Nuri milked a glass of his own, standing on the outskirts chatting with a visiting Royal from a nearby planet. The man had kept him busy for the past ten or so minutes, engrossed in his own recollection of a beach trip he’d taken once that had ended in tragedy.
“I told him not to swim that deep,” the older man tsked. “He didn’t listen.”
“Yes, I’ve heard razors are prevalent in Synastry waters,” Nuri supplied absently, trying not to make it too obvious that he was sneaking glances across the room where the Emperor stood surrounded by a small gathering.
One of the women said something to him, and even went as far as to lightly rest her fingers against his arm, and Silver threw his head back and laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d heard in the whole damn galaxy.
Nuri’s fingers tightened on the flute, but he was more frustrated at his own reaction than by what he was witnessing.
Mostly.
“It’s their long winters,” Geoff, the man standing next to Nuri, said, oblivious to his distraction. “Tricks people into thinking the razors are hibernating or whatever. Monsters like that don’t sleep though.”
Nuri hummed, though he didn’t agree.
Razors were aquatic animals with three mouths and scales as sharp as knives. They were carnivorous and not picky when it came to food. They survived exclusively on the planet Synastry, where the waters were frigid most of the year, leaving them weakened and sluggish, though that didn’t mean they wouldn’t attack if presented with easy prey.
They were hardly monsters though.
If Geoff knew the real monster was currently in the room with them, how would he react?
If he knew how Nuri felt about said monster, despite knowing exactly what he was, would he tell this story to a stranger at a boring party some day in the future?
The story of a secretary falling for his boss?
Tale as old as time.
But with the added details of the boss being an Imperial and insane…
Nuri drained his glass in one go and slammed it onto a passing tray. The waiter carrying it momentarily paused long enough for him to pluck up a fresh one, but he exercised self-restraint and only took a delicate sip from it.
Across the room, Silver laughed again, this time at a pretty male brunette who was standing far too close to be considered appropriate.
Their fight two days ago was still fresh on Nuri’s mind, but Silver had greeted him that evening and acted like nothing had happened. They’d sat at the dinner table and eaten in relative silence, then the Emperor had excused himself to his study to work.
Nuri had gone to bed, in Silver’s room as usual, but he’d spent the night there alone.
Last night had been no different.
It was almost as if they’d gone back in time to before he’d tried handing in his resignation letter. They were polite, orbited around one another, but that was all. Hell, the man sidling up to Silver’s side right now had gotten more physical contact than Nuri had in over five-two hours.
Not that he was counting.
At the end of the day, it was impossible not to realize that he’d hurt Silver’s feelings. Which was shocking in and of itself, considering how few the Emperor had. But no matter how right Nuri had been to voice his grievances, he couldn’t help but feel…bad.
They’d argued before, of course. Ten years together had given them ample opportunity. But now that the dust had settled and he’d been given proper time to think more clearly, Nuri recognized that Silver had tried being vulnerable with him.
And Nuri had shit all over it.
…Could he really be blamed though?
What was he supposed to tell his siblings if he accepted Silver’s offer? How was he meant to reassure them? Nate barely accepted the fact they were lovers, there was no way he’d trust that Silver actually cared for Nuri enough to treat him the way a Royal Consort should be treated.
Hadn’t Silver himself sort of eluded to that much on his own? He’d said nothing would change. That they’d go on as they have been. Meaning all he wanted was to slip that title around Nuri’s neck like a noose.
No matter what his misguided thoughts happened to be, that wasn’t love.
Nuri would never approve if Nate or Neve came to him and admitted they were settling down for anything less than true, honest love.
