Trio was looking around the room, confused when he followed Aziel’s gaze to the buffet. Nymiria swore at herself silently, debating on whether or not a knife to that precious little vein in her neck would be better than having to face this humiliation.
“Nymiria.” Aziel sighed. “Would you like to help us with something a bit more grand than peeking through cracked doors and hiding behind furniture?”
Fuck.
Nymiria closed her eyes, doing her best to regulate her breathing before she slowly pushed her weight up with her legs, her back dragging against the wall until she was fully erect and glaring at him. “You want me to spy on Everand for you?” She asked bitterly, but most of that bite was towards herself and her own foolishness.
Aziel shrugged. “He’s beenbeggingto spend time with you.”
She considered him for a moment, glancing between him and Trio as she mulled over their conversation. Aziel had stated nearly two days prior that he didn’t trust Everand, even insinuating that the camps had rewired the way his young mind had once operated. She also remembered just how condescending Everand sounded when he grabbed Aziel’s shoulder, the fire in his eyes when he turned to look at him.
Nymiria had always wanted to do something good—something helpful. She’d been successful in her last few attempts, with Aziel’s help. Perhaps it was the need to redeem herself, her desire to give back to the people she put in harm's way. She slowly began to nod her head. “Alright,” she sighed. “I’ll do it.”
Their eyes were locked, wordless phrases being passed between the two of them. Aziel was smug, seemingly rather proud of himself. And she…
Well, he just seemed to enjoy humiliating her and though she deserved it, it still made her want to deliver a swift punch right to the center of his chest.
Finally, Aziel looked away from her and refocused his attention on an open-mouthed Trio, his eyes raised at the corners, smiling. “There. Now we have a spy.” He stated simply, pouring more of that amber liquid into his glass. “I will give you more of a plan tomorrow morning when I’ve had time to think.”
Trio gave a nod and rose to his feet. Before he left the room, he turned to where Nymiria was still plastered to the wall behind the buffet, he gave her a wink and mouthed “good luck”, and then he was gone.
Tension coated every wall in that room, neither Aziel nor Nymiria having the bravery to address the other first. She kept staring at her hands, wringing her fingers, and wondering why the hell she just hadn’t left that room when she had the chance to.
Everand had been her friend, certainly, but there was still a very tender place inside of her that made her wonder if this was the right thing to do. If Everand had been in the camps, he’d probably experienced and witnessed things that left him scarred. Not much different from Aziel and herself. A part of her almost felt guilty.
“You can feel guilty if we are wrong about our assumptions.” Aziel said, finally. “But until we can determine whether or not he is intentionally trying to stab us in the back, I need you to think of this as ajob.” Nymiria chewed at her lip. “I am being very serious. I know that your integrity means a lot to you, and if you do not believe you are capable of this, I need you to tell me now.”
“Is there anyone else that could possibly get close to him?” She asked, just out of curiosity.
Aziel walked back to the drink table and put the decanter back in its place. “I’m sure it’s possible, but he’s had his sights set on you the moment he saw you in the dining hall.”
There was that silence again. One filled with so many thoughts and questions that Nymiria could not figure out which one she should ask first. When she began to crawl out from behind the buffet, Aziel was there, offering her his hand for assistance. She eyed him, unsure at first, and then took his help, allowing him to help her back onto the other side.
“Dick measuring contest?” She hummed, arching her brow at him. Aziel flashed her one of his various menacing grins, not even remotely ashamed, but said nothing as he watched her walk across the room and snatch up his half-empty glass. She took a swallow, coughed, and placed the glass back onto the table.
“Did you have trouble sleeping?” He asked, the air around them suddenly tinged with something somber.
Nymiria closed her eyes, keeping her back to him. “I don’t like my room.”
“Why?”
She shrugged, refusing to give him the actual answer. She hoped there might come a day when she could trust him with that information, but it felt safer buried deep in her chest. Saying it out loud made it real, made her look just as pathetic as she already felt. “I just don’t like it.”
The response hung heavy between them. She already wished she could have taken it back and lied and said that she was just snooping around—it would have been believable.
“If it bothers you so,” Aziel started. “You can always come here. I can sleep elsewhere or on the floor.”
“I don’t want to put you out.” She sighed, finally turning to him. His eyes moved over her face, hovering on the pink hue that had settled in her cheeks.
He shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. “You aren’t putting me out. It’s not an inconvenience to me at all; I know how night terrors can be.”
Nymiria knew that he wasn’t just saying that to make her feel better. She didn’t expect for him to not experience some form of residual horror from all that he’d experienced. Over the course of her life, having survived what she’d survived, it was hard to escape memories when you had no control over your thoughts. Night was the worst time of day for people like them. She didn’t see that there was anything wrong about two broken people doing all they could to bring comfort to the other.
As the quiet stretched, both of them locked in their own minds, Nymiria slowly made her way towards his sleeping chambers. Aziel was still lingering by the buffet, his gaze like a hot branding iron as she passed by. “Though I will say, you’ve already broken the most important rule of sharing a space with me, moonflower.”
She stilled, mulling over what he said before she turned to face him again, her brow raised. “And what is that?”
He moved closer to her, so close that his stomach brushed against her arm when he leaned towards the partially-closed door and knocked on it. “Knockon closed doors.” He whispered. His eyes were hooded, focused on her lips. Nymiria clenched her jaw and swallowed. “Old habits die hard, I suppose.”
