Page 44 of Petals for Vicious Secrets

“My hearing is fine, thank you. But until I get a full apology, we are not even. So please repeat with me: “I am so very sorry for the other day.”

“For Cardinal’s fucking sake, Brachyan. You’re still not over your little tantrum?” he said, lifting a hand to his black hair. As she didn’t respond, he repeated, his voice exasperated, “I am sort of sorry for the other day.”

Lenna grinned, knowing she had won, “and I will never, ever use any of Lenna’s belongings against her.”

Lenna felt Jake grinning as he said, “and I will never, ever use any of your belongings against you. Unless you explicitly ask me for help to use one of the many filthy toys you have in your chambers.”

Lenna’s jaw dropped, and his index finger immediately moved from her top lip to her bottom lip, and then to her jaw, lifting it. “Close your mouth like a good girl. May I remind you that you are living in my House, sweet fire? And I don’t like secrets.”

Lenna took one step backwards, hands on her hips. “You creepy bastard. That is not fair, you know. That fucking House of yours is as dirty minded as you are.”

“As we are,” he corrected with a side smile. “It only provides what its resident needs.” The presence in front of her was gone as he moured and she felt his warm body behind hers, so close she could feel the muscles through the clothes against her skin. She held her breath as he whispered against her neck, “And whenever you need more,” she felt his tongue sliding against her neck, “you know you can come beg.”

The fucking heir of the Organ House moured away, leaving Lenna’s back extremely cold and her core not cold at all. He stood a few steps from her, hands in front of him with his palms faced up, small galaxies of navy sparks floating in them. “Show me your golden sparks, sweet fire, and let’s light this up.”

Cardinals guide her, she was fucked. And not at all.

26

Hope

It had been over twenty hours of the creature circling the vessels relentlessly. The sea beast hadn't lingered to feed, and it seemed extremely content to continue around them. Hope doubted it knew where they were because of the light in the cellholt, especially because there had been none in way too many hours.

Even though the courtrades didn’t seem to mind the darkness at all, Hope was fed up with not being able to see what she was eating, what or who she was stepping on, and if she had any weapons pointed at her neck.

She didn’t trust the courtrades at all. Unlike Nina, who knew everyone's names and kept talking with them and helping whenever she could, Hope preferred to mind her own business. Her own business being her assortment of weapons that had never been polished so much, planning the next steps of her journey which differed from Marcus’ plans, and right now, the long-lasting darkness no one seemed too concerned about and, in case they hadn’t realized, was not keeping the sea beast away.

An exasperated exhale next to her showed she was not the only one done with darkness.

“I agree,” Hope said, earning a chuckle from Nina.

“I just can't believe they don't even care,” Hope felt Nina shake her head next to her. “Do you reckon they can see in the dark?”

They sat on top of some crates around the front of the cellholt. Because at least there they had the faint light of the living map.

“It's not that we can see,” Aridian clarified from nearby. “More like we perceive what the shadows know. Seeing without actually seeing.”

“Don't forget their whispers,” Marcus added.

“Of course, the whispers of shadows. How ordinary of us to have forgotten about them, Nina,” Hope rolled her eyes. Probably only the courtrades perceived that.

“Whispers of night, we call them. Which, by the way,” Marcus' voice moved as if he was now facing Aridian, “Should have reached the courtrades in Thyria a few days ago. Reason why we must not alter our course or we won't get there when they will be waiting for us.”

“They make us normal beings not blessed by any god or goddess look abhorrently ordinary,” Nina told Hope, and as if she remembered her friend was indeed blessed by the Cardinals and their magic, Nina added, “Extremely boring being is not applicable to you, either.”

Hope tried to elbow her, hitting Nina at her first attempt at finding her side. “Not that it matters much. And not that there is anything wrong with being ordinary.”

“When will you decide to stop resting importance to the fact that you have the potential of becoming the most potent panom in this world, Hope Nevada?” Marcus said, and maybe it was his shadows, or maybe his message, but her skin tensed uncontrollably.

Hope struggled to talk past the uncomfortable knot in her throat. “That is a lie,” she managed to say.

“Aren’t you the daughter of the Organ Mandor?” Marcus asked. Hope could swear her mother’s eyes closed at the truth spoken so brashly. He continued, “Won’t you become the first female blood panom in the Organ bloodline in centuries?”

“What do you mean?” Hope asked, trying her best for her voice not to break.

She could have sworn Marcus was avoiding to give Aurora a questioning look as Nina explained, “The five Cardinals are goddesses and firm believers of female blood ruling over male blood. Of female blood ruling in this world and any others.” She continued, “Because of this, the female panoms of any bloodline will always to be the most powerful and the truthful heirs to their Houses. And also because of this, male panoms have killed females of their own Houses for centuries. Because many will never accept female blood ruling over them.”

The silence that followed didn’t help Hope’s mind feeling less on edge. And it surely helped her world feel like tilting upside down, vessel and beast included.

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