15. Evanee #2
“You’re more than that, Evanee.” He stretched his hand toward me, but I pressed back, hands clenching around the edges of his coat as I pulled it closer, putting a boundary between us.
His hand stilled, fingers curling inward as he lowered it back down.
Still, a traitorous part of me didn’t want that boundary.
“I don’t need to ride with Malachai tomorrow. He… I don’t think he likes me," I admitted instead.
“Malachai makes everyone feel that way, but he’d protect you.”
I grunted, not sure I believed that either. “And I don’t mind playing the role of husband and wife… if it keeps things simpler. Just in the towns.”
His unwavering regard held me there, steady and unyielding.
“The choice is yours,” he said, his voice an octave deeper. A fang grazed his lips, drawing my attention to their fullness. My throat dried as my resolve wavered.
“We still have daylight left. Would you like to explore Brixton?”
I didn’t trust myself to respond. My voice would have betrayed me. So I nodded. Relief washed through me when he stepped away—until the absence of him settled in its place.
We walked side by side silently, perusing the shop fronts.
As Malachai had said, most were closed down, with signs stating they would reopen in the spring.
Dessert shops, hat shops, and even a toy shop—despite there being no other evidence of children in this town—remained open, with shoppers scurrying along.
An ache built in my chest at the normalcy in which the beings ambled about.
Of course, I still wanted to roll my eyes at how absurdly bright everything was.
However, Brixton as a whole was like being in one of my dreams. Beautiful, unmarred, and a far-fetched reality.
My shoulder brushed against Aiden’s, and he smiled down at me. The corners of my mouth lifted in response, though a battle raged within me.
Aiden tugged me to a stop in front of a shop window with colorful dresses, winter boots, and fur-lined coats on display.
“Mind if we go in here?” he asked, gesturing toward the door. I nodded, and he led me inside, a bell ringing out above our heads.
The shop was charming and intimate. A table with winter gloves of all different colors, arranged in tidy little groups—light pinks, white, pale blues, and dark green—was front and center.
To the right of that, a stunning dress was put on display—beautiful enough to steal my breath away.
Dark blue with white specks that resembled snow toward the bottom and clear beading that caught in the soft glow of the light.
The cut was lower, and the gauzy sleeves were a contrasting light blue.
I lingered a moment before following Aiden to a wall with coats of every color.
Most people kept their colors bland so they could match anything.
Plus, the cost of colored thread was expensive.
Green, red, pink, yellow, blue, and purple. That’s what Aiden pulled out one by one, asking me with each option what I liked. I didn’t know, though. I’d never had anything new or anything that I could remember.
“Pick one,” Aiden insisted, gesturing to the wall. My breath stalled.
“I couldn’t possibly—”
“Yes, you could and will,” he breathed. “Think of it as my apology. Now pick one,” he demanded.
The material was velvet-soft beneath my touch as I drifted across the display, eyeing the myriad of colors.
Until I stopped at the end, where one coat had been stuffed unceremoniously behind the bright blues.
Plain black, but the buttons were a shimmering silver with bright white fur lining the inside.
It looked similar to the one I'd selected at Thaddeus’, but thicker.
“This one.”
“Are you sure? There are lots of other colors to choose from. What about the blue?” he asked, reaching for the dark navy coat closest to him—I shook my head.
“No, this one. It’s perfect.”
It was strange to feel pulled toward a coat, but I did. To this coat.
He started to say more, but I didn’t hear as I pulled the coat down, slipping his from my shoulders to replace it with the glimmering black one.
The fit was slender and hugged me perfectly.
As if it had been made just for me. I lightly brushed my fingers over the diamond-like buttons—smooth, despite the illusion of sharpness.
I pulled the hood on, the fur tickling my cheeks.
“Good afternoon! Thank you for coming into the shop. I sincerely apologize—the owner suddenly fell ill, so it’s just me.
I’m Freesia. Is there anything I can assist you with?
” The female donned a simple, floor-length Gray dress, yet she carried herself as if it were a ballgown sweeping around her.
Over her dress was a pristine white apron with frilly lace over the shoulders.
She appeared flawless—not a blonde hair out of place, fixed low over her ears.
She wore a shadow of rouge on her cheeks and lips, but nothing that would draw more attention to her beauty.
Her eyes were a mesmerizing lavender—a color I’d never seen. Surely it was just a trick of the eye.
“Are you looking for a new coat for your… sister?” she fished, beaming at Aiden.
Acid burned in my gut.
His sister? Does she actually think I’m his sister? We look nothing alike! My face twisted as I looked her over again, only this time, there was less admiration in my scrutiny.
“Yes. My wife needs a new coat,” Aiden drawled, gaze hardening.
“And I think she likes the feel of this one. Don’t you, darling?
” My cheeks heated as he stared Freesia down, his gaze threatening.
I draped my old coat over my arm, giving her a smile that didn’t reach my eyes, appreciating the lie. If only for this moment.
“Oh! I apologize. I shouldn’t have made any assumptions—please, forgive me,” she chirped, her hands covering her cheeks.
Aiden only gave her a shallow nod, his jaw tight.
“Those were brought in from the Northern Realm.” She stepped back, bumping into the counter, startling herself.
“Uh—the inside of each coat features high-quality fur lining. I’ll be right back.
” She turned and scurried to the back of the store to a small room behind the desk, her boots echoing on the wood with each step.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Aiden murmured. “But did I sense a little jealousy from you just now?”
My eyes shot open, heat climbing my neck.
“No! Not at all! I was just…” My mind failed me, leaving my mouth working with no words forming.
“Your secret is safe with me.” His mouth curved, unreadable as the click of Freesia's boots signaled her return.
She wheeled out a large, floor-length mirror.
“Take a look!” she insisted, giving us space.
The coat transformed me. It hugged my midsection and hips, shaping me in a way I hadn’t thought possible.
The diamond-like buttons glistened against the black.
I dragged my gaze up to my face. It was a struggle seeing the blonde hair fall around me, stark against the black.
But it was my eyes that took me aback. They were brighter—unnaturally so.
Pale green, incandescent in the dim shop.
My brows furrowed deeper at Aiden’s equally bright stare—but he wasn’t looking at me.
His attention was locked on the shop girl, sharp and unrelenting.
“Have we met before?” he asked, the tone of the captain coming out.
“Uh—no, sir. I don’t believe so. Unless you’ve been to Brixton before?” Freesia wrung her hands.
“I have, and I don’t recall seeing you here.”
“Oh, I—I just moved here recently, sir,” she stammered. “From Dorthem. In the eastern part of the realm.”
“I want this one,” I interrupted, pulling Aiden out of whatever strange place he’d gone to. He dragged his eyes from her and gave me an approving nod, though the tilt of his mouth seemed forced for my sake.
“We’ll take it,” he declared.
“Splendid choice!” Freesia clapped her hands then flitted to the counter. Aiden went to pay while I lingered by the door.
“Shall we?” His hand grazed my lower back, and despite how close our bodies had been on Shadow, this touch felt more intimate. Possessive as he guided me from the shop, across the street. Goosebumps chased his hand where it lingered.
“Are you okay?” I asked once we were standing outside a boarded-up shop.
“I’m fine,” he said nonchalantly.
“You seemed bothered by her.”
“I’m just… distrusting of strangers.”
“Surely you don’t know every being in this town. It seemed like you’d never been here before.”
“I have, in an official capacity. I wouldn’t be recognized as I am now. And admittedly, no, I don’t know every face. But I feel as if I’ve seen her before. I just can’t place her,” he said, glancing back to the shop. “She’s still watching us,” he murmured.
“Is that so?” A prickling sensation spread as he stepped toward me, his black hair ruffling in the breeze.
“Yep. I don’t think she believes were a couple.” Another step.
My back bumped the boarded window.
“You don't?” My voice shook, breath catching in my throat as he smiled wickedly, and shook his head. “Then maybe we should give her something to believe.”
Every fiber of my being froze except the rise and fall of my chest. He seemed equally nervous, his throat working as he swallowed, then tentatively reached out to cup my cheek, his grip firm and warm.
His eyes bore into mine, enrapturing me so that I couldn’t look away.
The smell of him washed over me, and I reveled in it.
His thumb traced my cheek, mouth turning up on one side.
That smirk he wore so often turned my core molten.
All anger and concern simply gone. Traitorous, desperate body.
“Evanee…”
He leaned in, brushing his mouth against mine—wavering. For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. Then I shut my eyes. And I let go.
I pushed up on my toes, returning his kiss, my old coat falling from my arms.