“I actually very much can believe that.”
He shot her a look. “Oren likes to think he’s less dramatic than the rest of our siblings, but really he just likes to be dramatic from his woodland isolation.”
Elysia chewed on a muffin. “I could see that. I told him about the grid, and he said he’s going to come by.”
Aidan looked appalled. “You invited himhere?To ourhome?”
“No,hesaid he was going to stop by.” She set the muffin down as pain shot through her entire body. Gritting her teeth, her face betrayed nothing. She didn’t need Aidan swooping in. She remembered how he hadeasedher pain last time.
Still aghast, he grunted, “Very well. We’ll deal with that later. I imagine we’ll have to put up with the rest of them then too.”
“How else did you think it was going to work?”Ohmygods, I’m going to pass out.
Grimacing, he stood and stretched. “I was hoping to have the reapers set up viewing stations in all of their homes, and therefore, never have to see them.”
He was serious.Okay, then.
Elysia attempted to get up only for Aidan to make a sharp sound of disapproval as he flashed to her side. His hands gently guided her to standing.
“You really do smell like a fish,” he muttered.
She glared back over her shoulder. “I can do it myself.”
He looked down at her from over her head, dark hair falling onto his forehead as his fingers pressed firmly against her ribs. Little zaps of awareness shortened her breath, but she ignored it and wriggled free of his hands only for her good leg to collapse when a wave of dizziness rocked her. One arm under her shoulders and one banded beneath her knees, Aidan cradled her against his chest.
“Yes, you’re really doing it, aren’t you?”
Tipping her head back, her eyes narrowed. “I made it from my bedroom to here, and I can do it again.”
While it wasn’t a look she was familiar with, she would have almost described the soft exasperation on his face asfond.
“Really, Aidan, I just got a little dizzy, but I can get back to my room and wait for Maya.”
All traces of fondness disappeared, and his voice became a growl. “Maya is lucky I’m not allowed to throw her in my prison. Spineless witch disappeared right when she was needed.” Aidan’s anger washed over her, and Elysia silently allowed it, curious about how Maya fit into the death realm’s court.
But that seemed to be all he was going to say, his long strides smooth and efficient as he carried her through the house back to her room. The door swung open magically, and Aidan shook his head at the sight of her many piles of clothes strewn about, stopping abruptly to stare at the small collection of pens placed in a glass goblet like a trophy on her fireplace mantle.
“You do realize I’ve been blaming Grim for my disappearing pens.”
Elysia smiled innocently. “They’re just pens. Was I not supposed to borrow them?”
His eyelid twitched as he continued staring at her stolen goods. “Just pens,” he echoed, clearly wanting to snatch them all up and put them in their color-coded homes back in his office.
A shit-eating grin weaseled its way onto her face, and Aidan looked down at her, his blue eyes widening. “This is what you find funny? Torturing the anxious and organized?”
“Very much so.”
His voice deepened as he kicked the bathroom door open. “I’d throw you in the tub like a puppy if it weren’t for your damned ankle.”
Elysia made to tell him exactly what she thought of being compared to a dirty puppy, but then he was sliding her slowly, carefully down his front, giving her time to settle onto her good foot while still gripping his upper arms for support.
Her response died as she drank in the tortured look on his face. His words were a dark rumble. “I was awake all night imagining every terrible thing that could have happened to you, knowing I was powerless to stop it. I sat outside your door for hours, listening to you breathe. Please let me take care of you.”
Her brown eyes grew wider, her fingers digging into the strength of his arms.
“You have no idea what it does to me that you could be so easily broken, and I’mstuckhere while you wage this battle for us. Because war is coming, and I’m chained to my throne.” His lips were against her throat now, kissing softly, nipping as he came upon the juncture of her neck and shoulders.
Her eyes closed, chest moving of its own accord. She didn’t want this, couldn’t want this. She needed the lines to be stark. Him on one side and her on the other. He had done terrible things. His fingers inched beneath her sweater, warm and smooth against her skin, while his lips feathered lightly where he had nipped. Sensation flooded her, heating her from the inside out, and then he was tugging her sweater up and over her head, leaving her bare.
