Chapter 27 You Should Come
You Should Come
“Ah, how I miss Castivian. I was foolish to leave. No Draker has ever matched a Blademan’s…vigor.”
Miss Soryl, as heard in passing
It took only two hours to find a job as a barmaid. The pay was twice as much as I earned in the Waywards, and included a furnished room with a small bed and a single chest.
It took one night to realize Castivian was absolutely nothing like Drakington.
People of all Natures sat at the wooden tables throughout Sailor’s Tear Tavern, all mingling.
People who approached me didn’t care what my Nature was.
I was just a person, like them. Some of the other barmaidens gossiped about me being from the Waywards, implying I might carry illnesses, but that was mild compared to the shit I’d heard in Drakington.
No one was truly scared of me.
It wasn’t until the second night before I understood why.
During the day, Eiden was filled with bustling crowds going about their daily tasks. There were artists, tailors, gem shops, restaurants—and those were just some of the buildings on the same strip where I worked. I had yet to fully explore, but it was beautiful, and full of hope.
But after dark, things became much different.
On the second night, there was a brutal commotion outside my bedroom. I clutched Singer beneath my comforter. A man was mugged and beaten behind the tavern. Right by my window.
When I frantically rose to seek help, Gia, one of my bosses, sat at the bar stirring a drink. She had heavy bags under her eyes, cleavage spilling over her maroon top, and an unlit smoke waiting for her on the counter.
“Don’t bother, girl.”
Stopping, I pointed urgently to the window.
“Someone outside needs help.”
She snorted, tapping her spoon and dropping it next to the cup.
I missed Trista, whom I had yet to find since docking.
“He chose to linger in the streets past bar hours. He knew the risk.”
The doors of the tavern were bolted shut. The rest of the girls had already retired to their rooms.
“Go back to bed,” she said.
By the third night, it was clear the streets were littered with thieves and crime. There were no Drakers to keep everyone in line.
“Why is it only at night?” I asked Gia.
I had risen to grunting. When I peeked out of my window, a man was dead, with his mouth full of stones—the work of a Stonesender.
“It’s an unwritten rule. Lord Xavian Steele expects to wake up to a peaceful city. So, he does.”
I frowned. He should be King Xavian Steele. He had yet to enact the deed, and last I’d heard, Clarke was still very much alive. Maybe I had travelled all this way for nothing but a new job.
I spent every day wondering why my twin was holding out on declaring Castivian its own kingdom, but I wasn’t curious enough to seek him out.
Five days passed before Riven found me.
He stood at the bar as if he were a patron, his hair tousled, tan skin glowing, and eyes locked on mine.
“You don’t drink,” I said, sizing him up from behind the bar. It was early. The few patrons we had were chatting amongst themselves at tables and playing card games. Business wouldn’t pick up until later in the evening.
“I’m not here for refreshments.”
“Good. You’re not welcome to any.”
I turned my back to him, making it three steps before he hopped over the bar, landing in front of me. I glared up at him.
“You promised to trust me,” he said.
I choked on a bitter laugh and backed away. “I promised you’d only get one chance with my trust.”
“I have never lied to you.”
I threw my hands up. “You knew me for three years and didn’t tell me my brother was the king, and then you traveled with me across the Sea of Blades and didn’t tell me you were returning home.”
He knew Xavian personally and could have told me about him. He was from Castivian and could have prepared me for what to expect. He could have made me trust him by telling me something no one else in Drakington knew: the truth.
But he didn’t.
“I was sworn to secrecy about who your family was. It was not for me to tell. As for not being a Draker, I thought you’d be happy about that.”
I crossed my arms. Riven, of all people, was acting like he gave a shit about what I thought of him.
“If you would’ve told me, then yes. I would’ve been overjoyed to know that I wasn’t crazy for thinking you were different this whole time. I would’ve been relieved to know that someone who was important to me wasn’t a Draker. But you didn’t tell me.”
His dimple had the audacity to show itself as his eyes softened. He took another step towards me. “Let me make it up to you. We can start fresh. I completed my oath. We’re both free.”
“No.”
“Elora,” he said softly. The way he said my name was so different from others.
I grabbed the bin that required washing and hauled it to the backroom. Rags and a soapy bucket awaited me. I could get them done before it got busy.
I wanted the distraction; I needed to get him out of my head before I considered—
The door behind me opened and closed, then a firm hand gripped my waist, warmth brisking my ear.
Riven’s chest pressed against my back, and my breath hitched as his hair brushed the side of my face.
“Enough with the games,” he murmured.
Any sense of logic fled my mind. “None of this has ever been a game to me.”
The dishes sat waiting, but I no longer had any interest. I turned to face him, and he retreated a step.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” His eyes didn’t meet mine. They were lower, at my lips, as we stood in the tight, dimly lit backroom. “I’m so sorry,” he continued, stepping closer.
I had never truly wanted a man to touch me until this moment.
“You should be sorry,” I whispered.
“Let me make it up to you.”
As his eyes wandered down, the back of his knuckle grazed my rib cage, skimming the side of my breast like a gentle paint stroke.
I swallowed, trying to regain a thread of dignity, but I was unraveling. “How do you plan on doing that?”
Riven dropped his hand and straightened.
“Let me show you Castivian, and I can train you too.”
I groaned, crossing my arms. I wanted to see more of Castivian, and desperately wanted to be able to defend myself, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be teased in a washroom.
“You want to spend more time with me—after our travels? And train me?”
His jaw tensed. “Is that a no?”
“Now who’s assuming?” I joked.
His eyes flashed with amusement.
My smile fell. We’d traveled so far, had put our lives in danger countless times, and for what? My brother to do nothing? If he’d used the deed, the entire capital would have been talking about it by now.
“Why hasn’t he used the deed yet?” I refused to even speak my brother's name.
The Riven who followed me to the washroom faded away. He regained his composure, his face reverting to that of a soldier.
“There’s a meeting to discuss that in two weeks.”
Two weeks? I’d busted my ass rushing to Castivian, and now they were waiting two weeks?
“Who’s the meeting with?” I hadn’t been invited, not that I expected to be. My twin had no need for me anymore, and I had no need for him either.
But the rest of the Dark Natured needed him. They needed safe lands, and promises of freedom.
“The council,” he answered, sounding like he would rather talk about anything else.
He gave a valiant effort to tame the burning desire in his eyes, and I regretted ever bringing the deed up. It was impossible to imagine a room full of any other men when Riven stood in front of me.
“You should come,” Riven added.
I had two weeks to think about the stupid meeting. I did not have two weeks of Riven standing this close, the heat radiating between us. If he wanted to touch me again, I would let him. Just for tonight. Just this once.
Then never again.
He couldn’t have this power over me. I couldn’t let this need fester.
“Make me.”
His eyes darkened. “Say it again,” he challenged, closing the distance between us, tracing his fingers along my cheek.
I tilted my chin, looking up at him through my lashes. “Make. Me.”
There wasn’t a moment to blink before his mouth crashed into mine.
It was the first time I had ever been truly kissed in my life.
I ran my hands through the back of his hair as he picked me up, his mouth brushing my jaw, then down my neck.
He knocked the buckets off the table, laying me on my back with his hands firm at my waist, mouth trailing to my chest.
The sun was setting, and hardly any light came through the small window. I wanted to see it all. I wanted this moment burned into my memory. Desperately reaching at my hip, I unclipped my orb and set it beside me on the table. With a slight tap, the room lit up a dim blue.
Riven unbuttoned my pants in a smooth motion before placing warm kisses below my navel. With my back against the table, he only removed his mouth from my body to pull my pants off, then got on his knees, yanking my hips to the edge.
My heart thundered in anticipation, but only for a moment before his face was between my legs, tongue reaching me, unholy and precise. A soft moan escaped my lips embarrassingly quickly.
He looked up, sinful desire lacing his gaze.
He grabbed the inside of my thigh, giving it a playful squeeze before pushing it up and onto the table. With my knee bent, Riven backed his head away. Lustful eyes locked on mine as his finger slid in. Another followed, and I could hardly catch my breath.
Mortifying.
Business in the tavern would soon pick up, and the door to the backroom wasn’t even locked.
My legs shook as his tongue toyed with me, pushing me to the edge of more than just the table. I tried to keep quiet, but another traitorous moan came out. Riven’s gaze darted up as he circled the spot that had me near release.
“Louder,” he demanded.
“People are going to hea—”
He stood up, bringing my face to his, silencing me with a kiss. The tender reprieve was brief before he brought me in his arms and turned me around. He sat on the table, yanking my back to his chest just before his hand reached over, finding its place between my legs.
He did not tire, just slid his opposite hand up my shirt and bit at my neck. Each movement was overwhelming, as was each kiss that dragged along my ear and down my nape.
“I love the noises you make,” he murmured, fingers picking up speed.
As if my body answered to him now, and not myself, I shivered—whimpering as I came undone.
“Fuck.”
“Let me hear it.”
He held my body with one arm as the other finished me, my head tilting back and senses surging. Riven showed no mercy, and by the time my voice quieted, every person in the tavern surely knew his name.
I slid next to him on the table, trying to remember how to be normal.
He hopped up and tossed my pants to me.
“Training grounds, behind the House of Sterling, tomorrow at sunrise.” He roved over my body one last time, then shut the door behind him. My shoulders slumped.
If he had done that with just his hand and mouth… I shook my head.
I pulled my pants on and hurried with the dishes. After taking a few breaths, I opened the backroom door.
Gia was waiting for me with her arms crossed. “I sure hope ‘Riven’ charged you for that service.”
I blushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mhm.” Her smile perked up on one side as she tilted her head towards the bar. “Get back to work, whore,” she teased, eyes crinkling with approval.
I hated to admit it, but I liked Gia. Tired and jaded she may have been, but she was straightforward and genuine. None of the other girls at work really talked to me, as if the Waywards would rub off on them, but Gia did.
The tavern quickly became busy, but all the work in the world could not distract me from thoughts of Riven, and of returning to the House of Sterling.