Fourteen
Aeryn
Sage hovered over me, brow furrowed in concentration as she secured fresh bandages across my chest. “Don’t move. I’m almost finished.”
“Sorry.”
“You gave us quite a fright,” she told me, pulling the blanket back up to my shoulders. “Those wounds were infected with dark magic. I”ve managed to purge it, but you lost a lot of blood. You”ll need to rest for a day or two.”
I grimaced, pushing myself upright. “I can”t. Sofiya. The trials—”
“Can wait.” Sage fixed me with a stern look. “Sofiya is fine and knows that you are, as well. But you won”t be any use to anyone half-dead on your feet, especially not my brother.”
I looked away in hopes of hiding my embarrassment at the mention of Nox, only to catch sight of my bow propped in the corner. Right beside the male in question.
He sat in a chair, elbows on his knees, expression stormy. My heart leapt at the sight of him until I read the anger covering his aura.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Nox ranted, coming out of his seat like he was going to attack.
I knew he wouldn”t, though I was too tired to do anything even if he did.
“You could have been killed!”
“So I shouldn”t have fought back?” I retorted. “If this is how you show concern I”ll go without it, thank you very much.”
“You”ll have it whether you want it or not!”
Nox dragged a hand through his hair, chest heaving. “Bloody hell, Aeryn. I thought …” He shook his head. “Promise me you won”t do anything like that again.”
I lifted my chin. “I won”t make promises I can”t keep. I didn”t know if Lorne or Sofiya were hurt. That thing came at me and I did the only thing I could.”
“I ordered you to stay safe.” Nox leaned over the bed, bracing his hands on either side of my waist. “You will not defy me in this.”
I stiffened as his face loomed close to mine. My heart pounding in my throat.
Sage snorted and his head snapped up. She laughed again.
“Brother, she did as you ordered and saved her own life. What would you have her do? Lie still and watch herself get eviscerated?”
“Well, sister, I would have her let Lorne take care of it.”
Did Nox not know the entire story? “Lorne and Sofiya had an entire tree thrown at them. I think he took the brunt of it.”
That dark gaze punctured right through me. I swallowed. Being so close to Nox and his scorn made it hard to breathe, never mind argue.
For a moment I thought he might kiss me. Then he pulled away, addressing Sage. “See that the little hellion is well enough for our evening together.”
“Nox–” she tried, but he was gone.
I slumped back against the pillows, pulse racing, imagining being alone with him again. Then it hit me.
“Sage, uh Lady Sage, I mean.”
“Just Sage, please.”
“Sage,” I amended. “What was Nox talking about? He promised an evening with the winner of the hunt.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Congratulations, Aeryn. You had the most impressive kill of the day.”
Dumbfounded, I stared at Nox”s sister. I”d won? I hadn”t even wanted to participate!
Taking pity on me, Sage patted my leg and left me to sort out the meaning of her words. My focus was shot, but I tried.
I supposed I had, technically, killed a formidable creature. I doubted the other contestants were thrilled about it. Zoriyah was probably setting traps in my quarters right this very minute.
Stop it. I should have been thanking the gods I”d lived through it.
Astrid”s insights on the archery range began playing inside my head. Our exchange felt oddly fortuitous.
Then my fractious mind switched to Nox”s words and behaviors when we weren”t around the others. Confusing as it was, I liked it. Craved it, even.
Maybe it was because I”d almost died. Or maybe it was because I was too tired to be logical, but I found myself wondering why I was so resistant to his advances.
That was, until his hands were on me. In those moments I gave in wantonly. I could be brave enough to admit I desired him, but did I really know what I was getting myself into?
King Orson”s death, Nox, the attacks, the blasted trials–everything coalesced into a mix of foreboding until it was one corpulent glob of shit I didn”t want to wade through.
Too exhausted to think any longer, I drifted back to sleep.
Sometime later, I awoke to the mouthwatering scent of bread and savory, incense-like spices. My stomach rumbled.
Out of habit, rolled to my back and stretched, immediately wincing. I curled into the fetal position and memories came flooding back.
The bed, the one in my quarters this time, depressed near where my hands were wrapped around my knees. Hands picked up strands of my hair, pushing it back to reveal Nox searching my face.
“Sage told me you were nearly done healing,” he said gruffly, “but newly knitted flesh and bone can be uncomfortable until the job is complete.”
“Wonderful. I”ll be back to irritating you in no time,” I grumbled.
The corner of Nox”s mouth quirked. “I look forward to it.” He ran his knuckles along my cheek, drawing my focus to his touch and away from the pain.
Something unreadable was in his eyes. “After the wraiths, I took extra precautions. No living fae, other than those bound by the magic of the trials, should have been able to get anywhere near the hunting grounds.”
“Lorne is bound, too?”
“Yes.”
I opened my mouth and his bent finger closed it. “It”s not to be discussed.”
“Of course it isn”t. How silly of me to think otherwise.”
Nox smirked and kept talking like I hadn”t just sassed the King of Falcondale. “As you probably guessed that thing was a pieced-together corpse, animated by dark magic. It wasn”t alive and was able to slip right through the protective spell. You shouldn”t have been able to kill something that wasn”t alive.”
No, I shouldn”t have. “That”s why I stabbed it in the eye.”
Nox slanted his head.
“The eyes were the only part of it that didn”t appear to be dead. They were glowing, not like magic, but like eyes reflecting light from a live animal.”
Or fae, I didn”t add. “The rest of it looked like something risen from the dead, but the eyes held some semblance of life. I guess just not enough for the wards to detect. Something tiny like an insect wouldn”t have been much of a threat.”
His posture curved, head looking down. “I thought Lorne would be sufficient protection for you.”
“You thought I couldn”t handle myself.” I arched a brow. “You were wrong.”
“Aeryn, you don”t have access to your well-store,” Nox said. “That doesn”t mean I don”t think you are incapable. It just means you are at a disadvantage. I have a small degree of control over the trials, in terms of everyone”s safety. These attacks …” he trailed off, rubbing my hair between his fingers.
“Nox?”
“Yes?”
“Who”s behind this?”
He exhaled slowly, then shook his head. Another thing to not be discussed.
“Can I at least have the dagger back?”
“It”s under your pillow.”
“So sure I wouldn”t wake up and stab you with it?”
“I was willing to risk it, despite being extremely pissed at you for your recklessness.”
I groaned in annoyance. “I was doing my best to stay alive and to keep the other two alive.”
“Lorne told me exactly what happened. You tried to distract it. When he was pushed back by the tree, you decided you had to do something on your own. Rashly making a move when Lorne was already coming at it from behind.”
“He”d already tried. Stabbing it did nothing. Their magic can”t counteract dark magic.”
Nox gave me the look my father used to when I was having a tantrum. The only thing it did was dampen my libido.
“Both Lorne and Sofiya knew this. They had a plan.”
“What?”
“They knew it was dark magic. They knew they couldn”t fight it directly. Sofiya was going to use her earthen powers to get it on its back so he could cut it into pieces too small to be able to harm anyone. Neither you nor Sofiya had to be anywhere near it for that to happen.”
Like a fish gulping for water, my mouth opened and closed. “What do you mean they had a plan? There was no planning! We only had seconds!”
“Part of Lorne”s magic is having another sense, like an inkling of what will happen if he does something specific. He only needed four seconds to tell Sofiya what to do.”
Holy shit. That was almost the same as Sofiya”s, only hers was completely random and rarely showed up at opportune times.
Nox bent so our noses were practically touching. “He knew what to do the entire time. All you had to do was stay safe.”
“Great. Wonderful. That might have been useful information to have beforehand, Your High-handedness!”
He ground his teeth. “The next time we”re in bed, you”ll call me Nox or I swear to the gods I”ll take my hand to your ass.”
I stilled. Frozen. Stunned. Horrifyingly interested, too. I begged my brain to burn away the image of us naked in bed, my bottom covered in red handprints.
He stared at me as his eyes filled with a mix of challenge and desire. I felt a jolt of heat shoot through me, igniting a fire deep in my core. It was the kind of fire that only Nox could ignite, the kind that made me forget all rationality and surrender to the raw passion between us.
But amidst the intoxication of his touch and the allure of his dominance, I couldn”t help but feel peeved. Nox had kept vital information from me, information that could have saved me unnecessary pain and risk. And yet, even in my anger, I couldn”t deny the undeniable magnetism that pulsed between us.
I took a deep breath to steady myself and cleared my throat. “Nox.”
His eyes flickered. “Aeryn,” he murmured.
Finding courage I didn”t know I had, I lifted my palm to his face. He leaned into it, stealing a little piece of my soul.
“I won”t apologize for what I did,” I said. “I can”t. I wouldn”t mean it. And berating me only makes it worse.”
“Then help me understand,” he said. “Before you drive me completely mad. Because I”m not sure that knowledge of Lorne”s gift, meager as it is most times, would have been enough to stop you.”
My hands itched to grab him and pull him down to the mattress. His proximity was giving me too many ideas.
Fortunately, as much as I wanted to kiss him, I also wanted to make him understand. “Do you remember what I told you at dinner in the Grand Hall?”
For a long moment he simply looked at me. “Every damned word.”
I took a breath. “I was ten. Alone. I had a small cottage and some land, but I was ten-years-old. Truthfully, my parents had left me long before. They were husks by then.”
“I”m sorry.”
I smiled sadly. “Thank you. But I”m not revisiting this to make you feel sorry for me. I”m doing it to convey how very alone I was. Helping them work the land turned into working the land while they slowly died. No dolls. No toys. No dresses I could have spun around in with matching heels that I possibly enjoyed wearing.”
Nox chuckled. “I doubt the part about the heels, but I understand your point.”
“Good. My real point is that Sofiya came into my life at a time when I needed someone. Broke into it, really. I was awful to her. Angry and lashing out. She wasn”t much older than me but she knew exactly what I was doing. She didn”t let me wither away as I could have.”
“What did she do?”
“She told on me to her mother and promptly demanded I be allowed to live with them so she could cure me of my attitude.”
I snickered at the vivid memory and Nox smiled down at me.
“Sofiya offered to help me in the field and I told her to shove it. So instead she went to the most successful farmsteads and asked them to help. And they did, even helping me buy back the land after it was seized from me. So many stepped up. But Sofiya? Sofiya saved my life. She is family to me, the only one I have. So when I saw …” My eyes burned at what I’d witnessed.
“Nox, I thought it had killed her. And then all I could think was it might go after the others. And I pictured Raina, who saved me from the wraith. I didn”t–I couldn”t–”
“Shh,” he murmured, wiping away my tears with his thumbs before kissing my forehead. “I understand.”
“You do?”
“Truly.”
He held onto me for several minutes, until I had myself under control. Too soon, he pulled away.
“Next time I expect you to heed my words,” he winked and rose to his feet. “Are you hungry?”
I tried not to smile. “Starved.”
“Good,” he replied and scooped me up into his arms.
“What are you doing?”
“We”re eating at the table. I can”t handle being in bed with you for much longer.”
Gingerly he lowered me to a fluffy chair with a high back that hadn”t been here this morning.
“Redecorating while I was asleep?”
He shrugged and I felt giddy.
“So I won the hunt?”
“Indeed you did.” He placed a napkin in my lap and lifted the lid off the tray. Off both of them.
“I won dinner with you?”
“I believe you won an evening of companionship.”
“Oh?” I said, dipping my spoon into the bowl of soup. “And what does that consist of?” I dared, attempting to sound flirtatious.
I took a small amount into my mouth, moaning when the flavor burst on my tongue. It was the best thing I”d ever tasted and I quickly fed myself another serving.
Sighing, I put the spoon down and took a sip of water. Nox was staring at me fixedly.
“Soup.” He said it like a curse word.
I frowned.
“Apparently a night of companionship consists of me watching you eat soup until my zipper busts from the blood rushing to my cock.”
It was so unexpected I barked out a laugh. A very unladylike laugh that overrode the self-consciousness I was feeling.
“Trust me, it”s not funny from my perspective,” he complained.
“Sounds like you should seek help.” I”d meant it as a quip but the implication had blood rushing to my cheeks.
Nox”s masculine chuckle vibrated through me teasingly. “Don”t worry, little hellion. I know just the female to go to.”
I coughed and his smile turned wicked.
“Now finish eating and we”ll play some cards before I tuck you in.”
“Cards?”
“Yes.”
His idea for an evening of companionship sunk in and my reservations dissipated. “Sounds perfect,” I replied.
And it was.