Chapter Twenty-Eight #2
My desire to protect and consume her swelled within me.
The urge to abscond with her and hide her away from harm and pain overwhelmed rational thought.
The melody of possession still sung through me.
I wanted to lick every inch of her body and seal her as mine.
And I wasn’t sure I could blame eel venom for the urgency of that longing.
As if she read my thoughts, her cheeks flushed.
“That could have made for a very awkward morning. One I know Xuri would not approve of.” Had she heard Xuri’s warning to me?
She disentangled herself from me. Her hands fidgeted with her sparkling dress, drawing my eyes to her peaked nipples.
I inhaled a shaky breath while Rue hugged her arms across her body.
“I prefer my partners to be a bit more lucid and consensual.” My voice emerged broken, pressured. She peered up then, assessing.
She held my gaze longer than warranted. The blood in my ears rushed as the venomous smog slowly released its final grip on me, though my arousal persisted. Determination hardened her features. “I feel like I should apologize for what I said, but my words were true.”
She fell silent, no longer willing to meet my eye. My thumb twitched to smooth the crease between her brow, to soothe away her concerns. I bit my cheek instead.
She huffed a mirthless laugh. “Anyway, we both know the leader of the rebellion and the king’s spy could never work. And you had a life before me; I would never want to intrude. I’m grateful fate found a way to reestablish a friendship between us despite the direction our lives have taken.”
An errant shadow shot out of me at her mention of friendship, the word curdling inside me. She only thought of us as friends. For her, the venom really had made it seem as though she had interest in me. Her attentions truly were toward Bowen. I couldn’t think straight.
Duty clamped down, anchoring me, when all I wanted in this moment was to press her against the wall so I could lick and suck that word right out of her sensuous mouth.
I held still, my thoughts at war within me. A sad acceptance weakened her trembling smile. Turning away, she quietly entered her bed chamber. It was for the best.
With a frustrated sigh, I adjusted my pants and locked myself in my room.
If only it had been possible the night before to take a cold shower while in the depths of the ocean.
I had finally fallen into a fitful sleep, trying to avoid intrusive, lurid thoughts and smoky venom-infused dreams. The ornate clamshell, which served as a clock on the wall, displayed a pre-dawn hour.
I groaned into my pillow. Rue was the girl I had lost. She was the woman I couldn’t keep.
As a child, I was sent out to search for orphans before Nolan could collect them, and instead, I found her.
I kept her a secret from the Liberation, my protectiveness for her overpowering even then.
She was always alone, always cloaked in her own shadow of grief.
Until the day she disappeared. I had feared the worst when I couldn’t find her.
That bottomless feeling of dread and desperation still tormented me.
The urge to learn everything about her dominated my thoughts ever since I realized Ruin was Liora.
But she still didn’t trust me; not like she did with Bowen.
I had no doubt I could sway her my direction, but it wouldn’t be fair to open that door when I knew what was to come.
We were raised to be enemies. Maybe I still was. I rolled over, groaning again.
I forced myself to think through our meeting with the queen.
The Liberation needed the Nereids as allies.
Xuri foresaw our future alliance. She also made it clear that if I die, there would be no hope for the realms. It would be subjugated as darkness devoured it.
This alliance was the next step toward our success.
Hope was a fragile thing. A dangerous thing.
I had seen its loss devastate some of my strongest soldiers.
I was wary to give it too much weight. Putting your hope in the wrong thing…
that’s what destroyed spirits. I had let Xuri’s enthusiasm rub off on me.
I tried to reel some of it back in, preparing myself for the worst-case scenario.
But what would that even be? I suppose Queen Thaleia could offer me nothing, and then I’d be no worse off than before.
But that would certainly seal my future fate.
There were no other options left—outside of the queen—nowhere else I could turn.
The clock finally displayed an acceptable hour to start the day. I shifted off the bed and pulled on my tunic and leathers. I wasn’t completely comfortable peacocking around without a shirt. Though I wouldn’t put it past Finn to “align with the culture” and have an easy excuse to flaunt himself.
I sincerely hoped Rue wouldn’t try to. I growled internally. That sheer gown last night viscerally unsettled me. Watching so many males peruse her curves had left my jaw so tight from its clenching that I wouldn’t have been surprised to have cracked a tooth.
I popped my neck and shook out my arms, refocusing on the task at hand.
A spread of food lay artfully displayed in the central living area where all our rooms connected.
Bowen glanced up from his bowl, offering a drowsy nod.
Finn strolled in from the main hallway moments later, disheveled, still wearing last night’s clothes.
He arched an eyebrow daring me to ask questions.
When I didn’t offer any, he shrugged and strolled to his room, yawning.
I grabbed a plate, loading it up with food that deceived with its beauty. I popped the delicacies in my mouth, the salinity of it all confirming my suspicions. The saltiness made me grimace but I swallowed it down.
Rue finally emerged; her hair plaited back, the glow of the light giving it a strange lilac hue. She nodded her greetings toward Bowen and me, carefully aloof. “This is salty. And this is saltier,” I warned her.
She unsuccessfully restrained a grin as she piled food on her plate. She took a deep breath to steel herself, then after several attempts at chewing, made an audible swallowing sound. I stifled a laugh. She didn’t hide her glare, though a smirk chased after it. I struggled to turn away from her.
Before I had a chance to bring up the morning’s meeting with the queen, Aydrielle entered. “Good morning. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves last night.” Her voice dripped heavy with innuendo.
She piled shrimp onto a plate alongside pickled sea cucumber. Her shoulder grazed mine as she proceeded to languidly eat her food. She sucked on her fingers as her gaze lingered on me. I shifted to put some space between us.
“If you are ready, the Queen awaits.”