He shrugs one shoulder. "Well, I would ask if you want to move in with me, but you already do. So, I'm moving you into my room."
I cross my arms, "Is that so?"
"Do you have any objections?"
"One."
"Name it."
I puff out my bottom lip. "What will I do when I get mad at you? Do I get to go back to the guest room?"
He digs his fingers into my hips, securing me in his lap. "Be angry all you like,Strenlys, but don't run away. No more running. We already know I'll chase you. Let's save us both the trouble."
"Fine," I succumb. "No more running."
"Good."
I reluctantly slide off of him and make my way to my closet to slip into a silk nightdress. I might be dreading him and I parting ways tomorrow and want to take advantage of what time we have left, but if I don't sleep, I'll regret it in the morning. And I know he won't make the first move to sleep, so I have to be mature for the both of us. I slip behind my changing curtain and undress.
"Make sure Nyx doesn't do anything stupid," his voice rings out, and I sense his worry. "As much as he annoys me, I love the idiot."
"I doubt you need to worry about Nyx doing anything brash." I make quick work of stepping into a silk nightdress. "He's traveling with me, Thrane, and Sylvane."
"All the more reason to watch him." I hear Atlas padding around the room, undressing for bed. "Nyx has never been good with authority. Now that he has a dragon I fear he will be insufferable."
A laugh escapes my lips as I finish dressing. "He will be fine." I circle around the curtain barefoot and spot Atlas leaning against the balcony railing. Like every night, his shirt is nowhere to be found, and his sleep pants hang low on his hips. My heart leaps to my throat and my lower belly aches. Suddenly sleep no longer interests me.
"Enough talk of Nyx," I approach him, swaying my hips side to side. "It's our last night together for a while and I don't intend to waste it."
"Oh?" His muscles tense with each step I take. "What did you have in mind, love?"
I tap my fingers to my lips, a coy smile overtaking my face. "I've never made love on a balcony before."
His hand slides up the fabric of my short nightdress and pauses between my thighs. "Until tonight."
I run my fingers through his hair, my breath already fragmented by his featherlight touch. "What if someone sees us?" I whisper, overlooking the city below.
"I'm not shy." Is all he says before he pins me to the cold outer wall and claims me beneath the stars.
Nine
Shaye
Saying goodbye to Atlas is one of the hardest things I've had to do. We've submersed ourselves in a healthy routine. I dread sleeping in our bed without him beside me. It's not just security he offers but a comfort I've not felt before. Even when I was in Midori with no knowledge of everything I know now, I didn't experience the peace Atlas provides. His absence will be a chasm.
He kisses me one last time, whispering sweet affections in my ear before boarding the ship headed to Tronovia with Finn, Eris, and Ronan. With them, Thrane is sending a group of elite Frost Elves in case Bastian or Vesper make attempts at attacking them on the journey home. The fear I might never see them again strikes me as my nightmares resurface, but I shove those horrors out of my mind and wave as their ship drifts farther across the icy lake.
Once we can no longer see our friends, Nyx and I make our way back through the bustling city of Elowen. Somehow, in the midst of countless faces, I feel lonely.
Nyx bumps me with his shoulder, drawing my attention. "Don't be so glum, Kitarni. We'll see them in a few days."
I offer a feeble smile and nod. "I know. It just… it just feels weird watching them sail away without us."
Nyx laughs. "I'd argue we got the better deal in the travel department." He points at the bakery I beelined for when we first set foot on Elowen shores a month ago. "Breakfast? My treat."
I nod, my stomach growling the second I smell the delicious pastries waft toward us. I could use a treat right about now, especially with Nyx's first day of dragon flying later this morning.
With a blueberry tart in my possession, and Nyx devouring his chocolate scone, we make the long trek to Fendruil. I wish I could say I've grown accustomed to the frigid temperatures, but until I've spent a few minutes soaring with Seraxes, it takes forever for me to warm up. Nyx is the opposite. He complains of sweating the moment we approach the dragon enclosure and if my mother permitted him to forgo his new dragon leathers, he would strip to his underwear. It's a wonder no one noticed the signs of his ancient Basilius blood before. He might look like a Tronovian and act like a Tronovian, but his body regulation is Basilius through and through.
