“My parents are perfectly capable of arranging their own travel, and doing so would only slow us down when it will already take us too long to reach Mitis for the funeral. I’d never arrive in time for the funeral if I went to Areator.”
The bag fell from Aimilia’s hands and she whipped around to glare at him. “Stop saying us!”
Nikias watched her for a moment as she took slow, heaving breaths, hands curled into fists at her sides. He knelt down and began gently repacking the bag that was spilling out onto the floor. When he was done, he pushed himself back to his feet and held it out to her. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
She didn’t take the bag, so he set it at her feet and turned on his heel and left even though everything in him wanted to stay. Staying would do more harm than good. Aimilia wanted a fight, and he wasn’t going to give her one.
If she wouldn’t let him comfort her, then he needed to give her space. But he certainly wasn’t going to let her grief turn her irrational and have her doing something reckless like traveling alone when she was in such a state.
The next few hours passed by in a whirlwind as Nikias hunted down everyone he needed to in order to get his affairs in order. Finding and explaining to Gavril everything took far longer than it should have, Gavril only half-listening and when he was, outright glaring at Nikias. Nikias, however, didn’t have the time to waste figuring out what had Gavril in such a mood. He especially didn’t want to find out if it was because Aimilia had told him about their kiss, mostly because he didn’t want to imagine what she would have said to Gavril in that instance.
He didn’t think he’d ever have Gavril’s approval of his pursuit, but Nikias didn’t really care. Gavril hadn’t wanted her; he forfeited any right he had to an opinion on Aimilia’s love life when he chose another woman.
Konstantin was understanding about it all, and more than happy to work with Gavril while Nikias was gone. Nikias didn’t see Hypatia, thankfully. The last thing Nikias wanted was to get into it with her when he wanted to be able to give Aimilia his whole focus.
The sun had long since set by the time he had everything arranged for their departure in the morning and he was back at her door again, softly rapping his knuckles against the wood.
No response.
“Aimilia?”
Still nothing.
“I know you’re not happy with this, but you must see this is the only practical way to go about this. We both have to go, so we have to travel together.”
Nikias fell silent and pressed his ear to the door. He couldn’t hear any movement on the other side.
He was going to kill her.
Nikias tried the doorknob and it was locked. His fingers flew into a rune and the metal pieces hit the floor with a clatter. He’d apologize to Konstantin for destroying the doorknob later.
He pushed the door open to see Aimilia’s completely empty room.
The window was, of course, open.
Nikias swore under his breath and turned on his heel.
If he didn’t love her half as much as he did, he’d have long since given up.
Chapter 34
AIMILIA
Aimilia wasn’t as foolish as her current plan of action might lead the outside observer to believe.
As she rode through the night on a horse she snuck out of the Desero stables, she was aware she was only buying time and there would be hell to pay when Nikias caught up to her.
And he would catch up to her.
She’d bought herself the majority of a day at most. A few hours at worst.
But she needed them.
She’d spent the first few days after her and Nikias’ kiss focusing on Marcella, mostly so she could avoid thinking about it and to assuage the gripping guilt that was suffocating her from even letting Nikias near her after everything he’d done. Even more decimating was the guilt that she’d wanted him to, and a little part of her wanted him to do it again.
Then the messenger had arrived.
Aimilia’s guilt had evolved into something darker.
