Chapter 28 #2
“What do you call this, then?” I point to the stoic faces of Karis, Farrow, Sondar, and Jori, who are all sitting around the table, and then gesture toward Gatlin and Blay, who are guarding the entrance to the room.
“And don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’re keeping the Wing members who like me away,” I accuse.
Ogdan sits back in his chair and surveys me. “I’m not keeping them away; they’re on assignment. And Tove doesn’t like you, so that argument has no legs.”
I scoff. “We’re not besties yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”
This garners a rumble of amusement from everyone at the table.
“And how do you know that?” Ogdan chuckles, and his familiar levity corrects the tilt of my crooked axis, and I suddenly feel as though I’m no longer spinning out of control.
I sit back in my chair and mirror Ogdan’s relaxed pose. I can sense Aeson curiously watching us, but he doesn’t interject.
“I know because, in a lot of ways, I am Tove.”
Ogdan’s brow hikes up and confusion flashes in his gray eyes. I don’t know what he thought I was going to say, but he didn’t expect that.
I start ticking things off on my fingers. “Jaded, untrusting, works twice as hard for half the recognition, ferociously loyal, never makes the same mistake twice, swims against the tide of The Hordes expectations.”
“It does sound unexpectedly familiar,” Farrow agrees, his dark gaze contemplative as he rubs a speck of dirt from a deep-red scale on his arm.
“It’s an interesting take,” Ogdan agrees. “But, like I said, I’m not keeping anyone away from you, and we’re not punishing you; we’re treating you with the caution you’ve earned.”
“The caution I’ve earned?” I parrot.
“Yes, we brought you into the fold and did our best to give you the benefit of the doubt. That resulted in a knot of lies we’re still trying to untangle, unauthorized transmissions behind our back, the death of the Relacour Matron, a blast that could have seriously wounded or even killed our Heart, actions that left the Fae Gate vulnerable, a chase across The Scorch and the southern territories that easily could have resulted in serious harm to the Wing or our Heart.
Should I keep going, or do you catch the drift? ”
I stare at Ogdan, study his braids, his iron-gray eyes, his black scale armor, and then I look at the others.
“I pulled you out of the rubble. I made sure you were breathing, that you weren’t hurt, and then I left.
I’m not going to apologize for the lying and the sneaking behind your back; you would have done the same in my position.
I was in enemy territory as far as I knew.
I was protecting myself and the other survivors as best I could.
And I promise you, if I’d wanted any of you dead in The Scorch or anywhere else, you would be. Give me some fucking credit.”
“That’s not exactly reassuring, lass,” Ogdan censures. “And we are giving you credit, otherwise, you wouldn’t be here, inches away from our Heart, Bonded Mate or not.”
My shoulders sag at the conviction gleaming in his eyes, and I nod.
“Fine, I get it. It’s just?.?.?.” I pause, my gaze now fixed on my empty plate.
I push a few crumbs around with my fork and try to figure out how to phrase what I need to say.
“Be mad. Be hurt. I accept that. But, if it’s possible, can you not be quiet?
For a very long time after the massacre, the Syphon survivors?.
.?. we?.?.?. we were all so quiet. And then in the cell with the Tainted?.
.?.” I force myself to look up, to take in each of them in turn.
“Yell at me, be short, annoyed, snarky—I can take it. I can take anything but quiet?.?.?. please,” I plead, and Ogdan bows his head.
Silence stretches between us, and I can’t decide if I want to snatch all my words back or leave them dangling in the air like they are now.
“We can do that, lass,” Ogdan assures me after a beat, his eyes glassy when they finally meet mine again.
I blink back the emotion that surges through me and offer him a small smile.
“Okay, good. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, who wants to tell me how to build a Wing?
Is there a manual I should read? Any birth charts to see if our moons and suns and belly buttons align?
Someone give me a cheat sheet, because you’re going to be stuck with them just as much as I am. ”
Strong fingers grab my chin and guide it gently to the right. Without a second thought, I give in to the possessive touch and find Aeson’s perfect face entirely too close to mine. His thumb slowly caresses the line of my jaw, and his nostrils flare like he’s scenting me.
“Are you done eating?” he asks.
I nod obediently.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” he presses, the question somewhere between a purr and a growl.
All at once, I picture myself crawling under the table, freeing his cock from his armor and feasting on something significantly larger than lunch.
For a second, I’m almost convinced he can read my mind, because the black of his pupils overtakes the blue of his irises, and his thumb skates across the seam of my lips.
I open for him, sucking the digit into my mouth.
I circle it with my tongue once, and then I bite it?. .?. hard.
“Fuck!” Aeson yelps as he yanks his thumb from my mouth.
“That’s for accusing me of hacking the infirmary,” I growl. “And yes, thank you for asking, you can get me some workout clothes, and two—no, make it three slices of blueberry cheesecake.”
With that, I turn back to Ogdan. “Now, spill the Wing beans, please. The Flight Leaders will be done eating soon, and I’m sure there’s a lot of ground to cover.”