We were just Rain and Sin. Two lost souls who had finally found a home.
Chapter thirty-eight
Sin and I spent the rest of the night alternating between talking and continuing to explore how well I could restrain my fire when things got heated. I never quite got the control down, but damn did I enjoy the practice.
I told him about Jenni and Opal, and he told me about his crescia, Cardis. When I asked to meet him, Sin just said Cardis was gone, and I thought it best not to push.
He told me about how him and Dey grew into their powers together once Sin arrived at the palace, and how they used to be brothers in the way that Jenn and I were sisters. When I told him about the conversation between Dey and my father, he grew quiet for a long while, but if Sin had any insight as to why Dey was supposed to seduce me, he didn’t share it.
At some point we fell asleep in each other's arms, and it was only the thin dagger of morning light slicing through the gap in the curtains that woke me. I had one of Sin’s legs nestled between my own and his arm was securely wrapped around mymiddle. I might have stayed in his bed all day, but mother nature called, and I had to answer.
When I came out of his bathroom, he was sitting up with the sheets loosely draped around his waist and sporting some of the sexiest bedhead I’d ever seen.
“Good morning,” I said, trying to hide how awkward I felt. So much had happened last night, but I still feared he might not feel the same in the harsh light of day.
“Good morning, Fea Remia,” he said, his eyes raking over my naked body. He gave me a wickedly seductive grin.
“Stop doing that,” I said, gripping the door frame for support.
“Stop what?” he asked, his hand slipping beneath the sheets.
“All of that! You’re using your sexy voice, but I need to go back to my room. I left Jenni and Opal alone all night, and I have to make sure they’re okay. Breakfast at some point would be nice, too. So no seductive smirks or trying to lure me back into your arms.” I paused, then added, “At least not right now.” I gave him a knowing smile with the promise of many more nights together.
Sin slid out from under the sheets and tossed me my robe before pulling on his breeches. “Here,” he offered, handing me one of his long-sleeved black tunics. “It’s an older one of mine, so hopefully no one will recognize it. Maybe after breakfast you can meet me at Corym’s office.”
“Why?” I had planned to visit the scholar so he could fix my language issue, but I didn’t know why Sin needed to be there.
He tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear and kissed me. “I want to take you into Civi Obsura. I know a way out of the castle that leads directly there, and it’s near his office.”
“Okay,” I said, kissing him back, vacillating between excitement and nervousness about going into a city again. “I’ll meet you down there shortly.” He tried to pull me into a deeper kiss, but I knew where that would lead so I smacked his bare chest. “Later,” I scolded as I cracked the door open. When I sawthe hall was clear I made a beeline to my room before I lost all willpower and jumped back in his bed.
After confirming Jenni and Opal were safe, though a little irritated that I was gone all night, I showered and dressed in Sin’s tunic. I took a quick sniff of his shirt and nearly collapsed as his scent hit me. Either he lied about it being old, or my sense of smell really was heightened, because all I discerned was pure, undiluted Sin.
I pulled on a pair of soft purple leggings and my chucks, then spent a few minutes with Jenni and Opal, letting them play in my hair and chew on my shoe strings. I kept an ear out and shuffled them under the bed when I heard footsteps approaching.
Without knocking, the sisters breezed into my room, and Kiahna started in on my braid while Niahna made the bed. While they worked, I let my mind wander back to my time with Sin. I’d never had a night like that before, and I couldn’t shake the tiny fear that I might not have one again.
It wasn’t just about the sex either, as mind-blowing as that had been—the pleasant soreness between my thighs could attest to that. More than the physical intimacy, was the connection I felt when I was with him. Like I could tell him anything and not worry about his judgment. He had spent a long time tracing my ramentum, and even though he confirmed it was unheard of to have a color mixed in, he also said that it didn’t mean it was a bad thing or that I was a freak.
“Never be afraid of how special you are,” he'd told me.
Sometimes I really wished I could see myself the way he did.
When the sisters were finished, I shooed them out of the room so I could say goodbye to Jenni and Opal.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t come with me,” I said, staring into the mirror so I could see both of them nestled on top of my head. I didn’t know if it was possible, but Jenni appeared a little bigger this morning, and it was getting a bit rough on my neck to have both of them up there.
“Jenni protect Rain.”
“I know you want to protect me, but right now I can’t let anyone know about you. So will you please stay here?”
I attempted to pull her from my hair, but she clung tightly, and all I managed to do was ruin my braid.
I crossed my arms in front of me and glared at them in the mirror. “You have five seconds to get out of my hair, or I’m taking Opal back to the Sylvarium. Your choice.” It was an empty threat of course, but they didn’t need to know that.
I thought Jenni would call my bluff when I felt her claws gripping and releasing my hair like she couldn’t decide. Eventually, she let out a tiny wisp of flame and flew back over to the nightstand where a few nuts and seeds still remained. She gave me a derisive chuff and started eating. Opal, ever the faithful sidekick, took her cue from Jenni and did the same.
I shook my head. “Why do I feel like a parent with two petulant toddlers?”
