Page 174 of Unrivaled
Chay excused himself to go linger with Kadan and I focused my attention on the older group of nobility Darrius moved around.I could feel my energy waning faster than the moon was travelling across the sky and opted to leave relatively early.I floated along the halls, briefly alone, having left both Chay and Thomas back in the ballroom with minimal apologies.If anyone wanted to attack me, they could try.The way I felt in that moment I wouldn’t have stopped unless they physically removed my heart.
He’d be back soon.One more day, and then it’d becomeany day now.
First, the melee.
My mind bounced around all the parts of tomorrow I needed to keep straight.The winner’s buckles, which I’d present at the final feast.The deal I’d done with Saf Co for dried medicinal herbs that I needed to have copied for them before they left.The bonnet Yasmine had left with me I needed to return to her.The bonus pay for additional hours everyone was working—in place of the bribes and tips that were expected and now were illegal.
Inside the tower it was quiet, but not dark.The single candle Isolde liked to leave on the table in the center of the room had burned down to halfway, and the plate of food I’d brought earlier was empty.She wasn’t immediately visible as I glanced around, shutting the door behind me, but she was probably abed at this hour.
I paused, though, when I saw a familiar hat on the arm of the low couch that had been shoved out of the way at some point last night.The stink of burning flesh had been replaced by the smell of the ocean and light, herbal scents from whatever tisane Isolde had prepared.The remains of it lay on the table before the fire, another piece of evidence that she’d been up.I touched the pot and found it holding onto the last little bit of warmth, but my eyes were on the battered, sweat-stained hat.
I knew a certain captain who’d worn a hat just like that.
Picking it up, I ran my fingers along the brim.A fine dust of salt came off.I took a breath and felt the flex of fabric over my flesh as I sank back into my own skin.
Elnyta was here.
Lifting the stiff fabric to my nose I breathed in the smell of them, salt and sweat and sea, and beneath it, the person who’d slipped their way into my heart so effortlessly.
They shouldn’t be here.The relief, the excitement that bubbled through me was fine and well, but they weren’t safe.I’d explain that and have them out of the city long before my father arrived.Meanwhile, I could enjoy some moments in their company.
But I paused before going upstairs, spotting Elnyta stretched out across another long, low couch, one arm over their face and their chest rising and falling slowly.I approached quietly, circling around to enjoy the sight of them sprawled out, a cushion captured beneath one coiled arm and their hair a fine mist that had doubtless been freshly washed before they arrived.The softness of their sleeping face and the peace of the scene was underscored by the big, bold tattoos they bore.My fingers ached to whisper along the curve of their cheek, their velvet lips.I wanted to curl up against their body and fit myself into the dips and curves of their form.
But the gnawing worry for my mentor wasn’t easy to put aside.Upstairs, I padded quietly to Isolde’s room.She was abed, curled up on her side.Her curls were hidden beneath her sleeping bonnet, and the knife she kept beside her was sheathed and neatly in its place.She’d let Elnyta in, clearly, then gone to bed.
I wanted to linger there, looking at her.Watching her breathe.It was quiet, here, and peaceful.
I hated that I’d let Luca into that.
I’d known better.
Turning away lest I startle Isolde, I eased myself out of my elaborate dress, shedding flowers as I went.I closed the door to the common room, but Isolde knew Elnyta.If she’d let them in, surely, that was a sign it was okay for them to be here?
Though I was quiet, I heard their breathing change, then one leg, bare from the calf down, stretched out and Elnyta’s arm lifted from their face.They blinked big, sleepy eyes at me.
The joy in my heart took me off-guard.
They scrubbed their face with one hand, rolling off the couch and coming to me.“Let me.”
I did, though the words were half lost to their yawn and their fingers were slow and clumsy with sleep.The questions that surfaced in my mind I put aside.I’d done enough questioning for one day, and certainly enough responding.Elnyta was clearly tired.
Their hands eased the cloth down my arms, following its passage.The roughness of their palms was contrasted by the warmth of their touch.I shivered.The dress, no longer held up by the ties at my back, and weighted by the fabric that had been on my arms, slithered down over my hips.
Elnyta’s hands tightened around my wrists.Still, I glanced toward the door that led up to where Isolde was.
“She told me to keep it quiet,” they murmured.“And that you need tenderness today.”
The words made me feel suddenly raw.I let Elnyta take my weight and wrap their arms around me.“Princess,” they murmured, the words so sweet they made me tear up.“Let me look after you.”
The words were warm against my neck.Feeling exposed and vulnerable, but entirely cherished, I tilted my head further to the side to enjoy the sensation.
“Do you want to sleep?”they asked.The suggestion stroked over my skin, across the curve of my neck and disappeared down my back.
I hadn’t thought about sleep.I knew it was a requirement, but I’d withdrawn not from tiredness, but because I was going to start making errors.Was that tiredness?Was I so far gone I couldn’t feel it?
“No.”I took their buckle in my hands and couldn’t halt the memory of Luca’s belt links slipping between my palms before it appeared in my mind fully formed.I pushed it away, but rested my forehead against Elnyta’s.
They stood, their hands encircling my wrists, as I gathered myself.
