Page 40 of Essa

"Enough," my sister says more sharply than I expect.

She's never been one to anger easily, but being around me must put her on edge. I want to tell her she doesn't need to worry, that I'm here to make sure she doesn't do anything she doesn't want to.

I was hoping she might've married by now because then she wouldn't be forced to be with Iddis, but that wasn't in the cards, or my parents refused to let anyone court her on the off chance I ever formally rescinded the engagement.

"I don't know who I'm riling up more, Essa or you," Iddis says with a tease in his voice as he smiles at Niivi. I gnash my teeth at him as she bares hers.

"You've always been good at that," Niivi says, rolling her eyes and returning her focus to me. "I want to discuss why you're back on Haven III."

"Is it not clear?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.

My sister is trying very hard to rein in her emotions, to hide parts of herself from me right now, but I don't know why. We were always close and always told each other everything. Then, I left Haven III without telling her. Or, rather, I left her a note explaining as best as I could why I left. I didn't realize things had grown so hostile between us.

"I need to hear it from your mouth." Niivi takes a deep breath and swallows hard as though she's preparing not to like my answer.

"I'm here to marry Iddis," I say, keeping my tone level so as not to give away that I'd much rather strangle him in his sleep than share a marital bed with him.

Adam's body stiffens beside me, and I can see Seth's brows pull together as the words leave my mouth. It's not me they're focusing on, though. No, it's Niivi.

She pushes away from the table, letting the chair fall backward to the ground with a loud crash. There's no apology or excuse as she runs out of the room, letting the door slam closed behind her on her way out.

Iddis gives me a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Welcome home."

sixteen

Adam

Are we sure Essa's sister doesn't want to be married to Iddis?Seth's question keeps repeating in my mind over and over as the silence in the dining room grows.

Iddis left shortly after Niivi did, leaving the three of us alone. Essa's eyes are brimmed with unshed tears as she lowers her head into her palms. I'm still beside her, standing watch in case someone tries to hurt her while she's emotional. Seth moved closer to her when Iddis left, and now he's practically sharing her chair with her as he wraps an arm around her lower back.

"Oh," a soft, feminine voice calls from the same doors Iddis and Niivi left not too long ago. Ilyna stands in the doorway, her hands clasped in front of her and a sad smile on her lips. "I guess the reunion didn't go as planned."

"It went very poorly," Essa confirms. She swallows hard to distract from the waver in her voice, but I hear it all the same.

"Perhaps you should let your males care for you tonight, and we can speak another time. I'm sure Niivi just needs to get used to dynamics changing."

Ilyna's trying to stay diplomatic, which is understandable since she knows both women, but I want everyone to be on Essa's side. She's done nothing wrong and is only here with good intentions. Sure, they might be misguided, but none of us knew her sister was probably fucking her fiancé. How could we have prepared for that?

"They will care for me just fine," Essa says, waving Ilyna off with a small smile. "Thank you for trying to be here to help."

"Of course," Ilyna says before ducking back out the way she came.

I grab an empty plate from the table and pile it high with food Essa had put on her plate before everything started to go south. Seth does the same to his plate, and when we both finish, he nudges Essa's shoulder.

"Do you know where your room is?" I ask. "We can plan our next steps there. I don't like us being out in the open like this."

"Yeah, yeah," Essa murmurs, lifting herself from her seat and making sure the fabric of her dress is in the correct places.

Seth reaches up to untangle one of the chains between her horns and strokes a piece of her hair down her face. There's grief in her eyes, and it makes me want to punish Iddis and her sister for hurting her. Not that they deserve it, considering I'm pretty sure Essa is about to crash her sister's very much wanted wedding, and she doesn't even know it.

"Lead the way, princess," I say as I wrap my fingers around the back of her neck and give it a soft, reassuring squeeze.

It's pretty clear to me I shouldn't be walking next to her or touching her when I'm acting as her concubine in front of other people, and that just makes me want to do it more. Really, I want to see what else I can get away with.

Seth carries both plates of food we made since I handed him mine when I decided I wanted to put my hands on Essa.

I expect some sort of retort from Essa about the nickname. It fits, considering we're in some strange desert palace decorated in gold and jewels and elaborate paintings everywhere. Her family is wealthy beyond anything I could probably ever comprehend, and yet I'm pretty sure until she dressed up to come to Haven III, I've never seen her wear jewelry or fine fabrics. The most expensive looking thing I thought she owned was the sword she sometimes wears strapped to her back.

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