Trio pushed himself up onto his elbows. “He’s never kissed anyone.” He said.
She frowned. “That’s a lie. You can’tlie.”
“I’m not lying.” He exclaimed, holding his hands up in defense. “He has slept with many women, but neveroncekissed them. Any of them.”
“He kissedme.” She shot back.
Trio blinked his eyes at her a few times, as if the words she’d spoken were entirely unbelievable. At the perplexed expression he wore, it felt like her stomach had twisted into the largest knot in the world.
“When?” Trio demanded—eager.
She hissed. “I’m not tellingyou.”
“That can be your secret—you can tell me when he kissed you,” he cocked his head to the side. “If you don’t tell me, I won’t believe you.”
Nymiria scoffed and rolled her eyes. Thegallof this man. “Which time do you want to know about?”
Trio looked as if she’d just stabbed someone, his mouth hanging open and eyes narrowed. “Which time?!”
He didn’t believe her. Or he was just really good at seeming shocked and was just doing all of this to know all of her best-kept secrets. It didn’t matter, she was going to tell him anyway.
Gods only knew that she’d been dying to tellsomeone.
“The first time he kissed me was at the inn we destroyed. The second occurrence was today. Just upstairs." Trio was beaming like she’d just presented him with a chest full of gold. And by that look alone, she believed that she’d just made a hilarious mistake at entrusting him with that information. “He’s truly never kissed anyone?”
“Listen,” he sighed. “We are speaking of a man who doesn’t even like dispelling a pat on the shoulder most days.Touchingpeople bothers him.”
That night at the inn would have been his first kiss. Remembering the skill of his tongue and the precision of his lips, Nymiria started to feel lightheaded. She was his first kiss. And while, yes, he’d slept with women before and sex was far more intimate of an act than kissing,knowingthat she was his first made her feel both relieved and guilty.
Guilty because it wasn’t romantic in any way whatsoever and relieved because…
He never hesitated. There was a specific confidence in each stroke of his tongue, in every mesh of their lips. Like every single kiss he’d placed upon her skin had been saved specifically for her. A brand of its own kind.
“Youarea horrible gossip.” She grumbled, inwardly praying that Trio had not taken notice of the rednessin her cheeks.
Thankfully, he was only eyeing the bottle of absinthe she was still clutching to her chest. “It’s not gossiping if it’s true.” He shrugged. “If I’m telling the truth, it is merely making others aware. There’s a difference.” He paused, gesturing for her to hand over the bottle. She looked down at it again before handing it to him, rolling her eyes when his mouth spread into a wide grin. “Aziel made me look up the definitions.”
Of course he had.
They sat there in the still silence, both of them sprawled out on the lawn, with only the sound of wildlife to silence the thoughts that filled both of their minds. No matter how many times she glanced in Trio’s direction, his expression never changed. There was a certain melancholy that he carried around with him and now, it was seemingly more evident than ever.Aziel was not the cause of it, she knew that much. But there was something there—something deep in his soul that he had a hard time grasping.
“Have you ever been in love, Trio?”
The question rang out into the night. If he’d heard her, he made no move to signify that he did. It was an answer enough. She knew that silence and in turn, she gave him her own.
Nymiria wasn’t quite sure how much time passed when she heard the soft footfall coming from behind them. She turned her head to look at the figure approaching them, doing her best to ignore the sputtering of her heart and the sudden desire to glamour herself.She looked a mess, she was sure of it. She'd been laying there drinking with Trio for hours, she surely looked sloppy. But Aziel didn’t seem to notice. He didn’t even comment on it. All he did was sit beside her, his bright blue eyes never leaving her own.It continued this way far longer than she would have liked. Usually, by now, either one of them would’ve said something smart to one another. But something was different.
“Good morning,” Aziel smiled.
Andgood gods, he was beautiful.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. None of this was supposed to happen—this was not a part of her plan. She didn’t want to feel anything for him at all, but her heart and her soul came alive in his presence all at their own accord.
She smiled back, already knowing that he was aware that something was wrong. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes as much as she would have liked for it to. “Good morning.” She whispered.
“He’s been gossiping again, hasn’t he?”Nymiria shifted her gaze to Trio, who was still laid back and waiting for the sunrise.
She chuckled. “According to him, he was only spreading awareness.”
