Heads turned towards them constantly, watching their every move. Whether it was because of him—his status in the Underworld always garnered him a bit of extra attention—or her—because she was a novelty and because she looked so fucking stunning in that dress—he didn’t know.
Either way, he found it unsettling, and he wanted to tuck her back into him for protection—but he didn’t. He knew he couldn’t appear too fond of her. He couldn’t let on that basically every waking thought he had revolved around her and that the only time he truly felt whole and peaceful was in her presence.
No, they couldn’t know that he was hers. But hecouldshow them she was his.
He reached over possessively, grabbing her around the waist and tilting the cup of woodwater to her lips.
She arched a brow up at him in question.What was he doing?
He let a wolfish grin spread across his face.Just play along, he communicated.
She parted her rose petal lips just a tad, and he poured the woodwater past them into her mouth. She swallowed it, licking the remnants off her lips, and his eyes tracked the movement.
Fuck, maybe that had been a bad idea. He felt all the blood in his body rush to his dick, and now all he could think about was filling that sweet, sweet mouth of hers with other things.
“Already causing a scene, I see,” Steig said, breaking Ty’s trance as he and Lara approached them.
“You look stunning,” Lara said to Ena, smiling widely as she went to her. “Trysh really outdid herself with that one. It suits you.”
“Thank you,” Ena replied. “You look amazing too,” she said, her eyes roving over Lara’s blood-red ensemble. Ty would admit, it did bring out the color of her auburn hair well. A beautiful woman, his cousin. Inside and out.
He turned to Steig. “Bet you’ll be having fun tonight,” he said, winking at the man. He knew the two of them ordinarily had trouble keeping their hands off one another, let alone when they were all dressed up and surrounded by everyone’s lust at a big gathering like this.
Steig grabbed his shoulder, turning them so they faced slightly away from where Ena and Lara were chatting. “You have no fucking idea how hard it is dealing with my own lust right now. Please do your best to keep yours in check, hm? For me,” he said through gritted teeth, a pleading look on his face.
Ty laughed, deep and full. “No promises, brother,” he said, clapping the man on the shoulder.
Just then, Turner approached them, a slight furrow on his fair brows. “Apologies in advance, Ty,” he said quickly, giving him a wide-eyed look, before revealing who trailed after him.
His parents, Ty’s aunt and uncle. Zak and Jyn.
“Ty,” Zak greeted simply as he approached them.
“Uncle Zak, Aunt Jyn,” he replied politely, bending to give his aunt a brief kiss on the cheek, her perfectly manicured brown hair brushing his forehead in the process.
“This must be the new witch-slave I’ve heard so much about,” Jyn said, giving Ena a once-over with her ice-blue eyes. It was true that Turner mostly took after Zak, but his eyes, those were all Jyn. Except where Turner’s were innocent and kind, hers were shrewd and calculating, and she turned their full force on Ena. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in the presence of a witch,” she said, not unkindly. “Tell me, what do you think of the Underworld?”
Ena glanced sideways at Ty, as if checking to see if responding was a good idea—a smart move, both to illustrate her subservience, but also because she was still learning the rules here, and she clearly didn’t want to offend. He nodded gently at her, indicating it was alright to speak.
“It’s…impressive,” she answered, holding the woman’s stare confidently, their blue eyes locked on one another.
“Hm,” Jyn responded, sounding intrigued by Ena’s response. “And what about it impresses you?”
“The ingenuity,” Ena replied, not skipping a beat now. “Especially the aqueducts. I’ve never seen anything like them before.”
Jyn’s face lit up.
Damn, what a genius response. Did Ena know that Jyn’sdiluviwas Imbued into the aqueducts? That it was her Power to create and manipulate water that was currently being used to circulatethe hot springs water throughout the Underworld? Or was that a happy accident?
“Yes, that is most impressive, isn’t it?” Jyn replied, a pleased smile on her face. Flattery would get you everywhere with Jyn.
Zak, who wasn’t much of a talker and generally preferred to listen and judge silently with hismendacium, cleared his throat and drew the group’s attention back to him. “I simply came to remind you, Ty, that Cole has requested your presence. He requires an update on your progress.”
“Of course,” Ty said, forcing a congenial smile to his face. “We’ll make our way over.”
Zak nodded at him before turning to his son. “Turner,” he said, “I trust your…responsibilities have been keeping you busy, but I need to speak to you soon about a new addition.”
“Yes, Father,” Turner responded, sounding resigned as Zak and Jyn walked away, making their way towards the dais where Cole awaited on his throne.
