Chapter 37 #2
Mes waved a hand over his head, signaling for more drinks.
Aela left them to it, heading to the kitchen to find something to eat before her bath.
Through the open window, Aela saw Zosma.
His back was to her, his head wilting between his shoulder blades.
She fumbled for the latch of the half-door and stepped inside.
“Are you alright?” ahe asked him. “You were quiet on the way back.”
“My mother was a priestess.”
“Oh.” Aela tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “That must have been hard for you back there.”
Zosma shook his head and rolled his shoulders before securing his thick black hair away from his face. He moved about the kitchen with an ease that had Aela pursing her lips.
“What are you doing?”
“Cooking.”
“And why are you cooking?”
“Some beings read the same types of books knowing they won’t find what they’re looking for, afraid to do what really must be done, and others cook.”
When Zosma came within reach, carrying bowls and spices, Aela shoved him. The Leo kept his balance much to Aela’s chagrin but cracked a smile for her.
“Go. Let me be. I’ll be fine,” he said.
“Only if you’re sure.”
Her friend nodded and said he’d send some food up to her.
Settled back in her quarters, the warded light of Neser dimmed, revealing the perpetual dark of the realm blurring the multitude of colors in her stained-glass window into one.
After bathing and devouring the spiced rice Zosma sent up for her, she still couldn’t sleep.
While thoughts of The Darkness no longer kept her from resting, the events of the day had her tossing and turning in her unfamiliar room.
Aela stared up at the silk canopy over her bed, then closed her eyes and let her desire to be back in the asteroid fill her.
Flicker.
Aela smiled as humid air wrapped around her while her eyes remained closed.
Each time she flickered, it was a small success, an encouragement to test herself to see what she was capable of.
Her Need practically purred inside her, the power pleased with itself that it had worked in tandem with her wishes.
Zosma would be irritated she didn’t take him with her, especially after her absence to find her constellation, but it wasn’t like she was defenseless.
Plus, he as much as told her to leave him with his own troubles.
She knew all too well that sometimes it was better to feel things alone.
Aela rolled over on her bed that was stuffed to the brim with cream bedding and pillows, allowing sleep to claim her.
The following day she awakened to gentle throbbing light. Her Need, which always managed to take care of her in ways she never thought of, delivered her selenite crystal to the asteroid. She expected alarmed messages from Zosma, but there was only one.
“Be careful. Please let me come next time.”
Surprisingly, the next imbued message was from Bharani.
After receiving it, Aela got up and went to her bathing room to freshen up, sipping a mug of tea her magic had summoned for her.
She stripped bare and stood beneath the rainfall in her shower.
Bottles and containers on the built-in shelves misted in and out of reality, her other magic unsure which selection she wanted.
She went through the motions of cleansing herself when she became distracted by the soap suds sluicing down her body.
Her cheeks flushed as images of Eros’ bronze hands replaced the bubbles and foam sliding over her skin.
As the suds trailed down her abdomen and lower, she dragged her fingers along the soapy path before she hissed and snatched her hand back.
Banishing the heated thoughts, she finished her shower with militant order.
Eros staggered forward without the support of the table he had been leaning on.
The cold and brutal lines of the Aries castle morphed between his steps.
Dark green aventurine floor tiles gleamed beneath his boots while steam coated the air.
Eros met his own golden gaze in a sharp-edged mirror over the vanity.
How did I…
Aela walked out of a doorway farther into the bathing room, and his mouth dried out. Not a stitch on her; she was perfect. He cleared his throat, and Aela’s widened eyes darted to him.
“What are you—get out!” she screeched as she hastily attempted to cover her nakedness with a deep blue robe that hung from the closet doorway.
Chuckling, Eros turned his back to her and held up his hands to either side of his head. “I did not come on my own, Timora. Perhaps you could enlighten me.”
“Oh, I think I’ve enlightened you enough!”
“Until you’re decent then,” Eros smiled as he exited the bathing room.
He scrubbed a hand down his face, then across the back of his neck as he strode across Aela’s chamber.
He settled onto one of the low velvet couches surrounding the sunken pool at its center and pushed out a deep breath.
As he waited for Aela to emerge, he drummed his strong bronze fingers along the arm of the sofa.
The thick golden ring he wore on his left middle finger gleamed in the soft light.
The rendering of Seba that wound across his right forearm began to writhe, sensing his restlessness.
“Hush, you,” Eros muttered.
Sebaserpens answered in his head. “Her restlessness makes you restless.”
Eros grumbled his agreement and shifted to look toward the closed door to Aela’s bathing room.
Some time later, soft footfalls sounded behind him, and Aela padded into his line of vision.
She had her wet, ashy-gray hair twisted in her hands, wringing out the remnants of her shower.
She opened and closed her mouth twice before shaking her head slightly, heading for the hallway that branched her bedroom off from the rest of the asteroid labyrinth. Eros pursed his lips and followed her.
Finding her in the dining room, Eros slowed his steps to fully take her in.
Clothed, if not decent—his eyes darkened at the recent memory—in the deep blue robe, she appeared completely at ease.
Her damp loose waves halted just above the swell of her ass.
His eyes trailed the luminous strands that nearly shone lavender in the right light and down her toned and tanned legs to her feet, which she’d left bare.
Her head shifted slightly to the side. The corner of his mouth quirked at the stubborn set of her shoulders, refusing to acknowledge him.
She was a formidable opponent to outlast in stubbornness, but he had been waiting for her for a long time.
When she finally turned her attention to him, the turquoise of her eyes shimmered at the sight of him.