Chapter 32
Aeson
“YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING me,” Tove sighs exasperatedly. “Why are you on the floor now?”
I blink against the bright light streaming in through the archways and roll over onto my back so I can squint up at Tove, who’s leaning over me with a peeved look on her face.
“I wanted to see what all the fuss was about,” I rasp, tired and nowhere near ready to wake up and deal with today.
Tove scoffs and looks around. “Where’s your menace of a mate? Don’t tell me you misplaced her already.”
I rub a hand down my face and sit up, abandoning my pillow and the bedding I pulled down with me last night.
I glance over at Ever’s makeshift nest of blankets, relieved to see that my cape is still there.
Even better, she’s added the other one I told her was a blanket.
That’s got to be a good sign, despite the fact that we’re not talking.
Tove offers me a hand up and, begrudgingly, I take it while my affinity gets to work healing the aches and pains of trying to meet Ever where she’s at. I lift my arms above my head and stretch my back and then my neck. Tove stares at me expectantly and I register that she asked me a question.
“She trained with Herm and Chastain again this morning, but she should’ve been back—”
“I’ve been back for over an hour,” Ever interrupts as she strides out of the closet.
My gaze instantly zeroes in on what she’s wearing.
The skirt falls to the ground in one voluminous panel of fabric.
It’s the color of a dark plum and sits dangerously low on her hips.
Her top is a strip of ruched fabric the same color as her skirt.
It covers only her boobs and wraps artfully around one bicep.
She looks good enough to eat, and I debate lying back down and begging her to come sit on my face so I can tell her, and her pretty pussy, how sorry I am.
“Hello, Tove,” Ever greets in the annoyingly chipper tone she’s adopted over the last day or so. “Here to water the plants?”
Tove levels Ever with a look. “Did you forget you had all the real plants in your room exchanged for fake ones, Frills ?”
“Oh, riiiight ,” Ever chimes. “Didn’t want to risk you spying. I know how pervy you Seeders can get. Gossiping with the philodendrons and encouraging the fiddle-leaf figs and dracaenas to ‘keep an eye on things,’” she says with a wink and a pair of air quotes.
“Oh please. I’d rather watch Chastain braid his pubes,” Tove deadpans, and Ever has to fight back a smile.
“See? Pervy,” Ever lobs as she strides past the both of us.
“You’re wearing that to meet the dukes?” I blurt, and Tove pinches the bridge of her nose, like she’s trying to stave off a headache—or maybe, in this case, disappointment.
“Smooth, Commander, real smooth,” she murmurs as she moves to leave like she can’t get out of this room fast enough.
Ever pauses for a heartbeat and then continues over to the table and the covered dishes waiting for her there. “Is it on my body?” she asks, her tone sharp and the question barbed.
“It is,” I agree, although the bond and I would prefer it on the ground.
“Then, yes, I’m wearing it, Noctis,” she snips, clearly not giving a shit about how much skin she’s showing.
Her dragon mark, both front and back, is on full display, and her silky, straight hair gleams like a fire opal. I want to wrap it around my fist and— I stomp that thought flat until it resembles a road pancake.
“Fine,” I snap back, my patience already razor-thin. It’s bad enough we have to go through this whole fucked-up event with the Conclave, but now she has to give them even more to drool over?
Ever doesn’t say anything else as I storm to the bathroom to get ready.
Exactly twenty minutes later, I stride out of the closet in a techwear vest, top, and pants the exact shade of Ever’s outfit.
It’s a little more casual than I’d normally wear in front of the Conclave, but the eyes in the room aren’t going to be on me this afternoon.
Ever sits at the table, trying to siphon Ogdan’s fireballs out of the air as fast as he can shoot them. She spent all of yesterday training and, already, her progress is beyond impressive.
As soon as Ogdan sees me, he stands and greets me with a nod. “The Scioness’s Wing ,” he states, like it’s a question, “is waiting in the entry hall for their assignments.”
“Thank you, we’ll be there in a minute,” I answer, and with another nod, Ogdan swiftly leaves the room.
“It’s good to know you’re not just chasing me off these days, but your Wing too,” Ever observes, rising from her chair and turning to me.
I ignore the jab, just like I’ve ignored all the others she’s aimed my way, and focus on what we’re going to be up against for the next several hours.
“Do you have any specific assignments you’d like to request for your?.?.?.?guards?” I query, purposefully not calling them her Wing because she hasn’t offered an official trial to any of them.
She asked for more time to get to know them, and as much as I’d like to argue, I have no grounds to.
Sondar already told her how picky I was when choosing the members of my Wing.
He went into great detail about all the missions and training ops I required before choosing only five.
Then, of course, there was the second Call to Arms, where I was even more diligent and demanding.
Initially, I thought Ever would rely more on my experience when selecting who should take the sacred vow to protect her, but now that I know her, I realize what an asinine assumption that was.
“I think the four females, Bryndol, Daelith, Rysel, and Luma, should be my primaries for the event after I meet the Conclave. Their presence can help diffuse attention and mitigate any posturing from the little lordlings and counts,” Ever directs, and approval blankets my thoughts.
“And your other six?”
Ever’s attention drifts to the archways, and a twinkle of delight suddenly softens her features.
I follow her gaze and see that it’s started to snow outside.
She exhales a wistful sigh that burrows into me for some reason.
It makes me think of snowball fights and ice dragons, hot meals, hotter drinks, and calm, quiet nights.
“I don’t know if it’s fortuitous or a bad omen,” she utters quietly, her eyes tracking the descent of the snowflakes as they journey from the sky to the ground.
“It’s whichever one you want it to be,” I offer, turning away from the flurries and focusing back on her.
Her smile doesn’t meet her solemn gaze as she turns away from the stormy view. “If only that were true.”
She reaches down and unclasps her anklet. In a blink, everything the charm was concealing reappears, and I instantly understand why she chose the outfit that she did. The skin on display isn’t an invitation—it’s a warning.
“Have Vesper be visible but stick to the perimeter unless there’s an emergency.
His dual affinities could come in handy in case this whole thing goes tits up.
The others can be worked in with your team however you see fit.
You know the keep and the nobles better than I do, so I’ll leave it to you to coordinate. ”
“Clever,” I note as she wanders over to the large mirror I sometimes find her staring at as though she’s studying it for some reason.
“I know,” she retorts while smoothing her hair in the reflection.
I laugh despite myself. I want to slurp up her sass with a spoon and come back for seconds and thirds. If only she’d give me the side of honesty I’m asking for and trust me to do the same.
Ever turns back to me, her face serious.
“Once we walk out that door, we need to act like the happiest bonded couple there ever was. Loving. Thoughtful. Protective,” she punctuates.
“Don’t let the act fool you though, Noctis.
I will kiss you, cuddle you, and stare into your eyes dreamily to sell this, but it changes nothing between us. Got it?”
I stare at her for a long, drawn-out moment, teetering between offense, hurt, and understanding.
I want everything she just said to be our reality, not an act.
We’re Bonded Mates, for fuck’s sake; it should be how we feel about one another.
Faking it is the antithesis of who I am and what I stand for, and yet I know I’ll do it anyway.
I’m starting to wonder if there’s anything I won’t do for her.
I used to have such clear lines, such set notions about the world and my place in it. Then Ever Tenebrae came crashing into my life, and nothing looks or works like I thought.
I want to change this dynamic we keep cycling into, but it feels impossible. How do I say, I want to love you, but you won’t let me , when I understand all the reasons why? How do I find my way beneath her layers without cutting through her entirely?
She stares at me expectantly, but I don’t have an answer to her loaded question.
Not one that isn’t as complicated as the problem is to begin with, and there’s no time to go there right now.
So instead of flaying myself open by replying, I silently offer her my arm, and then we walk out, side by side, to face the onslaught together.