Aziel's hands clenched into tight fists, curling and uncurling at his sides before he reached up with outstretched fingers and drug them down his face. He moved to the chair at the far side of the room, his face falling into his hands the moment he collided with the soft velvet surface. "You don't need to apologize, moonflower. You've done nothing wrong." She took a step forward, only to go entirely still the moment Aziel lifted his hand in her direction. "Please," he sighed. "Please, don't come any closer. One more step and I won't be able to stop myself."
"At least tell me what is wrong." At this point, she was begging. His ever-changing moods were hard to keep track of. One moment, he looked at her like she was something to marvel at and the next, he looked utterly repulsed by her presence. She'd be lying if she said that it didn't hurt—that it wasn't embarrassing and that she didn't feel like turning and running away from him right at that moment.
Finally, he looked up at her. His eyes were red and glassy, his hair disheveled and hanging sloppily over his crumpled forehead. She drew in a deep breath and held it. Even in his sadness and frustration, he looked like a work of art. "Nymiria… we cannot be together this way. As much as I would love—" He cleared his throat, jaw working against words that looked like they were too painful to speak. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have led you to believe that this could happen."
"Do you think that you're the first person to tell me this?" She questioned quietly. "I know that I'm not worth the trouble, you don't have to sound so sad."
"Is that what you think I feel?" He snapped. "You think that I feel you aren't worth the trouble? If you believe me to be that shallow, then you truly have no idea who I am at all."
"That's the thing!" Nymiria exclaimed. "Idon'tknow you. Not in the way that I would like to, given our circumstances. But I don't know what you are thinking or feeling half the time."
"You aren't paying close enough attention."
Nymiria released a groan into the air, hands curling into fists. "Fine. If this is the way that you would like for things to be between us, then that is perfectly fine with me. No kissing. No touching. Don't evenlookat me."
"Oh," he cocked his head to one side, that stupid smirk cutting into his cheek once again. "I can hold back on a lot of things, but not looking at you is something I think will be physically impossible for me to do." Aziel rose to his feet just then, eyes never leaving hers even as he reached down and adjusted the large, hard ridge in his pants. Her cheeks heated, her heart fluttering and that place between her legs still ached for it—for him. Seeing where her eyes were focused, a large grin spread across his face. "Let this be the proof. Being with you would be worthevery second of hell that is surely coming for me, moonflower, but today is not that day."
The door to the washroom slammed behind him, the walls rattling against the force. He was angry. Perhaps not at her, but he was angry at something. She'd done well at breaking down his walls once before, but this was something else entirely. Because the fact of the matter was that she had been paying attention and she knew that whatever plagued him was far worse than she could ever possibly imagine.
Aziel suppressed the urge to fist his cock the moment that door closed and separated them from one another. He could still smell her on his skin, could still feel the pressure of her lips against his, the headiness of her arousal still thick in the air. He knew that if he opened that door, he would finish what he started and damn them both.
She'd made it clear that her job was not done in Yaar and as long as she was there, he would be right there with her. Ensuring that she was safe. But if he wanted to be there next to her, he couldn't touch her. Couldn't kiss her. And he most definitely could not dive between those thick, milky white thighs and—
He let out a groan of frustration, his gloved hand smoothing over the hardness in his pants, grazing the bars pierced through the skin there. Gods, it wasnotenough.
Rushing over to the sink, he turned the water at full blast and tossed a handful onto his face. It was not sobering in the slightest.
One thing had to be done while he was here. And even though he was not presentable enough to go before the appointed king of The Beyond, Aziel needed to end this now. No more lies. No more games. No more manipulation.
It was ridiculous, really, for him to make his escape off the balcony. Sliding down pillars and beams until he reached the earthen floor, Aziel shook his head at himself. He'd done things all wrong.
But he couldn't have this guilt looming over his head any longer. He believed that bringing her here would awaken something inside of her, that she would search for answers and want to find those that missed her. But the sad reality was that Nymiria did not believe that anyone here ever missed her at all. For the past ten years, she believed that setting foot in front of her people meant that they would continue the torture they intended to inflict on her the night he found her.
The house in the center of the village was full of children by the time he arrived, his face softening when a set of blue eyes shot up and widened at his approach.
Raven was rushing toward him immediately, arms hugging his waist. "We've been waiting for you!" Raven exclaimed, chuckling softly when Aziel tousled the black curls on top of the boy's head. "Is she here? Is my sister here?"
His heart gave a pained squeeze, a small smile forming despite his warring emotions. "Yes, but she's very scared. That's why I'm here. I need to talk to your Pa about her."
The boy stared up at Aziel, his brow crumpling with evident disappointment. A single line formed between his brow, the very same line that formed between Nymiria's when she was upset or angry. Or sad. Seeing their resemblance was enough to give him slight hope that she might open her heart to this place and these people, the new ways of the land that her mother almost completely ruined.
"He's this way." Raven sighed, slipping his hand into Aziel's and guiding him around the corner of the house to where Thorn sat staring into a fire, arms wrapped around his legs as if he were cradling himself. Aziel and Raven paused, watching the man as he picked up a stick and tossed it into the fire, eyes following the embers that floated into the sky. He had always been a rather joyful man with a deep belly laugh and wide grin, but this was Thorn when no one was looking. A man who lost his mate, a man betrayed by his mate, a man with many regrets.
"I want to see her." Thorn said suddenly, his voice thick with an emotion that had Aziel pausing. "My girl. I know she's here and I want to see her."
Chapter 23
Alight knock on the door drew Nymiria from her thoughts, from the embarrassment she felt in having to watch Aziel run away from her after what they'd done. He'd vanished off the balcony, for godssake—it was humiliating, to say the very least.
Before she could muster a response to the person on the other side of the door, it opened to reveal Trio. He was dressed in far more casual clothing than the times she'd seen him before, his locked hair braided back with one strand hanging over his forehead, a black jewel dangling from the end.
"I've heard you've confined yourself to the room, princess." His gentle smile forced a sigh from her chest, allowing her worries to melt away for just one moment. "Fortunately, for you, I've managed to sneak away from the party with a little something for us to share." His hand came out from behind his back to reveal a bottle of blue liquid that Nymiria likened to liquid fire. Her face scrunched up in disgust. "Don't tell me you don't like absinthe."
"I don't like absinthe." She chuckled.
Trio merely waved her off, approaching her with his free hand extended in her direction. "Allow me to change your mind. Let's go." He tugged her off of the bed and to her feet, whisking her away in cold shadows before dumping them out onto a secluded hillside where the palace was still in view.
The revelry had ended for the most part. There were still fires burning in the fields, with solemn music filtering into the air. People were huddled around theflames, huddled together, and leaning on one another. She watched from afar, tears threatening to spill until Trio's hand wrapped around hers again and tugged her to the ground.
