Chapter 24 #2
It wasn’t just Aerethia itself that had brought me back to life. It was the feeling of belonging, of finally being surrounded by people who understood what I was and didn’t fear it. For the first time, I wasn’t a burden or a weapon to be used.
And then there was Theo. Somehow, he saw me—truly saw me—in a way no one else ever had.
He didn’t want to control me or shape me into what he needed.
He simply believed in me, in all my contradictions and flaws.
After years of being treated like a pawn, a thing to possess or use, his quiet faith in me was both terrifying and healing.
* * *
We had agreed to meet before heading downstairs to the party. I stepped out of my room, closing the door softly behind me, and took a deep breath as I made my way toward the staircase. Lythandra was nowhere in sight yet, which at least made me feel slightly less late.
Theo, as always, was impossible to miss.
Tonight, he wore a deep blue jacket tailored perfectly to his frame, two rows of gold buttons running down the front and along the sleeves.
Decorative embroidered loops traced the lines of the buttons across his chest and arms, giving the jacket a formal, almost military precision.
The standing collar framed his thick neck, emphasizing the sharp angles of his jaw, while the matching trousers hugged his thighs and back in ways that made my thoughts veer dangerously off course.
I reminded myself to go touch some grass.
For a brief second, our eyes met, and I thought I saw his pupils flicker when they landed on my dress.
Distracting myself, I greeted the others, exchanging compliments as they did the same.
Only Theo remained silent, subtly watching me as if keeping score.
When Lythandra arrived, he motioned for us to follow him down the stairs, never addressing me directly.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the Gods and Goddesses were all stunning in their own way, but somehow I hadn’t anticipated this level of glamour.
Lythandra leaned over to me. “Now the orgies do make a lot more sense, don’t they?” She winked and sauntered off into the crowd, greeting people left and right.
Theo had donned the golden paint on his hands again, but not on his face. He gestured for me to walk in front of him and it might have been the crush of the crowd, but it felt like he was walking way closer to me than usual.
It was relatively easy to tell the Gods apart from the other Faeries that attended the event, because all of them were dressed in similar attire to Theo and Lythandra.
Theo towered over most of the other Gods, drawing attention to us as we made our way over to where Lythandra already stood, talking to a man in a gray uniform.
Many heads turned into our direction, and I heard people whispering in languages I didn’t understand.
Some of them tried to hide their obvious curiosity, others blatantly stared at Theo and I couldn’t blame them—he was simply stunning.
We finally made it over to Lythandra and had only lost Malek on the way, who had stopped to talk to two females whose skin was just as black as his own.
“Auretheos, what a pleasure to see you! Always thought this kinda event wasn’t for you!” the God in the gray uniform said cordially and smiled at me with his perfect white teeth. “Maelis, may I introduce you to Veridus, The Silver-Tongued, God of Stories and Lies.”
Theo supplied and greeted the other God with a nod of his head.
“Maelis, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Your arrival in Aetheria has stirred up quite a bit of gossip,” Veridus said smoothly and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.
Theo’s face stayed impassive, although I could see him straightening his spine as if he was trying to look even more majestic than he already was.
Veridus was shorter than Theo and handsome, but it wasn’t his physical appearance that made him interesting to look at.
He had an air of unpredictability and mystery about him that was only accentuated by his gray hair and striking green eyes.
His hands were also covered in golden paint, but the paint was already smeared.
He followed the line of my vision to his hands and lifted an eyebrow.
“Interesting,” he murmured and winked at me ominously.
Before I could ask what he meant by that, the conversation moved on and Lythandra and Veridus were back to discussing the news and gossip from the God realm. A few other Gods and Goddesses approached us, each greeting Auretheos warmly while keeping a safe distance from him.
Theo introduced me by name, and I could see the questions flickering across their faces. None dared ask, and I was grateful—the last thing I needed was more scrutiny. After a few polite exchanges, the line of gods waiting to speak with Theo finally thinned.
Blowing out a breath I turned to him and said “Considering that you don’t go out much, you certainly are the focal point of this party.”
Theo looked down at me and smiled. “Maelis, none of them are here to speak to me. They are all drawn to you,” and he pointedly looked me up and down then.
Heat pooled between my legs.
“And I thought you hadn’t even noticed that I’m not wearing my usual slacks tonight,” I teased, letting my gaze linger on him.
“I am the God born of purity, I’m not supposed to notice… that kind of thing,” he said earnestly, but humor was flickering behind his eyes.
“And yet… you did,” I murmured, tilting my head slightly, letting my eyes meet his as I sipped my drink.
He studied me for a long moment. Then, low and slow, his voice dropping into something velvet-dark, he said, “Damn right I did.”
I would have to go for a long, long run in the morning after this exchange.