“What little there is, yes.”
I breathed out, soft and slow, before letting my legs cross so I could lean toward him. After kissing his cheek, I whispered, “Thank you.”
My lips felt cold when he stood, turning away before disappearing into the washroom. I heard the tub slowly fill with water. Eventually, I chased after him, watching him dust the rising water with floral petals and scented salts. As he straightened onto his feet, I wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned my head on his shoulder.
He exhaled and rested his chin on my head, and I found my thoughts drifting back to the time he’d found me in the woods and saved me from the Underfae, to the time we first kissed. A soft smile danced across my lips at the thought. “I do not deserve your patience, Eero.”
“You are deserving of nothing less than my patience. Never doubt that.” Eero’s fingers dipped under my chin, lifting it so I was forced to look him in the eyes again. “Do you remember what I told you after our kiss?” His other hand raced up my spine, tracing the dip and the curve before settling his palm flat between my shoulder blades. “In a world full of stars, Aurelie. Never forget that. From the very first time you challenged me outside your chamber doors, I knew you were worth my effort.”
I’d frozen at the weight of his words, recalling all those sweet nothings he’d thrown my way. Back then, I found ways to fight him—found ways to doubt the way he felt. But now, I had no desire to challenge him. I had no inclination to run. I could only stare, question how I deserved somebody so kind.
I thought about all the ways I could respond, the compliments I could shower him with, the thousands of ways I could tell him I loved him—every part—but none of it would come close to how I felt. So, I stood on the tips of my toes and kissed him. I cupped his face, pulled him close, and kissed him. Our hearts were thrumming against each other’s chest as he pulled me close, bodies as tangled as they could be clothed.
Eero ghosted his lips along my jaw before placing another kiss along my throat. But then he pulled away, and my skin grew cold. He traced my jawline with the tip of his finger as I opened my eyes, his lips twitching with a slight grin.
And then, my body melted back into his as our mouths danced again. It was like a silent, patient game of chase. Lust and love were harmonizing into the symphony of my deepest desire tucked beneath waves of terror.
It felt so natural. So familiar.
My heart yearned for him, and for a moment, the connection was there—his heartbeat pounding against his rib cage with my own as he kissed me deeper. He tugged my body against his, and I submitted to him—my king. I didn’t want the moment to end.
But as he pulled away reluctantly, my eyes fluttered open. Eero’s darkened gaze searched my own as we panted into the open air, his brows furrowed slightly and his jaw tight, as if he was holding himself back. I found myself touching the hard planes of his face to smooth those furrowed brows as he whispered, “Whatever happens, Aurelie, I need you to be okay. Tomorrow. The next. In war, in peace. I need this promise.”
I stepped back and took a selfish moment to admire him. From the length of his pale lashes to his parted lips I still ached to kiss, from the slight creases between his brows to his silver hair that fell into his impossibly human eyes. My fated mate. The Winter King. “And if that’s a promise I cannot make?”
Eero shook his head, closed his eyes, and pressed his forehead against mine. “It is one you must make. I cannot imagine a world where you are not there.”
I placed my hands on his chest as his heartbeat pounded against my fingers, a slow and steady thump, thump, thump that I felt with my entire soul. Eero tilted his head down as his nose skimmed my own. He was close. Here. Gods, I wanted this forever—nothing more than just us, tucked away where chaos was an afterthought at best.
He whispered my name as his warm breath skimmed my cheek, his hand brushing the loose hairs behind my ear as his lips lingered close to mine. He breathed my name again, and I swore my legs would collapse. I’d never been this weightless in my entire life; he was a siren luring me with every touch. “Promise me.”
He cut me off with a soft, sweet kiss when I parted my lips to reply.
For a moment, I almost wanted to cry. “I promise,” I whispered against his mouth. He paused, and the moment felt frozen—as if a spell had been cast, one where we stood and only looked upon each other—before I added, “In a world full of stars, Eero...”
A raspy laugh broke past his lips, and he pulled me closer so he could hold me in his arms. An embrace without the feverish kisses or tugging of clothes. He held me there as the water trickled behind us, head buried into my hair.
“I love you. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell you just how much I do,” I said into his chest.
“And I, you,” he said just as delicately. When he pulled away, he stroked some hair from my face and let his focus dart to my rounded ears. “Relax, Aurelie. Rest. We will venture to the castle tomorrow and determine whether he is worth your tears.”
I woke early. The sky was still dark, but the morning birds sang from outside as the crickets quieted down. I found Eero snoring in bed, but he woke when I opened the window. His hair was ruffled, his shirt wrinkled, but I loved the sight.
Eero sighed as I moved back toward the bed. “My early bird.”
I smirked as he pushed the blankets down and stretched, exposing his abdomen for only a second as the hem of his shirt fell to meet the top of his pants. He rolled onto his side to watch me dress.
“I couldn’t sleep anymore, but don’t let me stop you. I quite enjoy listening to you snore.”
Eero shook his head but fell back on the pillows anyway. I sat at the vanity to brush my hair, and Eero was behind me moments later, taking the brush from my hand to take over. I closed my eyes at the feeling, smiling softly to myself. Looking back at the mirror, I found Eero smiling down at me, our eyes locked in the reflection as the brush moved slowly.
It wasn’t until later, when Eero and I had exited the guest house and prepared for breakfast, that we discovered Casynox was already awake. He’d prepared a spread on the kitchen table and was waiting in the doorway, his lips twisted up into a devious smile as he held out a plate.
“Hungry?’ he asked, the words dancing through the air and bringing with them a waft of cinnamon and maple syrup.
I smiled and took it eagerly, but Eero stood back with narrowed eyes, suspicious. “Somebody must feel guilty.”
Casynox’s smile faltered, but he tossed Eero an orange before twisting around to grab the rest of the pastries. “Am I not able to cook a meal before you’re forced to—” he paused, choking on a fake gag, “be kingly? The politics…the negotiations.” He stole a bite of his roll before twirling it around in the air. “It is my worst nightmare, you know.”
I smiled wide, trying to bite back the laughter brewing in my chest. “Yet you have made a best friend out of a king. I smell a plot hole in your lie.”
Eero laughed before slipping into the seat next to me, fetching a biscuit from the center platter. “And, thus, we return to my original conclusion. Casynox feels guilty.”
“As he should,” Sapphire mused as she twirled into the room, dressed in colors I’d never imagined her to wear. She was in a sundress the color of a clear summer day, with green vines laced through the mesh skirt overtop feminine ruffles. Those crimson eyes were pressed to Casynox, and despite the smile twitching on her lips, the anger was written on her face. Casynox, however, appeared entirely unaffected—his grin grew as his cheeks reddened, and he bowed.
“Yes, dear lady of Spring. I am sorry for my mistakes and beg for your forgiveness.”
“On your knees. With flowers,” she quipped back as she dropped down onto the other side of the table. I raised an eyebrow at her when I caught her attention.
Casynox remained unbothered as he passed a plate across to Sapphire. “Breakfast?”
Sapphire glared, but her lips twisted into a pleased frown. “That will work for now, Cas, but you understand I won’t hesitate to rip off a limb the next time you mess with me.”
I hid my smile in the biscuit as Eero shook his head, and we ate breakfast with little trouble. As soon as we were all finished, we returned to our rooms to fetch the remainder of the items we would bring, and then we set off toward the stables to grab our horses. Casynox would return to the squadron camp while we discussed Julius’ fate, and when we’d returned, I’d either have peace of mind that Julius was not an evil man—
Or I’d lose part of me. Part of somebody I grew up learning to admire, loathe, and love all in the same breath.
It was as simple as that. Yet, I felt as if I was facing the mouth of a beast ten times my size, with nothing but a stick to defend myself.