Pia’s pink manicured fingers caressed my shoulder. “You are not the worst. Not even close. We all do things we regret when emotions are high. That's a part of being mortal.”
“I guess,” I huffed out before rising to my feet. “On that depressing note, I’m leaving.” I made for the door, needing to get as far away from this conversation as possible.
“Maeve,” Pia called out for me. “What did Sawyer say to you in Caelestis?”
Coming to a halt, I turned my neck to see her strawberry hair as she brushed it over her shoulders. “It doesn’t matter now.”
She huffed a breath through her nose, but accepted my choice to not share that information. “Well if you want my advice, next time Sawyer tries to tell you, just let him. I’ve been in his position before, and it's brutal. The least you can do is let him say what he has to say, then move on.”
With the brass doorknob in my hand, I nodded, then pulled it open, revealing Kohen with his fist raised like he was about to knock.
“Kohen!” Pia screeched, stomping towards the door. “You ass! Were you eavesdropping?”
He scratched his head. “Yeah, and I wish I wasn’t after hearing what you two were talking about.” He turned to me. “A word of advice, don't listen to her.” He pointed at Pia. “If she ever asked me to screw another guy, they’d both be dead.”
“I definitely don’t plan on taking her up on that suggestion.”
Pia crossed her arms, huffing a breath as she tapped her bare foot in Kohen's direction. “I can't believe you.”
“Why? This is my room, too, and you two have been shut in here for an hour!” he answered, striding right past me and stopping in front of her.
“How long were you out there?” she questioned him, rising on her tiptoes to get in his face.
“Long enough to hear you call Sawyer hot,” he scoffed.
Her mouth clamped shut, though it fought back a testing smirk.
While the two of them were busy bickering, I let myself out and shuffled down the hall, almost considering returning to the arena to see if Sawyer was still there, but deciding against it.
After a slightly discombobulated walk, I made it back to my room. I was surprised to see that Sebastian was awake and sitting in the armchair, his glasses on the bridge of his nose,which was hiding behind the book we were looking at before I left.
He looked up when he heard me, his smile immediately fading when he saw the glum look on my face.
He slammed the book shut, laying it on the arm of the chair. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I bent over to remove my boots, working my drunken fingers to try and undo the damn laces.
“Maeve, I don’t know if you know this, but you're a horrible liar.”
I grunted and stumbled trying to pull the first boot off. I narrowly caught my footing, then started working on the other side.
“Did you train so hard that you can no longer stand properly?” Sebastian chuckled.
“No,” I grumbled, tossing my boot aside then kicking the other one so it followed.
Without another word, I showed myself to the washroom. I lifted my shirt to my nose, deciding it smelt too much like wine to continue wearing, then taking it off and tossing it on the edge of the washbasin.
I washed my hands and retied my hair back into a half-assed braid, then reemerged from the washroom in my bra. I stumbled a little over the transitional wood separating the two rooms, but caught myself after a brief hesitation to comprehend what had even happened.
I felt Sebastian's gaze settle heavily on me. It turned out it was because he was hovering right over me. I straightened my posture to look into the raised eyebrow that peered through the lens of his glasses.
“Are you drunk?” he asked, his tone mildly accusatory with a hint of entertainment.
I shook my head more vigorously than a sober person would. “Nope.”
He leaned forward, putting his lips to mine, sucking them into a teasing kiss. “You taste like wine,” he whispered as he pulled away.
My shoulders shrugged as I tried to walk past him, but he put his hands around my upper arms, halting my motions.
