Page 34 of Petals for Vicious Secrets

Lenna

Apillow on top of Lenna’s ears made it easier to ignore the music the deliseen had started playing in an unsuccessful attempt to wake her up. She was almost succeeding to sleep through the knocks on the door of her chambers at the Organ House. Her sleepy brain and the fog that the myster from the previous night had implanted there were surely helping, and this bed. This incredible bed must have come straight from the Fifth’s source.

Lenna almost screamed when she felt the tickling sensation on her forearm as silver ink appeared. With a tremendous effort to half-open one eye, she read:

Lenna let out a growl and shouted across the room to make sure it reached the door: “Look who has learned a new way to make my existence miserable.”

“I’m not joking. How dare you be so irresponsible,” Ayla shouted through the door. Oh, she was pissed. Ayla was very well pissed and Lenna stood up with a silent laugh and a big grin.

Lenna yawned as loudly as she could and immediately heard a stomp and some more angry door-banging. “I swear if I’m late because I’ve been chasing you…” Almost boring how easy it was to piss Ayla off.

Lenna put some tight leather leggings on and a translucent shirt that left little space to imagination, and opened the door as Ayla was about to start another banging frenzy.

“About. Time,” Ayla scoffed, her lips tight in a line as she took Lenna’s hand and pulled towards the other side of the corridor. Why did she even care so much about Lenna being late, anyway?

Lenna had no clue where they were going. Hadn’t bothered to find out where she was going to spend so many hours with Jake fucking Coralt learning the only thing she cared about.

Why had the Fifth damned her so the most exciting thing of her life had ended up being something she dreaded, she was not sure. Because surely she had to have pissed the Cardinals badly enough for her panom instruction to be taught by entitled prick number one. Cardinals guide her.

Jake's stare almost pinned Lenna on the spot when they entered the massive bronze doors below a sign that read “Coronary Atrium”. She did not balk from those silver eyes, and stared right back at him.

Next to him, Gabrielle Heliba was waiting for Ayla with a friendly smile. Lenna remembered the South Ruler from a couple of visits when she was younger.

“Morning, girls,” Gabrielle's voice was soft and layered with the patience that only expertise could give.

“Morning,” the twins said.

Lenna smiled at Gabrielle, remembering how kind she had always been with her when she was little. She had been a panom for Cardinals knew how many years, so she surely knew an awful lot. “Can we not swap Panom Guidors?”

Ayla's superior smile was another punch in the gut. She surely was enjoying seeing Lenna beg for something she had. For once, being jealous of her.

“You're mine, Brachyan,” was all Jake said.

Lenna snorted. “I'm not into any of the male possession bullshit. And I'm very much not yours.” The corner of his lips twisted upwards as Lenna added, turning towards Gabrielle, “I just don't think it's fair that Ayla gets the actual powerful, wise panom Ruler as a teacher, and I just get the wannabe.”

Jake didn't even flinch, didn't even take a step, only his hands moved as Lenna felt the air leaving her lungs and whispered, Let me prove you wrong, sweet fire.

She knew he had done some sort of sound barrier, so only she could hear those words. But she could not think further, not as her legs moved against her will towards one of the closed doors in the marble hall.

A couple of seconds later, Lenna found herself breathing fast, the air given back to her. Fuck. It had all happened so fast she barely had time to tell him to fuck off before he taped the door a few times, opened it and led her inside with an “After you.”

“You're disgusting,” Lenna spat. “Genuinely. If you think choking me and forcing me to move is going to convince me, you couldn't be more wrong.”

Jake ignored her, walking towards four static stands on the other side of the big room. The high ceilings above them were covered in something that looked like galaxies. Whether they were realistic paintings, pictures or something else, Lenna couldn't tell.

Lenna continued, a few steps behind him, “And I get you just want to piss me off by proving a point about how dominating and powerful or whatever you think you are, but I am so tired of all that shit already and we haven't even started.”

Jake didn't reply, not even looking at her as he stopped in front of the first stand. They were four crystal orbs, one next to the other.

Lenna stepped between him and the orb. “Can you even be bothered to answer?” From this close distance, her voice was way louder than she intended to. But fuck him. And fuck his silence, too.

For a moment Lenna doubted if this was going to be his attitude all day. Then he said, “Answer what, exactly?” She could have sworn he was biting his bottom lip, as if trying to avoid laughing in her face.

“Are you taking the fucking piss?” she spat, baring her teeth.

Jake's eyes had dark speckles in the middle of the silver, and that he towered over Lenna didn't intimidate her one bit.

“That is the first question I hear from your pretty, foul mouth,” his eyes flickered, and Lenna was convinced that was freaking amusement shining on them. He continued, “You just ranted about what a scumbag I am and how sorry you feel for yourself. Now, if you're done, I can actually start showing you how your magic works, unless you'd rather be a martyr for a bit longer.”

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