His mouth twitched, half-grim.
“Though I’m not pleased she’s already gone to him…”
Gabriel blurted, “They didn’t.”
Storne turned sharply. “They didn’t?”
“I mean they thought about it, but—”
“But?”
“They decided against it.”
“They decided…”
For a long moment Storne only studied him, unreadable.
Then his brow eased.
He clasped Gabriel’s shoulder, grip firm.
“I find myself warming to your friend more every day.”
Some of the tension bled from Gabriel’s chest.
Storne turned to leave, voice trailing softer.
“You will allow me to tell him—that is an order. Captain Seraphim has much to reckon with if he means to cross the threshold from soldier to consort.” His voice lowered with memory. “Stars above, do I know it.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Gabriel waited until Storne’s door closed before turning for his own. At his chamber he lingered, hand on the knob. The corridor behind him lay steeped in stillness, yet the weight of the night pressed heavy.
He thought of Jasmine—her sharp smile, the scent of starflower in her hair, the fire in her parting kiss. Some wounds didn’t bleed, but they hollowed a man all the same.
His gaze drifted once more toward Viktor’s door.
“Don’t ruin this, Viktor. For both our sakes.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Go Back and See
Blood had called to blood, and at last Viktor heard the answer.
Viktor lay on his back, arms at his sides. Amerei had shifted in her sleep, her hip still warm against his, her shoulder brushing his own.
His breath came shallow, uneven.
Sleep dragged him under, and the roots of the Aetherheart tree closed around him once more.
The sky darkened.
Rain poured down, soaking his hair, blinding his eyes. He pushed through the tangle of spindly roots, voice breaking through the storm.
“Who brings me here? Show yourself!”
A voice stirred in the branches—one he did not know.
