“You live here?” I stumbled, taking it all in as he walked us through iron gates.
Even the weather was darker in his domain, oppressive and static, as if on the verge of a thunderstorm.
“Mhm,” he confirmed. “Do you like it?”
“It looks amazing.”
I felt embarrassed at the fact he’d been staying at my house when his usual residence was so opulent.
He placed a hand on my back again and guided me up the stairs and into the house.
“Let me show you to your room.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
He walked confidently through the house and I drank it in, surprised at how sleek everything was. Gray was chaotic and well kept — a walking contradiction. I didn’t know what I’d expected his home to be like, but I’d never imagined it like this.
Eventually, he stopped at a room.
“You’ll stay here,” he informed me. “If there’s anything you need, let me know. My room is down the hall if you find yourself lonely —”
“Don’t even think about it.”
He leaned down and placed a kiss on my neck, whispering, “I’m always thinking about it.”
Giving him a gentle shove, I got some distance, and Gray laughed heartily.
“Freshen up, and then I can show you around Elysia,” he said.
I did as he said, taking my time to scope the bedroom and en-suite. When I finished, I knew I should have found Gray, but I wanted to be nosey. What was his home like? What would the God who was destined to destroy everything want his residence to be?
Walking through the corridors, it came as no surprise that everything was decorated in black. Photo frames, chandeliers, door handles. Delicate filigree design touched corners and fixtures, giving the space an understated classiness. The floors were dark herringbone wood, and my footsteps echoed around me as I explored.
On the ground floor, I peeked into the rooms. A living room that was twice the size of mine, a study, and a library. I stopped at a large room that was completely empty aside from a single chair at the back and placed in the centre. Faint rays of sunlight broke through the clouds and filtered through the windows, bathing the room in a soft, golden glow.
“I should have known you couldn’t follow simple instructions.” A pair of arms snaked around me, and Gray’s chest was against my back. “Impressed?” he asked smugly.
“Wondering how you and your ego fit on that chair,” I shot.
“It’s a throne.”
In less than a second, he was sitting on it, and I was sitting on his lap.
“Stop that,” I scolded, but I rested against his body.
“My home, so we play by my rules,” he reminded me.
I looked out on the space again from the new vantage point. “Why do you even have a room like this? It’s not like you have mortals come up here.”
“No, but we all have one for special occasions. Birthdays and the like. We’ll use this room tomorrow for Cato’s gifting ball.”
I shifted in his arms to face him. But whatever words I’d prepared were lost. I’d seen Gray in casual clothing, and I’d seen him in what I’d considered formal clothing, but this was something else.
He was dressed in an ornately decorated doublet. Black on black and on his head, nestled against his tufts of dark hair, was a black crown.
“Do you approve, Quentin?” he asked, his nose running along my throat and making me turn pink.
He screamed royalty, and I couldn’t untangle my thoughts.
