Chapter 33 Rorin
Rorin
The court was quiet once our guests took their leave; everyone was exhausted from the days of entertaining and meetings.
We'd all split off afterwards, too tired to carry on with any more conversations. The minute I stepped into our bedroom, I shucked off my clothes and shoes, falling face forward onto the mattress. Eveera giggled quietly at my display before my consciousness blinked out.
When I woke, her side of the bed was noticeably cold and empty. Worry started etching its way in when I noticed her sitting down in front of the fireplace, her attention fixated on the flames.
"What can I give you to know your thoughts?" I call, sliding out from underneath the covers to join her. She stills for a moment as I nestle in, my arms wrapping around her chest to fit her snugly against mine.
"Ha — why ask when you can just waltz into my mind and find out?" She rasps, her head lolling against my collarbone.
I lean down and place a kiss along the warm column of her throat, brushing her hair away with my cheek. "Because I want you to let me in."
She hums in response, tilting her face until our lips graze lightly against each other.
"So demanding…" she sighs into my mind before looking towards the flames again.
"I sent word off to Baelor and your father.
" My blood runs cold at the thought, and I rear back, trying to find the words to rebut that statement.
"I want to finish this, Rorin. With as little bloodshed on our side as possible. "
"And you have a means to do that?"
"If Baelor is as impulsive as I think he is, then yes — I do."
My fingers scrape along my scalp, waiting for her to explain. When she doesn't, I'm forced to prompt her with, "and those means would be?"
"I'm going to trade Pruella for your father."
I feel my jaw drop, disbelief crawling up my throat as I sputter, "e-excuse me?"
"Baelor can keep Vellar and his kingdom, but his pursuit of Allora must end." She says the words coldly, her voice detached from her body. "The deal we made was I help you — I get my revenge on your parents."
"Right, but there are a few flaws in that plan, Nightmare. One of which is the part where Baelor gets to keep Vellar, which negates our entire agreement. The other is that there is no guarantee he will genuinely end his pursuit."
Her head shakes, golden irises flicking over her shoulders at me.
"Of course, we can't guarantee it, but once we rid him of his Evendell soldiers — all he will be left with are human men and women, his Guards, the kingsguard of Vellar, and no Illusionary.
They won't stand a chance against us on the battlefield.
We will have led him into a false sense of security, and when he tries to strike again, he will fall. "
"And Vellar?"
"Vellar will be free of him, and you will be able to assume the throne if you choose."
I drag my hand along my chin as I try to envision her plans. "What about Pruella?"
"With her father dead, she can do whatever she wants. She could rule even. That is, if there's anything left of Hadar to rule once we're finished."
A trade… I think to myself, unsure that this will work or if we'll just be led into another trap. "So all we need to do now is wait to see if they've accepted?"
"They already have. We leave for the border tomorrow evening."
"Tomor—"
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Our heads snap over to the doors, confused as to who would be knocking at this hour, until I hear Will's voice come through— "Rorin? Rorin, I need to speak with you! Ror—"
I stalk over to the doors, pulling them open, and revealing his disgruntled form. "What is it, Will?"
“Get dressed.”
“Will–” I start to argue, our young guards pretending not to hear the two of us as they look sheepishly ahead.
“We need to talk."
I scoff, “now?”
“Now, Rorin.”
He didn't waste any time racing down the hallway until we made it out into the courtyard, the moonlight bouncing off the dark stone walls. The expression on his face is a mixture of rage and pain as he paces back and forth, waiting for me to catch up.
"Will—"
"You can't do this." He snaps, the steam of his anger rolling from his nostrils.
"What are you…"
He whirls in his spot, blue eyes flashing, and the muscle in his jaw ticking. "The princess is not an object for you to do whatever you please. Haven't we put her through enough?!"
"I think you're speaking about something you don't understand."
"NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND RORIN!" He shouts, his face turning beet red.
"I have watched you slide down this slippery slope for months.
Turning into a man I don't know or trust!
" My mouth parts to counter, but he shakes his head, warning me not to dare.
"It was a mistake to ever come here. To join…
to join forces with that miserable, hedonistic woman. "
My hands flex in and out as I try to control my reaction to his words. "Watch it, Will."
He laughs cruelly, the sound so dark I have a hard time believing it came from him.
"Since your alliance began with her—" his finger jabs towards the windows above us, towards where our hallway is, "you have become reckless.
You have become cruel. Rorin, I hardly recognize you anymore.
I stood by you when you made this deal. I stood by you when I watched your feelings towards her shift, despite my aversion to it.
I did so again when you went on your tirade to find her, when you poisoned buildings of innocent people, tortured towns full of citizens, simply because they didn't have the answer you hoped for. It's sick— you make me sick."
"Well, thank you for informing me of your feelings, Will, but I do recall that I never forced you to stay if my choices were so abhorrent for you to witness."
His jaw goes slack as he looks at me like I'm nothing more than a stranger. "Pruella does not deserve to be treated like this. She came to you seeking help, and you would throw her back into the slimy grip of a man you hate, simply because your bitch of a wife feels threatened by her?!"
I crack my neck side to side, letting his slip of tongue go, and holding tightly onto my magic. "I see you've been eavesdropping again," I mutter, and his brows shoot to his forehead.
"You cannot do this. I will not let you."
"It's not your decision. I made a promise to her Will—"
He throws his arms out to his sides, taking a large step towards me. "THEN MAKE A NEW PROMISE!"
"You don't understand. There are necessary sacrifices to be made."
"Necessary sacrific… ha." He sighs, rubbing his jaw roughly. "So help me, Rorin, if you go through with this, I'm done. That's it."
His threat weighs heavily in the air, the two of us standing there silently as the tension between us builds. "Will—"
"I'm serious. It's her or me. You can either side with the queen, or you can be the man I know you are."
"I made her a promise."
My friend scoffs, standing toe to toe with me, "twenty years, Ror. Twenty bloody years." The hurt and betrayal are plain on his face as he shoves past me, checking my shoulder with his. "I hope she's everything you think she is, Rorin. For all our sakes."
I sulked back to the bedroom, defeat weighing as heavily in my chest as Will's words do in my mind.
The young guards don't meet my eyes when I dismiss them from their posts and step into the room. Steam flows out from the bathroom, and I hear Eveera call for me, "princeling?"
A smirk twitches at my lips as I start to undo the ties of my shirt, pulling it over my head. "Were you expecting someone else?"
She peeks her head out of the doors, toweling off her wet curls.
"No. But my men don't have the best of manners. Or– they didn’t…
" My mouth turns down in a frown, and she steps out of the bathroom, noticeably…
unclothed. I bite down on my lip and watch her lithe form slink around the bed.
By the gods… damn woman. "What did Mousy want? "
The question douses every ounce of heat I'd begun to feel at seeing her, and I finish peeling off my clothes, my irritation rising. "To give me an ultimatum."
"About?"
I sigh, tugging at my curls, "nothing I want to discuss right now. I'm going to shower." She doesn't argue as I stalk into the bathroom, turning the water to scalding.
Stepping beneath the stream, my skin recoils at the temperature, but I force myself to withstand it, needing something to distract me from what my friend said, or rather— what he threatened.
"You can either side with the queen, or you can be the man I know you are."
Except I'm not that man.
I've never been the man he's thought of me as.
He imagines me in this distorted view where my lack of fighting back was a strength, that it was me rising above what my father put me through.
Nobody is more aware of how monstrous I am than me.
But the opportunity to end my father is too great a pull, and he should know that.
He was there — he shouldn't even question me on it.
With my skin feeling sufficiently raw, I stop the water and step out, snatching a towel off the shelf.
Eveera's underneath the covers, spinning her dagger between her fingers. Her head turns at the sound of my footsteps, those golden eyes dragging up and down my body the same way I’d done to her. She sets the blade down and rises onto her knees, crawling across the bed towards me.
She looses a tendril, tracing along the planes of my skin, the magic caressing every angry scar. Her perusal stops just above where the towel is tucked into itself. "Your head is very loud… princeling, for someone who doesn't want to talk." She murmurs, hot breath coasting across my bare skin.
"I don't want t-to talk…" I can't help the shiver rolling through me as the tendril teases the edge of the fabric.
"Fine, then we won't. We'll just—" her teeth graze along my collarbone.
I fist my hands into her hair and tug, forcing her chin up. "Tell me, beloved," I growl, my body straining at the sight of her tongue darting out to wet her lips. "Tell me you want this as much as I do."
The glint in her eyes flashing, "is it not obvious?"
My head shakes, and I tighten my grip on the curls.
"I want more than your body, Nightmare…" I drag my lips against the softness of her cheek, inhaling her scent.
"I want your heart." Her breath hitches at the request. I force myself to pull away, wanting to see the words leave her mouth.
"I want you, all of you… just you, darling. But I need to know—"
"You need to know if my heart stops every time I look at you?
Or how incredibly angry it makes me that it does a foolish thing like that?
Because it does…" she breathes out, "it aggravatingly stops working every single time you're near me.
My chest burns when we're a part, no matter if I am pleased or furious with you.
And when you asked me… that night, to tell you that I hated you… "
"Yes?" I whisper.
"I lied." A single traitorous tear falls down her cheek, and my thumb swipes it away.
Bringing my forehead down to hers, I lay a gentle kiss on her lips. "Tell me… beloved. Tell me you love me — because I am painfully in love with you."
"And here I thought I was so transparent…" She exhales, and I take that as her admission and wrap my arm around her waist, sweeping her backwards onto the bed.
She rips the towel off my hips, leaving nothing but her silk slip between us, and I chuckle darkly.
"I'm afraid I'll have to buy you two new ones now," I mutter, grabbing her dagger off the side table and slicing down the center of her slip.
She shudders at the cool air hitting her skin, fidgeting beneath me.
My fingers push away the two sides of the fabric, exposing her completely to me. Her serpents coil along her curves, beckoning in response to my touches. "Damn vexing woman," I growl.
Eveera grabs hold of the back of my neck, crashing our lips together as she drags me down on top of her. I nudge my knee between hers and close the sliver of space between us.
Her groan of frustration when I pull away melts into a deep moan, my lips moving to trail along her jaw. My fingers dig into her skin, keeping her pinned against the mattress. She bucks her hips upward when I bite down behind her ear, sucking on the sensitive skin there while she whimpers.
I take my time kissing her, admiring her, savoring every inch of her.
"You will be my undoing." She whispers.
"I am already undone," I murmur, kissing her firmly again, the two of us melding together. "I am already undone, beloved."