Chapter 43 Ariana
ARIANA
Shay sensed Erik’s approach first. The wolf informed Willis, who told me in turn.
Erik had chosen Kole to accompany him, and I hardly managed to refrain from going to greet them.
I told the Lysian King they would not have a guide, and I certainly refused to trouble myself to act like one.
So instead, I paced around the entrance to the Superior’s dwelling, the home I had grown up in, thanks to Fraser.
A tendril of nervousness wrapped around me, and no amount of pacing would loosen its grip. Erik was going to visit the city, genuinely visit, as a guest. And Kole was with him. I wasn’t sure which I was more anxious about.
“You are going to wear a hole in the floor,” Landin mused from where he leaned against the wall, arms folded across his broad chest.
I pivoted. “I can’t help it.”
“Too excited to see your… friend?” He raised a brow.
“If you cannot play nice, then you can leave.” I shot back, though the heat in my tone wasn’t quite sharp.
Landin snorted in amusement. “You play nice enough with him for all of us.”
I paused at that.
“What?” Landin laughed. “Don’t look so shocked. I’ve known you since we were little, Ariana. You’re my best friend—I can read you. And it’s painfully obvious you like him, in more than a diplomatic way.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said stiffly.
Landin pushed himself off the wall, his arms falling to his sides as he closed the distance between us. “Are we starting to keep secrets from each other now?”
“No,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “It’s just… I’ve barely gotten out from under his thumb.”
“And now you want to get under a different part of him.” His grin was teasing.
“Landin,” I snapped, managing to keep my jaw from dropping, “is this how you talk to your Leader Superior?”
“This is how I talk to my best friend.”
“You keep reminding me of that, as if you’re worried about losing the title.” I viewed him skeptically. “And since when are you so tolerant when discussing Erik?”
He rolled his eyes. “I enjoy reminding you because you were my friend before you became my Leader Superior. And for the record, if the Lysians harm you, all tolerance is gone. Until then, I’m trying to follow your lead.
And Willis’s, I suppose. Just know that if it comes to acting in your best interest opposed to the greater good of whatever, then I will choose you. ”
I narrowed my eyes at him, though his words struck deeper than I cared to admit. “That’s a dangerous sentiment.”
“I will always choose you,” he said firmly.
“Don’t say that,” I said quickly, the weight of his words tightening my chest. “You are Bavadrin.” The reminder meant as much for me as it was for him.
“You’re family,” he shot back. “And don’t pretend you wouldn’t do the same for me. You already have.”
The words twisted something inside me. “Landin…”
His eyes softened, filled with understanding, as he pushed toward the memory I wished he hadn’t brought up. The night I gave up Fraser. The night I chose Landin over my duty. The night I defied the Bavadrin ways to save him.
Before either of us could say more, a firm knock interrupted the moment.
Willis stepped inside. Behind him, two Lysians followed. Both were imposing, their gazes immediately pinning me in place. One’s eyes were dark pools of blue, the other’s cold as ice.
Regaining the movement of my legs, I strode towards them.
“The Lysian King and his travel companion have arrived,” Willis stated the obvious, as if I had not known that they approached.
I smiled politely. “Thank you. You may go now, Willis.” I twisted around, adding, “you too, Landin.”
Landin slowly made his way to the exit, as if to make sure I was confident that I wished to be left alone with the Lysians. He left when I did not change my mind.
Erik glanced around the room before his gaze slid back to me, and he commented. “Leadership suits you.”
I scoffed. “As if you would know what kind of leader I am.”
“I do,” he said with a certainty that begged to be challenged.
Instead, I addressed the other Lysian in the room. His thick blond hair was pushed back by the wind of travel. “Kole, it’s good to see you.”
He nodded, his icy blue gaze sliding over me to my toes before traveling back up to my face. “You hide some power in that little Bavadrin body of yours.” There was no trace of that anger he had directed at me the last time we had been together. When he viewed me as an enemy.
“I never wanted to hurt you,” I said, remembering when I took the breath from him, causing him to keel over.
Kole stiffened and frowned. “You didn’t.” Still, he did not like appearing weak in any way.
I smiled. “Either way, I am sorry.”
“No need for that.” He stood up straighter, folding his arms over his chest. It was the same Kole I had grown to know in the Lysian lands, the brooding guard. And when he looked at me, it was with the same crystal eyes I found a comfortable familiarity in. I stared at him till he asked, “What?”
“I could have sworn you would have been furious with me.”
“Well, that’s what you get for assuming all Lysians are just angry, menacing animals.”
A new smile pulled at my lips, and I did not conceal it. “Come, I’ll show you to your rooms.” They followed as I led them through the building. Wooden floors creaked under our feet, while stone walls stretched before us with nooks carved out for candles to provide light.
It felt odd, the change, going from the Lysians leading me to the opposite.
“Do you stay in this building as well?” Erik asked casually as I escorted them up the stairs and down the hall.
“Yes. If you need to find me, then Kole can probably help you,” I stated. Kole had been the one who gathered me when my world came to a screeching halt due to the Lysian with fire dancing over his fingertips. The same Lysian I now welcomed into my home. What a bizarre turn of events.
“If you’re here somewhere, then I will find you,” Erik said casually, though it sounded as if it were a promise. My face flushed.
I delivered them to their rooms, one hall off from my own. “Are either of you hungry?”
“Not really,” Kole answered. Erik didn’t disagree.
“I need to head to a meeting, so you both are free to explore your rooms, bathe, and rest.”
“We aren’t tired and would love to join you.” Erik held my stare.
I refused to back down. My gaze narrowed. “I imagine it’s difficult for you to do what you are told instead of doing whatever you wish. But you are a guest in my home. As such, you will have to learn to back down when you don’t get what you want.”
He chortled. “I still insist we join. Especially if this meeting is about the Sidhe.”
“No.” It did not matter what the meeting was about. This was my home. I did not need Lysian shadows following me everywhere. Though they were guests, they were not in control here.
Kole rubbed the back of his neck. “May I be excused from this little spat?”
Erik dipped his chin in agreement and Kole disappeared into his room. The challenge in Erik’s gaze did not waver. Did not budge.
“Listen. You must stay for now, but I will make you a deal: after this meeting ends, there’s somewhere I would like to go. It’s a place important to me. Few have ever been there. If you behave now, then I will take you with me when I go.”
The male stared at me, pondering this. As if he had any choice. Begrudgingly, he agreed, and I left the Lysians in their rooms while I went to prepare for my looming departure.