Chapter Eighteen A House Divided
"The most dangerous person is one who listens, thinks, and observes."
Adan sat there shocked, stunned to silence. She thought the whole thing ludicrous. "Your distraction plan... they will be cannon fodder." She had to voice it, no one else had.
"Possibly, but they have all volunteered. They know the odds and the price." Theo answered from across the long oak table.
"All so you can send a message?" She levelled a look at Nox, who had been exceptionally quiet.
Thammas had told her the details and Ren had spoken up here and there to clarify or add details.
Theo and Aster had been quite as well, watching Adan intently.
When it became clear that he wasn't going to answer, she asked another.
"And what are your plans for after, if you succeed?"
"Revolution." Nox smirked, like it was the most simplistic word he had ever uttered. It was the only word he had said in the last hour and his silence was driving Adan mad.
Adan sighed and pulled her gaze away from the infuriating male. "Let's go over it again."
--
It was well past midnight when Nox called the meeting.
Adan had wanted to run through the plan again, but Nox had promised her they would have time tomorrow.
They didn't intend to go through with it until the end of the week, so they had plenty of time.
Adan would use ever second of it until the last possible moment.
It wasn't until she reached the top of the landing that she wasn't sure where she was to go.
Theo bumped into her, making a dismissive noise as she passed.
Adan was used to jealous and snarky woman from her time as a courtesan, this was nothing new to her.
Aster followed her, lowing his red mop in a nod to give Adan the small acknowledgment as he squeezed by.
The Harkness brothers were nowhere to be seen, and when she turned back, Adan bumped right into Nox's hard chest.
"Oi!" she grabbed her forehead, stumbling back. "Sorry." His strong arm steadied her shoulders. "I was just wondering where..." the question trailed away. She prayed that he would end her suffering rather than force her to ask it.
"Where...?" He taunted.
She rolled her eyes, mostly at herself, for expecting anything else from the demon in front of her. "My room."
"Were tight on beds right now, so you can have mine." He reached for the brass handle at a nearby wooden door.
"That is not necessary." She began to blubber. The thought of them sharing a room, she could find a couch, or a hole in the floor. He turned to face her, "You don't—we don't... it is not necessary."
His dark brows rose, along with the sides of his perfect mouth.
"Relax, love." He turned the handle, opening the door wide.
"I'm staying at my apartment." He turned on his heel before she could comment on it.
She did, however, have the smallest tinge of regret that he would be so far away.
She was starting to get used to the constant brooding, arrogant presence that is Lennox Hollow.
Adan stepped inside the darkness, nothing about the room held anything personal to note that it was his.
Only his lingering scent gave away any sign that he had been here.
Her bag had been dropped off already, waiting for her on the bedside chair.
She found her way lit from the moon light breaking through the thin curtains.
Adan undressed quickly, grabbing a pair of loose shorts and an overly large shirt that most definitely belonged to the owner of the room.
The sheets were cold but welcoming, it was a matter of minutes before she was fast asleep.
--
Adan's plans for the day were entirely ruined with the arrival of a brutal migraine.
She did not rise from the massive bed, even when the sun broke through the curtains with ease, she did not stir.
It wasn't until well past noon that she managed to get up and make her way to the bathing chamber to draw herself a bath.
It didn't shock her to find thousands of bottles covering the corners of the tub. She was just turning off the taps when a knock came from the bedroom. She ducked low into the bubbles and did not respond. She half hopped that Nox would storm in, but no one entered.
It wasn't until she was dry and redressed in another one of his shirts and incredibly comfortably soft pants, that she trudged out into the hallway searching for food.
Adan stopped abruptly when she saw that a tray was waiting for her at her feet.
She snatched the tray laden with fruits, veggies and small sandwiches and even chocolate.
Which was an indulgence and costly in the Lymia.
Adan placed the tray on a small desk by the door and reached for the pot of tea first.
She enjoyed the silence and solitude that she had been without for so long while she slowly ate at the spread--that someone was kind enough to put together for her.
She didn't let herself dwell on whom. Once she was full and sated, she slunk back into bed.
--
She did not wake again until she heard another soft rap on her door. It took her a moment to realize where she was in the early seconds of disorientation. This time the person behind the door did not wait for an invitation, Nox strolled in.
Adan blinked herself awake as she sat up in his bed and realizing that she had slept for far too long. She waited for Nox's barb about wasting the whole day away.
"How are you feeling?" He asked as he stepped into the room, taking stock of the tray on the desk.
Adan blinked a few times, still wrapped in the half-dreamed fog of sleep.
"Like I was trampled by a warhorse," she muttered, voice raspy.
"Fine, I guess." She stretched her arms over her head, Nox turned back and eyed the shirt—his shirt— He had to drown out all his thoughts at the sight of her in his clothing--in his bed.
He started to count backwards from a thousand.
Anything to drown out that voice in his head.
"Do you need anything?" He asked, Adan couldn't help but laugh at the nervousness on his face.
"I'll be fine." She teased. Throwing the cover off and rose to taunt him some more when a particularly pulse shock through her eyes.
Her knees buckled and her back bent forward.
She was expecting the ground to stop her fall when strong arms scooped her up.
His scent was a forest after the rain, and something sweet hugged her senses.
"Sure you are." He helped her steady her footing, but did not let go of her. He told himself it was just in case another shock rode her system.
Adan scoffed, sitting back down on the bed as she became light-headed.
Only once she was steady did Nox remove his hands.
Adan would much rather someone stab her, repeatedly, than this.
At least then she would heal and move on.
Now it was like her head was being stabbed, but her body was not healing.
"Stay there, lie down, I'll be right back." And he disappeared, but left the door to her room wide open. She did not have the strength to get up and close it, so she obeyed and fell back into the pillows and waited.
A particular cruel shock had her curling in on herself when Nox returned.
"I brought something." His tone pure smugness.
Her eyes slammed closed. "If it's sympathy, you can keep it."
He chuckled, then tossed a small bundle onto the bed beside her. She peeked into it and blinked. Heat packs. Dried ginger sweets. A tiny, corked vial with what looked like bloodroot tincture—difficult to come by and expensive.
Adan's migraines were brutal at times, so much so that she would get sick from the pain. It was ridiculous since she was so used to pain in general. She could handle a whipping from a sadistic prick, but headaches are where her body drew the line.
Just as she made it to the porcelain toilet, she emptied her stomach.
She heard Nox's steps over the sounds of her wrenching.
The last thing she wanted was for him to see her like this.
She heard the water run from the tap behind her, and the cold compress that Nox gently placed on her nape had her whimpering with release.
"I think you're in no condition to reject my sympathy." He knelt down behind her, the warmth radiating from his body had her falling back into him. "I must admit, I've never seen anyone sick from headaches before."
She spat into the bowl, clearing her throat. "I'll be fine soon, they never last too long, I will still be able to help with our plan."
His dark chuckle warmed her skin as he moved the cloth to gentle wipe her face.
Adan's head fell back to the crook of his neck and her eyes fluttered closed.
"Is that all you think about. Maybe you should just focus on one day at a time. Especially considering you will be no use to me out there, like this."
He was right, Adan pushed out of his embrace and tried to stand.
Even if she looked like a newborn fawn at the way her body shook, she didn't care.
He laughed again, not at her, but at her supreme stubbornness.
She leaned on the door frame and walls for assistance as she tried to make her way back to his bed.
Nox was there scooping her up again, and she found herself too tired to attempt to break away.
"I must admit, that I rather like you like this." Nox smirked, as she inhaled his scent as he carried her back to his bed.
"An invalid?" She squeaked, she could feel another wave of pain and scrunched her eyes closed at the coming onslaught.
"No." He chuckled as he carefully placed her back into the bed and pulled away. "Compliant."
Normally, that would have made her see red, she would have lashed out with a barb of her own, but as he brushed her curls from her face with a featherlight touch of his fingers, she almost moaned. She felt burning heat in her middle, radiating and warming, almost comforting.
She was already drifting back to sleep when she felt the covers pulled back over her.
Adan was snoring when Nox placed a chaste kiss to her forehead.
He closed the door behind him softly, he was so focused on her that he did not even notice Theo.
"Since when do you play nurse maid?" She scoffed.
Nox didn't flinch at Theo's voice, just ran a hand down his face like he'd been caught in the act—which he had.
"Shouldn't you be somewhere." Theo should be retrieving Czandra, and bring her back here.
She currently couldn't leave The Pearl permanently, since it was encroaching on bidding season.
But Nox knew that her and Adan needed to talk, and Adan was in no state to go anywhere.
Theo arched a brow, arms crossed where she leaned against the wall. "I just got back, she's on board and understands the risks. She's in the kitchen, waiting for you." The tiny incubus's eyed the door to his room suspiciously, and Nox immediately growled low in warning.
"Do not do what you're thinking, Theo. Unless you want me to shred you into tiny little pieces."
He bared his teeth again in warning. Theo was an incubus who loved to torment people in their dreams.
If she so much as made a move to touch Adan, Nox would let her know how far his displeasure would reach.
Even if Theo was loyal to the cause and him.
Theo snorted, though the tension in the hallway coiled tighter. "Don't think for one second I mistake your obsession for protection. You think I'd actually hurt her?"
"I think you enjoy playing with fire," he growled, stepping closer. "And she's not yours to play with." His voice soft but not without warning.
The incubus tilted her head, pupils narrowing like a predator scenting something far more interesting than a fight. "But she's yours?"
He didn't answer. Not in words. Just stared her down until the silence thickened, until even the walls of the house seemed to lean in to listen.
Theo backed off first, not out of fear—but respect. Or maybe curiosity. "Careful, or she'll be your undoing."
He let loose a deep sigh, staring up at the ceiling, as if asking the gods to give him strength.
"Go away, Theo." She physically bristled at her lords command, but did not refuse him.
No one in his house could, it was their utmost law.
His word was final, and the only way to overrule it would be to challenge him.
Theo was no fool, she knew he was a good ruler, even if she disliked the new addition currently asleep in her lords bed.
There was also the factor that he would rip her to shreds before she even got a punch in.
She knew how lethal he was, so she smartly turned on her heel and left.
Nox stood there a moment longer, jaw clenched, before he turned. "I know you're there..."
"You know," drawled his second from the shadows. "If you told them who she is, they would be more understanding."
"I could give a fuck about them needing to understand." It was what he told himself over and over. He knew he could trust them with that secret, but it was not his to tell. He had risked enough by telling Thammas, he would not betray Adan's trust again.
Thammas shrugged and slid beside his lord, "Theo suspects something..."
Nox gave his second a look that silenced him.
He had enough on his plate, he did not have the time to coddle Theo, or any of the others.
Thammas wisely understood the look, that the topic of Adan was done and off limits, and to not mention it again.
They stood there in silence, the heavy kind that settled between men who'd bled and burned for the same cause. Finally, Thammas crossed his arms and said, almost idly, "You're changing."
Nox didn't reply.
"You think none of us notice," Thammas went on, voice low. "But we do. You're softer with her. Not weak. Just... different."
"I'm still your lord," Nox said, voice like stone on steel. "I can still cut your tongue out if it offends me."
Thammas gave a crooked grin. "I'd like to see you try."
Nox almost smiled.
Almost.
He stood there a moment longer, jaw clenched, staring at the door that separated him from her.
He hated how this pull toward her seemed to intensify when she was weakest.
Hated how his instincts roared to protect, to soothe, to stay.
He turned and headed towards the kitchen because Czandra was waiting. Because the plan couldn't stop.
Because the world didn't care that Adan was curled up in his bed wearing his shirt and burning into his bones like a second skin.