Chapter 27
Zephyr
Niko is attentive as he cleans Evangeline and gets her ready for bed.
The woman is mostly asleep, mumbling something incoherently.
My mate is gentle, soothing even, as he whispers sweet nothings to her.
He steals a single kiss, and when he pulls back, Evangeline’s soft snores fill the room.
Nothing but admiration plays across his face as he stands over her, just watching the slow rise and fall of her chest. Her naked body is hidden underneath a blanket Niko draped across her when she shivered.
“She’s perfect,” he says to no one in particular.
I wait for the jealousy or anger to rear its ugly head, but those emotions never come. I don’t think they ever will. Seeing Niko with Evangeline, loving and fucking her, felt right. Me leading the scene felt…inevitable—right even.
My chest stirs with something I desperately want to keep down, locked far away so it will never reach the surface.
I’ve seen firsthand what resentment and jealousy can do, and even though those feelings do not consume me, there’s a possibility they will in the future.
It’s not something I can risk. Not with everything riding on Evangeline’s presence in our kingdom.
I respect her too much to drag her under.
The bed dips as Niko finally crawls next to Evangeline. He leans over her, and I meet him in the middle. The kiss is sweet, soft, and nothing like it was moments ago. The hunger for one another has been sated for now.
“Good night, Zephyr. Do try to sleep.”
“I’ll be fine,” I assure. It’s not confirmation that I will be getting good sleep tonight, but it seems to satisfy Niko.
He drapes his arm around Evangeline, snug between us, and pulls her closer.
She moans softly before laying her head against his chest. A few minutes later, their breathing evens out. Fast asleep.
Good.
Sleep hasn’t been easy for me since the Nephilim escaped their mountain prison. My body can’t rest, not completely, because every little movement and noise have me jumping out of bed. It’s no different tonight.
I listen to the soft snores of Evangeline and Niko, which lure me to sleep. It’s not a peaceful one, but it’s enough. After the third time waking up, I give up on sleeping entirely, getting lost in my web of complicated thoughts. All to do with the woman snuggled between us.
Despite knowing better, I roll onto my side, unable to resist the pull of her.
Evangeline hasn’t stirred much throughout the night.
She’s still nestled against Niko, her cheek resting peacefully on his chest, one of his arms loosely wrapped around her.
At some point during the night, the blanket must’ve slipped.
It now lies bunched at her waist, leaving her breasts fully exposed to the cool morning air.
Her nipples are taut from the chill—or maybe from memory of last night.
My gaze lingers longer than it should. I can’t stop the flood of images from last night: Niko’s mouth on her, the way her back arched, the sounds she made as he licked and sucked those same sensitive peaks.
My body responds instantly, heat tightening low in my gut, even as I force myself to stay still.
Watching her like this—soft, flushed, utterly undone—feels dangerous.
But I don’t look away. My cock twitches in interest.
I’m uncertain how long I stare at her, but I’m jolted out of the hold she has over me when I feel another set of eyes boring into me. I was so distracted, I didn’t sense his change. It’s early. Far too early.
“You should be asleep,” I say before forcing my gaze away from Evangeline to lock eyes with Niko.
His red hair is a tousled mess, sticking out in unruly spikes as if he ran his hands through it all night.
Shadowed circles bruise the skin beneath his eyes, evidence of too little sleep and too many thoughts.
“I could say the same for you.” His voice is hoarse from sleep.
Silence stretches between us long enough that I think Niko might have fallen back to sleep. But then he shifts, careful not to rouse Evangeline, and angles his body toward me. “I saw you watching her.” A smirk plays on his lips.
“I’m watching both of you.” I keep my voice neutral, not daring to give anything away. “We are in the middle of a war, and both of you need to stay alive.” It’s not the only reason I’m watching them, and Niko knows it.
“Bullshit. You don’t even believe your own lies.” Niko knowing me better than anyone else is usually a quality I love because he’ll know how I’m feeling without me having to say it, but I find myself annoyed with it now.
“What are you insinuating, Niko?” My voice comes out harsher than I intend, but Niko doesn’t back down.
His face softens, and he reaches for me. His hand scorches my chest, reminding me he’s mine. Reminding me what I have to lose. “You know, if you ask, I’m sure Evangeline would let you court her.”
“You speak as if it’s that easy.”
“Is is that easy, Zeph.” The urgency in his voice gives me pause. “You are not your parents. What happened to them won’t happen to us. You need to know that.”
“And how can you be certain of that?” I snap, losing the ability to control my emotions. “You can’t promise that, Niko. No one can.”
“So you’ll let your fear lead you for the rest of your life? That is no life at all, Zephyr—and you know it.”
Niko’s voice cuts through the quiet like a blade, sharp with frustration and something far more painful underneath.
The truth, just not one I’m willing to face right now.
The intensity between us spikes, loud enough to stir Evangeline.
She shifts beside us, her brow furrowing as she lets out a soft, restless sound.
We both go still, watching in tense silence until she relaxes back into sleep, her breathing evening out.
The stillness that follows is damning. My chest feels too tight, my pulse too loud in my ears.
Because he’s right. Gods damn him, Niko is right.
And yet, being right fixes nothing. Means nothing.
It doesn’t change the dread that coils low in my gut, or the weight pressing on my chest every time I look at her and wonder if I’ll ruin this—ruin us.
He can’t reassure me. No one can. Not when the real threat is me.
I’m the variable. The fracture. The one flaw in an otherwise impossible, delicate bond. If I give in—if I lose control—this whole thing shatters.
And I can’t live with that.
I won’t be the reason we break. I’m the product of my parents. Their love poisoned them, rotting them from the inside out until their love turned to jealousy and vengeance. It literally killed them.
What if those same feelings live in me?
“Zephyr?” Niko cups my face, pulling me back to the present. “You aren’t your parents. Don’t deny yourself another mate. I know we were all meant for each other. You just need to trust yourself and me.”
“I do trust you, my love.” That was never the problem.
The smile on his face tugs at my heartstrings, and I can’t help myself. I pull him in for another kiss, needing his lips to ground me. A low growl leaves the back of my throat, but with Evangeline sleeping between us, I won’t take this further.
With great reluctance, I pull back. Niko’s pupils are blown wide, and he bites his damn lip in the way that drives me crazy. I’m quickly losing my resolve, so I say the only thing I know that will ruin the mood. “I will not take Evangeline as my mate. Our dynamics are fine as is.”
Niko sobers, brows furrowing. “I see.” His words are clipped. Precise. He drops the conversation, though.
I don’t feel good about it.
“When she wakes, we should take her to the infirmary. See if any more of the cursed have been cured,” Niko says after a moment of silence between us. The tension still lingers, but at least he’s not shutting me out. Which I deserve, since that is exactly what I’m doing with his suggestions.
Maybe once this war is finished, and I no longer have to fight to stay alive, I can reconsider…
As soon as that thought forms in my head, I push it down, not willing to let it fester for much longer. Right now, we have a kingdom to protect against a powerful foe. A foe we know virtually nothing about. If only we had more intel, then…
I freeze. Niko notices, pinning me with his stare. “What is it?”
“We have a Nephilim in custody,” I blurt.
My words only deepen his confusion. “What about it?” He searches my face, trying to keep up. I can see the moment it clicks—the exact second he understands. His eyes widen, pupils blown with alarm. “You can’t be serious. You’re not suggesting we let Evangeline speak to it?”
“Oziel said—”
“Oziel is unpredictable. We can’t trust him.”
“He risked his own wife. He may be many things, but careless isn’t one of them. If it is a possibility, we shouldn’t discredit it. What if Evangeline learns something that will turn the war in our favor? We must utilize the queen, just as Ender suggested.”
“He’s one I trust even less after the stunt he pulled leaving Evangeline alone in our kingdom,” he scoffs. My blood heats, remembering how he left her out in the open to fend for herself. We’re lucky she made it out alive.
“All I’m asking is that you consider asking her. We won’t let her do this alone. You and I will be right next to her, keeping her safe. I won’t ever let anything happen to Evangeline, Niko. Do you trust me?”
The words hang heavy between us. He just spent the last few minutes convincing me to mate with Evangeline, while I vehemently opposed. Now I’m asking him to trust me with her safety. I understand his hesitancy.
“You know I would never let anything happen to her, don’t you?” I search his face, wincing as indecision plays across his features. It hurts to see him question me, but he should know me well enough—
“I trust you,” he says at last. I sigh, expelling the pent-up tension I held in my chest. “It will be her decision whether she’s comfortable speaking with the Nephilim or not. I won’t force her.”
“Nor will I make you force her.”
Having Evangeline speak to the creature is our best option. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. A heavy weight settles on my chest, cold and immovable. The kind that warns you too late you’re already in over your head.
We’re walking a dangerous line—one laced with teeth and shadow—and I can’t shake the feeling that once she opens her mouth to that thing…something far worse will answer back. We must be prepared for whatever is yet to come.