Eighteen
Aeryn
I woke with a start, blinking against the dim light filtering through the study windows as the sun went down. Nox stood before the hearth in front of Lorne, whose broad back was to me as they spoke in hushed tones.
My mouth felt dry, my head pounding from the lingering effects of the orb. I swallowed thickly, pushing myself up on shaking arms.
The simple movement drew Nox”s gaze. His eyes gleamed like polished onyx, scanning me from head to toe.
“She”s awake,” Nox said, interrupting Lorne. My skin tingled under the weight of his stare.
Lorne glanced over his shoulder, lips pressed in a thin line. “Sage said it may take time for her magic to stabilize.”
Nox waved away Lorne”s words, striding toward me with purposeful steps. I stiffened as he crouched before me. Our eyes locked, heat swirling in my belly at his nearness.
“Does it still pain you?” Nox asked, his voice a low rumble as he glanced at my chest.
Though the large hole in my shirt wasn”t low enough to reveal my breast, I felt exposed.
I licked my lips, pulse quickening. “Some. The headache has gotten worse.”
Nox searched my face. “My sister claims the orb was a catalyst of some kind, opening your well-store. She didn”t know what else you could do yet, but apparently you can now read thoughts through touch.”
I tensed at the implication in his words. It wasn”t a talent I wanted. “I don”t know. I never touched Sage, but it did happen with Lorne.”
A slow, dangerous smile spread across Nox”s lips. “Is that so?” He leaned closer, breath hot against my ear. “Then tell me, little hellion, what am I thinking now?”
My breaths came fast and shallow. Nox”s scent flooded my senses, dark and heady, stirring something primal inside me.
I swallowed hard, gaze dropping to his mouth. “Is that a serious request?” I solicited, the words coming out a breathy whisper.
Nox”s eyes gleamed. “Absolutely,” he purred, and crushed his lips to mine.
Sparks ignited under my skin at the contact, heat and longing swirling into a raging inferno. I gasped, fingers twisting in his shirt to keep him close.
Nox groaned, the sound rumbling through me as his hands found my waist, grip tightening possessively.
My heart raced. Thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. All that mattered was the feel of Nox against me, his kiss branding me as surely as a mark upon my flesh.
Nox pulled back slowly, smoldering with desire. A flush stained his cheekbones, softening the hard lines of his face. “Well?”
“Well,” I took a much needed breath, “with Lorne I saw ... or felt something immediately. I didn”t see anything with you so I would only be guessing.”
I licked my kiss-swollen lips, still tasting him. “Will you tell me what you were thinking?” I breathed.
Nox”s mouth curved in a wolfish grin, eyes gleaming. “That I would have you,” he replied huskily, “and soon. Possibly right here on this couch.”
How easily I”d forgotten myself!
I scowled, shoving him away as heat flooded my cheeks, looking to see if Lorne was still near the fireplace. He wasn”t.
“Peace, Aeryn,” he chuckled, hands in surrender. “I”m not into having an audience, nor would I embarrass you in that way.”
I searched his face. His gaze was steady and earnest. My anger faded, replaced by a surge of warmth and something deeper I dared not name.
Nox released me slowly, features softening. “Let”s try your gift again, this time with Lorne once more.”
He went to the door and retrieved his brother from the hall. Lorne came and sat beside me on the couch. His eyes flicked between Nox and I, a muscle feathering in his jaw, before he gave a curt nod.
I hesitated, pulse leaping.
Nox lowered himself to sit on the coffee table, our knees nearly touching. “Whenever you”re ready.”
I took a steadying breath, reaching out to lay my fingertips on Lorne”s wrist. A riot of emotions slammed into me—concern for Nox, anger, longing for things he could never have.
I released Lorne quickly, shaking my head. “I can sense his feelings, but it”s a little chaotic and jumbled.”
Nox lowered his elbows to his knees. “Lorne?”
“My head”s not on straight right now,” the blonde grumbled.
“Fair enough. Bring Liam here and then go back to your duties.”
The male shadowed away, returning half a minute later with Liam in tow and disappearing again immediately.
“Liam, sit beside Aeryn and pull up your sleeve.”
The lean male looked skeptical but did as instructed. “Lorne said something about the orb opening Aeryn”s well-store?”
“After touching Lorne”s skin, Aeryn was able to glean his thoughts and emotions.”
Liam”s brow lifted.
“She tried with me and nothing happened. So I”m asking you to allow her to touch you.”
“You”re saying I have a choice?”
Nox”s eyes narrowed, but he nodded.
“As long as whatever she sees stays in this room, I have no problem. Go ahead, m”lady. Give it a whirl.”
I hesitated for a moment, feeling the weight of their gazes on me. But I steeled myself, laying my fingers on Liam”s wrist. And immediately, I was submerged in a sea of emotions.
There was a deep sadness, a longing for something lost. But there was also a fierce determination, a drive to reclaim what was rightfully his ... a spark of something else entirely. A longing for something Nox had found.
I inhaled sharply, pulling my hand back as if burned. Liam looked at me with a mix of curiosity and apprehension, but Nox”s dark eyes bore into mine.
“What did you see?” he demanded.
I wet my lips. “I, uh, sensed a lot of things. Fear for your safety. For Lorne”s. But most strongly, I sensed Liam”s desire for something he”s lost … something you, Nox, have found? That part wasn”t clear.”
The two males shared a look. Liam looked down.
“Any specific thoughts?” Nox pressed, not addressing whatever had transpired unspoken between them.
I hesitated, unsure of how to put into words what I had just experienced. “Liam, are you sure?”
“Go ahead,” he sighed. “I was going to bring it up after the trials were over anyway.”
I nodded. “He”s considering going back to Ephandor.”
Nox”s head jerked toward Liam.
“Not permanently,” the head guard assured.
“Why then?” the king demanded.
Liam blew out a breath. “A reset. Her scent took a year to forget. It took a mere second for it to bring all the upheaval crashing back down on me. I can”t go more than a few minutes without thinking of her. I can hardly sleep because all I do is dream of her. I–”
“Stop,” Nox said quietly. “Say no more. We”ll talk through it after the trials.”
Liam dipped his head. “Thank you.”
“Of course. Return to Lorne and ensure he doesn”t do anything he shouldn”t.”
Liam was gone before Nox finished his sentence. The King of Falcondale’s expression turned calculating, and I felt a frisson of foreboding.
“I need to have a serious talk with you.”
That got my full attention. “Okay.”
“I”ll warn you first that what I”m about to share is privileged information and, as much as I loathe the very idea, it comes with a degree of danger. But, with what you can do now, I’m going to ask for your help so I”m going to say it anyway.”
I was already in danger. Clasping my hands together, I settled them in my lap. “Go on.”
Nox sat up straighter. “My father”s death was obviously no accident. There”s been much speculation about it. We decided not to clarify. The traitors responsible know exactly how he died. After his life was taken, they went for me next. Only, it wasn”t poison they used.”
The maids had been right.
“Once we knew what killed him, we adjusted security for our food sources.”
“What did they try to do to you?”
“They blew up a coach I was supposed to be inside of. I started disguising myself as a guard after that, whenever I needed to travel without shadow-walking. Unsuccessful, they began attacking trade shipments, messing with crops on the most fertile lands, and intercepting correspondences to and from Thornewood.”
My knuckles whitened.
“Years ago,” he continued, “I”d decided I would end the bride trials once in a position to do so. I wasn”t interested in a wife and if I ever was, it wouldn”t be because she won some contests an ancestor of mine deemed necessary for the crown.”
A creeping sensation scaled my back. “What do the trials have to do with anything?”
“There have been over twenty attempts against my life since my father died.”
“Bloody hell, Nox.”
King Orson hadn”t been dead very long. The culprits wanted his successor gone, quite vehemently.
“Someone wants the kingdom, obviously. I have family to protect and scores to settle. I couldn”t just sit and wait for the next attempt or, worse, lose one of my siblings. So I decided to enact the bride trials.”
I dug through my skull to connect the dots. The tension in my mouth was acidic as an idea took shape.
“Lorne and I thought the traitors would jump at the chance to put one of their own on the throne through marriage. We had confirmation when we let the most powerful families know the trials were coming.”
“What confirmation?”
“It all stopped. The assassination attempts. The attacks on our trading routes. Everything all at once, that very day. And then I suddenly had a dozen families throwing their female offspring at me, several offering me a taste before the competition began.”
My nose wrinkled.
“Disgusting, I know, but not surprising. It”s part of being a royal, the attention and worship. Females have been throwing themselves at me since I was a teen.”
“You poor thing,” came out of my mouth oozing with sarcasm.
Nox”s lips curled. “Jealous?”
I hated that I was. I hated even more that he knew it. I needed to steer this elsewhere. “But there”s no guarantee on who wins.”
“No, there”s not. Everyone who completes every trial has a chance of being picked at the end. It”s why things get so cutthroat and some don”t make it all the way through. It”s also why someone has interfered a couple of times.”
A chill ran through me, remembering the wraith. Or, according to Nox, multiple wraiths.
“Those who arrived well-trained for this, who tried to eliminate competition and thin the herd, are my primary suspects.”
Several names came to mind, but I wouldn”t accuse anyone because of my own dislike of them.
“And you want me to help how?”
Nox gripped my shoulders, gaze boring into mine. “I”m asking you to help me root them out, Aeryn. Your gift could be the key to uncovering the truth.”
There was a flash of worry that shot across his face, a brief but potent emotion before he masked it.
I stared up at him, torn between suspicion of his motives and a strange desire to ease the shadows lurking in his eyes.
“Nox, I have no control over it. I”ve had access to this power for less than an hour. And you wish to use it—to use me—as a weapon in political games?”
“I wish to keep my kingdom safe.” His hands tightened on my shoulders. “I have no intention of marrying the traitor”s candidate. But if I don”t figure out who it is, their attacks won”t stop with me. If I fall, it”s easier to get to Lorne. To Sage. Any blood relation will be a target. I”m asking you to help me keep my family alive, to prevent the kingdom from falling into the wrong hands. Unless,” he paused, sharp eyes discerning, “your constitution cannot handle the high stakes of politics.”
Anger and frustration warred within me. I despised feeling like I was being manipulated, yet how could I refuse him if lives were truly at stake?
I covered one of his hands with my own. “I don”t like being manipulated. I despise it more than your implied insults.”
“Aeryn—”
“I”ll help you.”
The tension eased from his frame and a flicker of warmth lit his eyes. “With your help, we can end this threat once and for—”
“I”ll help you,” I repeated, meeting his gaze. “But I want your word that you won”t use my friends against me to get my cooperation.”
“Done. Anything else?”
“Don”t act rashly. I don”t have control over this power and I might only catch glimpses of something that could be misinterpreted.”
“I have never been one to act rashly, little hellion. Not until very recently, when I met this nettlesome creature with pale green eyes who burrowed under my skin and began plaguing my thoughts more than she should.”
A wave of warmth spread through me as I felt my cheeks getting hot, both uncomfortable and intrigued.
His hand cupped my face and I leaned into it. “I love it when you blush.”
He brought his lips to mine. Softly. Sensuously. Then he nipped my bottom lip and I yelped, more from surprise than pain. His tongue traced the sensitive skin and then he was gone, standing in front of the fire.
“I would love nothing more than to strip you bare and see that beautiful blush everywhere, but we don”t have time. I need to get back to Lorne and the trial.”
My lips pressed at the mention of the Lorne and trial. “Lorne knew I”d used magic when I touched him.”
“That”s because it”s leaking from you. It will take time to get control of it. Other abilities will manifest at some point, as well. The others will remember what it was like when they came of age.”
“So if I touch someone they won”t know what I did? Not specifically?”
“Exactly.” His hand extended to mine. “I”ll take you back to your room.”
Nox”s arm came around my waist, pulling me close against his side. His scent surrounded me, seeping into my skin.
The shadows whirled and twisted, depositing us inside my chamber. Nox”s arm remained where it was, his palm splaying over my hip in a possessive claim.
My breath caught as he turned me to face him, gray eyes intent upon my own. “Do not go out of your way to touch any of them. Only do it when the opportunity arises. Understood?”
My forehead wrinkled. “Doesn”t that defeat the purpose of me helping?”
“You”ve agreed to help me ferret out these vipers, but I”ll not have you putting yourself in unnecessary danger. Your life is not a pawn for me to sacrifice as I see fit. If you are reckless with your safety, I”ll come up with a creative punishment.”
“Even if I”m willing?”
Nox”s jaw tightened. “Even then.”
“Did you give Liam and your siblings the same warning?”
“You”re different.”
“A risk, you mean?”
“Not in the way you think, love.”
Hope sparked as the words echoed between us. I looked away, unsure how to respond. Before I could think of a suitable retort, Nox tilted my chin up, lowering his head to slant his mouth over mine.
The kiss was hungry, devouring, leaving me breathless and wanting. I clutched at his shoulders. Nox gentled the kiss, even as it deepened, coaxing rather than demanding.
A low sound rumbled in his chest and he lifted his head, amusement lighting the stormy depths of his gaze. “We seem to have trouble staying away from one another, do we not?”
“You can”t keep your hands to yourself,” I said, but there was no venom in the words. Only a strange ache I didn’t want to examine too closely.
Nox”s smile turned wicked, making my pulse leap in response. “Not long now, I think. You”ve given me a taste, little menace, and I crave more. Once the trials have ended, I”m locking you up for weeks.”
He winked and disappeared, leaving me staring at the empty space where he”d stood. I cursed roundly, ignoring the trembling in my knees.
Was he implying he planned to choose me? Assuming I made it through the trials?
I was playing a dangerous game, one that would end in heartbreak if he only meant to bed me and send me on my way.
The irrepressible spark of hope flared brighter, refusing to be quenched, and I bit my lip until I tasted blood. It scared me more than anything the trials could throw at me.