“Hayce figured it out eventually,” Aric said. “His act didn’t match the feelings Hayce picked up through the pack bond. And after you left, Larik tried far too hard to become Hayce’s omega. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure he conveniently put himself in Hayce’s way during that fight, so Hayce couldn’t reach you first. Larik wanted you gone.”
That made Ehlian pause. If Hayce hadn’t reached that cell and 665—he couldn’t even begin to imagine. Couldn’t go there. Was he surprised, really? Larik worked for someone like Sandar. It was only natural he was as rotten as him.
“There wasn’t much we could do,” Aric went on. “But feeding Larik false information threw Sandar off for a while.”
When they reached the third floor, Aric stopped before a pair of towering double doors carved from dark wood and opened them.
Once Ehlian stepped inside, he realised it wasn’t just any room. It was Hayce’s bedroom… only, he was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is Hayce?”
“He should be back in about three hours.”
“Three hours?!” Ehlian gaped at him. “What’s so important that it can’t wait?”
“I don’t know.”
Ehlian gave him a puzzled look. “You’re his personal guard and you don’t know where he is?”
“I’m not involved in every aspect of his personal life.”
“So what… you want me to just wait for him here?”
Aric shrugged lazily. “Yes.”
Great. Calia and Aric wanted to torture him… and probably Hayce too. “Is Hayce testing me or something?”
“He doesn’t know you’re coming.”
This was getting better and better. “No one told him?”
“No.” Aric shrugged again, already halfway out of the room. “So make sure you don’t block your allure completely before he thinks there’s an intruder in his room. You’ve seen what he can do with his power.”
And then Aric was gone.
Was he always such an asshole?
Unsure what to do with himself, Ehlian walked around the room. There was not much to see, apart from the absurd wealth that oozed from every fitting. Other than that, everything was organised, simple and clean. Even Hayce’s desk held only a few minimal items.
Ehlian eyed the bar in the corner for a moment, considering whether he should have a drink. A small smile tugged at his mouth as he remembered nearly breaking a bottle over Hayce’s head in prison. As if that had ever been funny. The memory no longer held the same harshness. It felt like it had happened twenty years ago, rather than only two.
He walked to the bed. In prison, Hayce always slept on the left side, so he must have done the same here on Arox. Sitting down, Ehlian dragged his hands across the velvety cover. He set theVairbox on the nightstand and before he could give it any rational thought, he was kicking off his shoes and climbing under the blanket. Three hours was a long time, and he wasbloody tired. He had barely slept a second last night, rehearsing what he would say to Hayce over and over again. It wouldn’t hurt to sleep for just an hour, to have a sharper mind.
Surrounded by the scent of Hayce, it took him no time to fall asleep.
Chapter 23
Strong waves of power woke Ehlian from his dream, settling over his skin in layers of heat and cold, the sensations bleeding strangely into one another.
He opened his eyes to a slit, a blurred figure looming in his vision. Blinking sluggishly, the room came back into focus.
Hands buried deep in his pockets, Hayce stood by the bed, his dark eyes fixed on him. “You’re really something, Ehlian.”
His mind snapping back into gear, Ehlian sat up, raking a hand awkwardly through his hair. He met Hayce’s gaze, then immediately looked away. Everything he’d rehearsed last night was gone. His head was empty.Nowit was fucking empty.
And yet he couldn’t stop taking in Hayce, how the grey suit framed every line of him perfectly. The black holowatch curling around his wrist looked custom-made, tailored for him alone. Fuck, he looked impossibly good.
Clearing his throat, Ehlian reached for theVairbox, fidgeting with it between his fingers. “Your sister came to see me. She gave me this.”
