CHAPTER NINE
VESPER
As the Council meeting loomed nearer each day, Vesper needed to prepare.
He had a month; a single month before his life inevitably changed forever.
It was the thought that incessantly surfaced and the one he spent the most time burying, because if he thought about it too long, he would rip himself to pieces.
So he kicked his ass into gear. Ellynne was all he had left.
He’d spent countless hours scouring his father’s paperwork for something, really anything, to help him keep his home—a deed, some signature, a receipt, even a bloody scrap of paper with meaning behind it. He’d come up empty.
Before he knew it, he was crouched in his bedroom, his fingers knotted in his hair. He tried to smooth his reedy breaths, but the walls started to close in.
To distract himself, he sank into the memory of a moment with Briar the previous day, when she’d traded her grumblings about his behaviour for a soft embrace, her arms wrapped around his middle in a familiar hug.
“I’m proud of you,” she’d said into his chest. “Really, Ves. I am.”
He hadn’t known what to say as he hugged her back and pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head. He’d been good. Really good. He hadn’t been to the Scarlet Palace in three days or touched a drop of booze in two.
But the insurmountable problems buried him.
So he’d had one drink, just to calm his nerves.
But one turned into two. And two turned into five.
And when that didn’t work, he mounted Balthasar and rode to Malheim.
Guilt wracked him as Briar's words ran through his head on repeat. She’d sounded so sincere. So convinced. Thank the gods she had left for the day.
At Castle Dusk, he lay in his bed, Nefeli tucked under his arm, her face snuggled into the crook of his neck.
Against his other side lay another woman from the Scarlet Palace, her black hair draped over her shoulder and dark skin dewy with sweat.
He didn’t know her name, though she’d been moaning his only moments ago.
With Briar away and Nef’s request for an escape, Vesper had retrieved the two women for the day. His heart warmed as Nef marvelled at the castle’s magnitude, though now that the Council threatened to steal his home away, he too yearned for it.
Before today, he’d never brought Nef to his bed, let alone a stranger. Only Emmery had been allowed in it before she was sent back across the gate, though they were never truly intimate. Sure, he’d kissed her, but they’d drawn the line there.
His chest tightened as he thought of how disappointed she would be if she saw him right now.
He still hadn’t figured out what to do about their situation. How he would fix things with her.
As he laid there with Nef and the other woman, Vesper squeezed his eyes shut and wished he were somewhere else. Wished he was someone else. Wished he could insert himself into another life, even just for a day.
“Get back here!”
The urgency in Callias’s voice startled Vesper. He hadn’t heard Cal return from his ride. Usually, from his window, he could hear the stable doors bang closed, but maybe he’d been too distracted.
A knock on his door followed: three thin raps, likely small knuckles.
Not Cal then.
Panic spilled through his gut like ice water. Briar couldn’t be back already, could she?
“Go away,” Vesper hollered at the closed door. He eyed his old drawing tacked to the wood with a knife. The deer bathing its young in the stream seemed to stare back at him with condescension. “I’m busy.”
Another knock rattled the door. With a disgruntled sigh, he rose from the bed and stepped into his shorts.
Emmery burst into the room. Her cheeks turned a regretful crimson as she saw … well everything, including his semi-hard cock and a spectacular view of his ass.
Fucking Hollow.
She shielded her eyes while he tugged his shorts up with one hand and threw his quilt over Nef and her friend with the other, though they didn’t seem the least bit concerned about their exposed bodies.
As he yanked his legs through his trousers, he hissed, “I said I was busy.”
“Clearly,” she grumbled from behind her hand. “Oh. My. Gods.”
She shifted her weight between her feet, like she attempted to shake the images from her mind. It was lucky she hadn’t shown up ten minutes prior, or she really would’ve been scarred.
He fastened the button on his pants, strode to the door, shoved her out, and snicked it closed behind him. “Emmery, uhm, why are you here?”
“I’m here for my book,” she snarled. “The one you kept from me.”
A pang of guilt hit him full force. He’d forgotten about her book.
She glowered at him but didn’t flinch from his naked chest. How someone so small could glare with such ferocity was beyond him.
Between her flushed cheeks and fists ready to strike, she should have looked insane, yet she resembled a goddess, like Kahlia herself stood before him. She made his breath catch.
Her silver hair flowed loosely down her back instead of woven into her usual braid.
She wore snug black trousers tucked into knee-high boots and a tunic a touch too long in her favourite shade of green.
Her golden eyes fixed on him, and he withered beneath her stare, though he’d never admit as much.
Strangely, her vestige was muted, barely there. Only a gold dusting like—
Vesper eyed the multicoloured markings on each of her hands and fury blazed his veins. “That fucking bastard has you bound?”
Before he could reach for her hand, she dug her pointer finger into his abdomen and barked, “Don’t change the subject.”
His chest tightened. This was his fault. Gods, what else had Destonne done to her? Rage rippled inside him as he grasped her shoulders and scanned for injuries. “Is he hurting you?”
“What?” She struggled out of his hold and stepped back from him. “No, he’s not hurting me. And why do you care anyway?”
He gritted his teeth against her sharp words. “Of course I care.”
She huffed a humourless laugh then crossed her arms over her chest, creating division between them. That’s when he noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes. Had she been sleeping? Likely not. Which, in hindsight, made sense because neither had he.
“You look tired.” The words tumbled from his mouth, and he wished he could inhale them back in.
She tapped her foot and looked anywhere but at him.
Her lips pulled to the side as she chewed her cheek and that familiar crease formed between her brows.
What was she thinking? Or maybe he didn’t want to know.
He could only imagine the heinous things she thought about him.
Maybe she contemplated the best way to rip through those restraints and scorch his ass.
“It’s rude to tell someone they look tired.” She stared at the closed door. “Can you get my book? I don’t want to go back in there.”
“Uhm, yes.” He opened the door a sliver and held up a finger. “Just a second.”
He slipped through the opening. As he strolled to the desk, he mouthed an apology to Nefeli. She just shrugged and settled back into the mound of pillows, but as she did, the cough she stifled into her shoulder made him frown. It sounded a bit worse than their last visit.
Nef’s friend didn’t stir. Eyes closed, her lips lifted in contentment. He wondered what kind of conditions she lived in if she found this situation peaceful. At least he could give them a little peace, even if it was short lived.
After he searched through the papers he’d ignored the past few months, he found the book. Guilt struck him again as he cleared away the dust on the leather cover. He should have given it to her. It was her favourite and he hadn’t bothered to skim a single page.
He snagged his closest burgundy shirt and slid his arms through, but didn’t bother with the buttons.
After he closed Nef and her friend inside his room, he turned to Emmery. The moment she saw the book, her eyes widened like he held a precious piece of history. An irreplaceable artifact.
She reached for the book, ready to snatch it out of his hand, but Vesper held it up out of her reach. Fury coloured her cheeks vermillion.
“We need to talk first,” he said, a hint of desperation in his voice.
“Why? So, you can lie to me some more? Manipulate me? Trade me like some fucked up currency again?” She swiped for the book but missed. “We don’t need to talk. I’ve heard enough from you.”
“Emmery,” he growled. “Just hear me out.” He manoeuvred around her and willed her to follow him down the stairs.
“I’m tired of listening to your bullshit!” she yelled after him.
Exasperated, she hollered his name before she released a long sigh and practically stomped after him. His heart thrummed in his ears as he descended the stairs and failed to collect his rampant thoughts. What would he say? What could he say to make her understand? Nothing could make this better.
As Vesper passed Callias in the entryway hall, he gave him a nod to let him know it was alright.
His cheeks were pinked and his damp hair windblown from his ride.
Cal moved aside, his eyes a smouldering blue as he glowered at Emmery, but she strolled past him as if he were a mere piece of furniture.
Vesper led her to the library, which was once her favourite place. After he slumped into a velvet chair and balanced the book on his thigh, he gestured for her to join him. Arms crossed over her chest, she waited in the doorway.
“I—” Vesper started and sighed. “Can you sit down?” The way she stood there and glowered at him was unnerving. “Please.”
Reluctantly, she took a seat across from him. “Say what you need to say so I can leave.”
“Let’s start over.” He offered a small smile as a white flag of sorts. “Hello, Emmery. It’s really nice to see you.”
“Yes, well, it wasn’t very nice of you to sell me for your kingdom, now, was it?” Her words severed his white flag, sliced through any false armour he wore, and spiked him right through the fucking chest.
Okay, he deserved that.