Chapter 3
Finding decent sleep after a near-death experience was physically impossible.
Nymiria learned two important lessons in the last eight hours, one being that she didn’t like traveling through The Beyond drunk and the second being that she couldn’t kill wild animals. Even when they were starving and wanting to rip out her entrails and feast on them in the dead of night.
Just one look at the wide, frantic look in that beast’s eyes and her heart of stone liquefied.
As soon as the gloomy sky turned a bright grey and a mist of rain began to fall, Nymiria rose from her spot at the base of the tree, tucked her dagger away into her boot, and started back on her journey.
She didn’t want to waste the daylight and she certainly didn’t want to loiter around and wait to see what other dangerous creatures were roaming those woods.
It wasn’t just her quarrel with the beast that kept her mind occupied, but also the swath of shadows that’d formed when she was trying to escape the greedy claws of danger. She saw the gleam of silver eyes in that darkness. Watching her, trailing her every move.
She was no fool. She knew those eyes belonged to someone close to her.
Whether it was Desi, Trio, or Aziel himself, it didn’t matter.
Trio’s shadows had made themselves known long ago, having seemingly kept watch over her at random moments of each day.
She’d grown quite used to them, even recognized the shift in energy when they appeared.
Was she foolish to wonder if those shadows followed her at his request? Was she supposed to be angry or feel some sort of satisfaction at that thought?
Those questions lingered with her, even as she watched the sun change position in the sky, even as the thick pines turned to twisted and colorful trees that blanketed the setting sun. Even as she crossed over that line that separated Alvaros and gave way to Eadyn, she pondered.
Angry or satisfied?
But fear always gave way to anger in her heart—a catalyst to her tumultuous behaviors. And when she saw the rounded towers that peaked over the rolling hills that would lead her back to the heart of Eadyn, she balled her hands into fists and simply stared.
“Change your mind?”
Nymiria located Owen in her periphery and she took one of those clenched fists and let it unfurl over her pounding heart.
She thought of Aziel, of the smug look on his face when he looked down at her in the ship’s cupboard, as he whispered those alarmingly arousing words to her before she found her release pressed against his body.
She thought of the way he looked at her when he found her there at the bar, like he was disappointed in what he saw.
Her pulse gave a solid thud, the muscles around her heart constricting painfully.
That bastard. A true demon.
“No,” she sighed. “No, I’m not changing my mind.”
With those final words spoken, she took a step forward and walked until Aziel’s palace was in full view, looming over her.
She stood at the edge of the large open field that led to the palace steps, glancing back and forth between the stairs and the edge of the forest, trying and failing to push memories out of her mind.
Memories of his lips devouring her, of his body wedged between her legs, her back pressed against the wall of his room.
“He used your feelings to manipulate you.” She reminded herself quietly. “And you… you are the daughter of a monster. The least you can do is learn about your abilities and then just go.”
She didn’t know where she would go after she’d fulfilled her godly duties, once she took claim of her destiny, but she knew she couldn’t stay here—couldn’t allow herself to feel what her memories forced her to face.
“Heartless.” She sighed. “You are heartless.”
And with that, she approached the palace.
The moment she positioned her hand to knock, the door to the palace swung open. Nymiria’s stomach plummeted to her feet, her hand frozen in the air as she stared at the herbal witch.
Hilla.
“Good morning.” Nymiria chirped, forcing a smile onto her face and securing her paralyzed hand behind her back.
The witch’s eyes roved around, looking from the sky to the landscape. “It’s nearly night.”
Foolish.
“Oh, well, good evening. I must apologize for my intrusion, but it seems as if I am needing a place to stay.” She explained. There was absolutely no way that Hilla believed this facade. Even Nymiria was cringing at the sound of her own voice—too cheerful and too high pitched.
Moving away from the crack in the door, Hilla pulled it open further, waving her hand to welcome Nymiria inside.
They walked in silence for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say to the other until they finally arrived in the foyer.
It was exactly how she remembered it. Rock and gems in every corner, plants scattered about as if no one knew where to place them.
Black and purple everywhere. Nymiria sighed. “Once again, I do apologize—“
Hilla waved her hand nervously, letting out a forced chuckle. “No, no. There is no need to apologize. It’s just that we weren’t—“
“We?” Nymiria’s finger paused on a blossom crawling up one of the tall pillars, her brow arching.
“Your room isn’t prepared just yet. I mean, it is prepared, but we haven’t had the chance to dust or polish anything.
” While she hadn’t known what to expect at all in showing up here unannounced, she was certainly a fool to assume that she’d be in Aziel’s room.
A very foolish assumption, considering his… company.
She must have not ruined Hilla for him.
That was rude. You were the one who left, remember?
When Aziel first returned to Yaar, their first encounter with one another hadn’t been entirely too pleasant.
He hadn’t been rude to her, not entirely.
She had barged into the game room and saw him fucking Hilla on the billiards table.
It hadn’t bothered her at the time. Now, the thought of it made her sick.
Even though her stomach was in knots and she felt like emptying its contents onto Aziel’s new, pretty purple rug, she forced a smile.
“I haven’t had a bath in two weeks, Hilla.
A little bit of dust is the least of my concerns.
” Nymiria assured her, finally releasing the flower in her hand, only to find that she’d completely crushed the poor thing in her grip. “I wasn’t aware that I had a room.”
Hilla was now guiding her up the stairs, turning to the left instead of the right. Another frown, her brow crumpling at the thought that he’d really wanted her this far away from him.
Your fault.
She ground her teeth, inwardly urging that nagging voice in her head to keep quiet.
“Aziel has had a room waiting for you for months. It was his first request upon returning.” Hilla explained, offering her a kind smile.
Nymiria scoffed, rolling her eyes at a moonflower painting that hung on the wall.
“How thoughtful of him.” As they came closer to the end of the corridor, the hairs on Nymiria’s arms lifted at their own accord.
She slung a glance over her shoulder, only to find an empty hallway lurking behind her.
“You wouldn’t happen to know where he is, would you? ”
Hilla looked at her with a confused expression, shaking her head as she withdrew a large ring filled with keys.
She sifted through them without looking, only feeling the grooves to decipher which one was needed.
“He doesn’t really inform anyone when he leaves, nor does he disclose where he is going.
He sort of just comes and goes as he pleases.
” She paused, glancing down at the keys and pulling a single one free.
“He does frequent Thorn’s and often stays at The Twisted Willow, though.
I know that much. Mostly because his tab from the Willow is always delivered on Monday morning and it’s my job to ensure it gets paid. ” She shrugged.
“Does he not like staying here?”
Hilla shrugged again, turning the lock and pushing the door open. “I’m not sure. As I said, he’s not here much. And when he is, he doesn’t usually speak to us. Unless he gets bored.”
“Us?”
“Lorelei and myself. He offered us a place to stay when we were all displaced after Yaar and she and I took over managing the household. Gods only know that he won’t.
Apparently, he has far more pressing matters to attend to other than cleaning and cooking.
” She rolled her eyes and walked into the room.
“He comes home, locks himself in his room, takes the majority of his meals alone, sleeps alone, and only ever lets Trio inside. It’s quite pitiful, I must say. ”
“Sounds lonely.” Nymiria muttered.
Hilla nodded, turning to face Nymiria and waving her into the room.
“I’ve tried to tell him to find a companion, but he insists that he’s taken another vow of celibacy.
” She chuckled, shaking her head at the thought.
“The two of you seemed to have gotten quite close in Yaar. What ever happened there?”
Nymiria didn’t know what to say, so she just told the truth. “I ran away because my mother was the Witch Queen and I feared that Aziel would always see her face in mine. That everyone would.”
Hilla’s face drained of all color, her lips parting around a small gasp. Upon realizing her mistake, she placed a hand to her chest and cleared her throat. “Well… you are welcome to stay as long as you like. Aziel said—“