“He’s remarkable,” they said, their gaze locking with mine. My eyes heated at the comment, at the regard they gifted me. No one ever treated me like that. Like I mattered.
I sucked a swig of my tea to try to hide my blush, but I swallowed too fast and spluttered on it.
Sofia let out a laugh, the sound tinkling and elegant. “And it seems you’re good for him as well.”
“When’s Gretel get home?” Ursuline asked, taking a sip of their tea.
“Not for another few hours,” Sofia said. “She’s working later at Haven tonight. In the interim, have your tea, then crash in the guest bedroom. Find a way to relax a little. I’ll continue digging into the Triton family.”
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. When I’d been drawn into this mess in the first place, I’d felt so hopeless, so helpless. I didn’t have a community, just a family who didn’t want me and a revolving door of other individuals. This support Ursuline had from so many—a deep envy and admiration bloomed in my chest.
They placed a hand on my thigh again, their palm warm from clutching the mug. “For now, let’s settle with the tea.”
***
In the hours after we’d arrived, Ursuline and I hadn’t done much beyond drink the tea, stare out the window, and discuss random topics, none having to do with the overwhelming life change hanging over our heads.
Whenever I looked out the window, I half expected someone to be staring back at me. While Frederick didn’t have an army, I had the feeling he had more at his command than the guardswho’d milled around the mansion. Right now, all I saw was the streetlamp flickering outside and the occasional passersby focused on their destination, not peering in trying to find escapees.
“Come on,” Ursuline said, weaving their hand through mine. “Vigilance is good, but rest is better. Sofia set up a guest room for us.”
They led the way up the steps, which made discordant creaks underneath the weight of their tentacles as they climbed the length. My heart thundered. I was in a strange house, on the run, and yet I felt safer here than I had at the Triton Manor. Safer here than in my childhood home.
Sofia’s guest bedroom featured two cozy lamps that cast gentle amber beams and a massive bed with a gray comforter and fluffy pillows. The nightstand was a rustic dark brown, same as the bookshelves, which were filled with myriad of leatherbound tomes. The art on the walls featured gorgeous blooms in different arrays and patterns, the artist employing meticulous brushwork. I wandered closer to one of the frames and noticed that in the flowers themselves, there seemed to be markings like the ones on the door.
“Witch paintings aren’t just pretty to look at,” Ursuline said as they sank onto the mattress. “Sofia’s collection is a treasury of spells too.”
I let out a low whistle. “How come I never knew about this?”
“Your kind doesn’t like learning about monsters,” Ursuline said. “They prefer us to stay in our spaces, in our own communities.”
Guilt throbbed through me. They weren’t wrong. My parents were perfect examples of the ignorance humans employed, acting as if they were the only species that mattered. “We’re clearly missing out.”
“Come here,” they said, leaning back in the bed and patting the spot next to them. Heat flooded through me at the sight of them in the bed, along with a bone-deep ache. Every stolen moment with them, every time we’d fucked, all I’d wanted to do was curl up by their side afterward. To spend the night with them, in their arms.
We could never have done that while keeping things secret in Triton’s manor.
Yet here, we were…free.
A jittery rush of adrenaline shot through me, and I almost tripped over myself on the way to them. I toed out of my shoes and slipped onto the bed. A gravity hummed in the air, as if Ursuline understood the depth and meaning behind this moment as well. As if they’d been craving the same this whole time.
I didn’t even bother stripping out of my clothes. The exhaustion crept in like a misty fog, rolling in with enough intensity to smother. I settled next to Ursuline, and they didn’t hesitate. They slid their arm around my shoulders and drew me in. I’d checked my cage, which still fit snugly around my cock, and Ursuline’s hand wandered and gave me a light squeeze there. The possessiveness in the motion sent a hot spike of lust through me, even though exhaustion won out.
My cheek pressed against their chest, and I let out a shuddery sigh. Their scent of brine and currants wrapped around me, a comfort that I succumbed to, their natural warmth almost as intense as the cups of tea we’d had earlier.
“Did Sofia spike our tea?” I asked, my brows drawing together.
“Define spike,” Ursuline responded, a laugh exploding from them with a rumble in their chest I could feel. “She wouldn’t give you any drugs without consent, sunshine. But she chose an herbal for you that’s known to soothe.”
I cuddled into their side a little more, soaking in every second of this. “Can we sleep like this?”
“What, upright?” they teased, slumped against the backboard of the bed.
“No, together,” I murmured, my heart thumping hard.
“Of course,” Ursuline said, their tone hushed. “It’s something I didn’t think we’d ever get.”
I swallowed hard, and tears stung my eyes. I was so incandescently happy, but this sense of doom filtered in like blackened fog. As if this was a temporary gift before our bliss was stolen away. As if we’d dared the fates too much.
