Just by looking at him, it seemed as if he were merely asking a question out of sheer curiosity. But Nymiria knew him. She knew that what he’d told her, all those months ago, still stood. If Aziel was anything, he was devoted. Loyal to a fault, and even beyond that. It made that ache in her chest feel as if all of the air had been squeezed from her lungs. “Does it matter?” She asked, scoffing, already regretting how the words sounded before they even left her mouth.
Aziel faced her then, smoothing a tendril of hair back and away from his forehead. “No,” he smiled. “No, I suppose it doesn’t.” He stood in front of her, both of them staring at one another in a tense silence until he cleared his throat. “Excuse me. I’d prefernotto use the balcony as an escape route today, if you don’t mind.”
Nymiria blinked out of her stupor, nearly jumping out of his way. She watched his retreating form with narrowed eyes, her heart thrumming quickly in her chest.
“I almost forgot,” His voice echoed from the dining room to where she stood, but she dared not seek him out. “If the nightmares get bad again, my door is always unlocked.”
She spent the majority of the day debating on whether or not she should look around. Eventually, Nymiria figured that becoming used to her surroundings was better than subjecting herself to only three rooms at all times. Even when she had first visited Eadyn, he’d only ever allowed her to be in his rooms. She never wandered and while he’d neverspecificallyforbidden her frombecoming familiar with his home, she felt as if it was some sort of unspoken rule—like she was uncovering secrets about him that he did not want her to know.
Mindlessly wandering the halls of Aziel’s home felt oddly intimate. She tried her best to look at everything with a distinct sort of disdain that separated her from him, but everywhere she looked and everything she saw was just a piece of him placed in random corners and hanging on the walls. She’d come to learn that he had an extensive rock collection. Or…gemcollection, rather. They were everywhere, either hanging from the ceiling like shimmering mobiles or placed obscurely along the windowsills.
The paintings that hung on his walls were dark and beautiful—pictures of gods and goddesses, pictures of gardens and crows and every odd thing that one could possibly think of. If it hadn’t been for the pale stone walls and flooring, his palace would have been utterly terrifying to navigate.
She climbed the stairs, following the distant sounds of laughter and shouted curses with a shadow of a smile lingering on her face.
“You asshole!” Trio exclaimed, his loud laugh booming through the silence of the hall. Nymiria drew closer to the doorway, leaning against the threshold with her arms crossed. Aziel hid his smile with a set of cards, his eyes gleaming in Trio’s direction. “I think you’re cheating.”
Aziel reared back, his brow furrowed. “You are the one dealing the cards!”
The other male shrugged as he frowned down at his own hand, obviously displeased. “You’re the god here. How do I know you aren’t doing some kind of sorcery on the deck?”
“I would have had all of your money two hours ago—that’s how.”
“Youdohave all of my money!”
“Then why are we still playing? Because, to be frankly honest with you, I don’t want what you’re offering.” Aziel placed his cards face-down on the table, eyes turning to where Nymiria was standing. The smile on his face slipped just slightly, but quickly flashed to something smug. Her cheeks heated in response. She righted herself, hands tangling in front of her. “Spying?” He hummed.
Nymiria scoffed, slowly sauntering into the room. “I’d hardly call it spying. The door was open.” She plopped herself into the chair farthest away from him, using Trio as a wall between them. Their interaction from earlier ran through her mind, tension gathering in her shoulders. Aziel gave her a curious look when she took Trio’s glass of whiskey and allotted herself a small sip. “Is there room for another player?”
Aziel smirked at her, his hand flexing in his gloves before pouring another glass of amber liquid into an empty glass and sliding it in her direction. “Depends. Are you going to pretend you don’t know how to play?”
Though she pretended to be unfazed, her irritation was palpable to everyone in the room. She lifted her shoulder lazily in response. “Depends. Is your brother around for me to flirt with?” She shot back.
Something wild flickered in Aziel’s eyes, his whole body seeming to grow larger as she peered at him from across the table. She hid the raised hairs on her arms by crossing them, arching her brow in his direction. “Still planning on killing him?”
Her lips pursed, a satisfaction coursing through her like a warm balm. “Change of plans, remember?”
Nymiria didn’t miss the slight tick of his jaw, nor the way his fingers tapped impatiently along the glass of whiskey in front of him. She lifted her own glass to her lips, letting the drinkslide down her throat and warm her belly. Between them, Trio bristled uncomfortably. “Should I see myself out?” He asked.
“No.” The word was spoken by both of them, their eyes meeting and then moving away from one another immediately.
Again, Trio expressed his discomfort. “I feel like I am intruding.”
“You were here first.” Aziel snapped.
Trio moved to stand. “Then, I suppose I should also be the first toleave.”
Nymiria reached for his hand, offering him a warm smile as she tugged him back in the direction of his chair. “Stay.” She begged. “Please?”
The shadow wielder glanced between the two of them, eyes snagging on Aziel’s. Nymiria didn’t know what unheard conversation passed between the two of them, but no sooner than the curiosity bloomed inside of her, did Trio slowly move back into his seat. He didn’t fidget, but was so still that something was obviously and laughably wrong with him. Nymiria reached for the cards, gathering them in her hands and straightening the deck. “I’ll deal.” She sighed.
Round after round passed with ease. Aziel’s body relaxed significantly, his laugh returned whenever Trio would lose (which was more often than not). But when Trio finally won back half of his losses, his eyes were red with liquid happiness, eyes droopy and his mouth permanently fixed into a drunken smile. Aziel practically forced him to return to his rooms, threatening to cheat if they played another round.
He left them in a sulking fashion, attempting a sad, round-eyed look at Nymiria before he finally left the room.
Nymiria was still nursing her second drink. She’d taken it rather slow, already knowing that being inebriated would not benefit her in any way at all. She would surely make a fool of herself. There was a pleasant, comforting heat thrumming inher veins, relaxing her muscles that were threatening to tense in response to Aziel’s gaze.
He was still blindly shuffling the cards, his lips swollen and pink. Nymiria couldn’t help staring at them. Not when they looked so inviting. As much as she should have been ashamed, she simply did not have the resolve to care.
