Page 71 of Null & Void

I glare at him from my defensive crouch, letting him sweat a bit. My hood has fallen back and—of fucking course—the light through the window has illuminated me. He can’t help it. He’s already studied my face and hair before I realized he could. I stand, sheathing my knives, giving myself a moment to decide what to do.

I should kill him. It’s bad enough that he knows the Silent Assassin is here and could tell his father, but now he can identify me too. I’m still weighing my options as I stare at him when he slaps his hands over his eyes dramatically.

“I didn’t see you. Were you Sadoriborn? Nemorisborn? Couldn’t tell. Couldn’t pick you from a crowd, that’s for sure.”

The prince’s word vomit finally comes to an end, and I sigh. The Silent Assassin is getting soft. Or I’m just really fucking tired. Probably both. “I’m going to go now before I accidentally—or deliberately—kill you and your pillows. I’ll see you around, prince. Or not.”

I slink out the window I came in, cascading down the reinforced gorge walls that make up the front of the castle. Reaching the bottom, I pause, waiting for an alarm to sound. Looking back up, I spot Eryn watching me from his window, and he gives me a tiny wave. I awkwardly wave back.

What a strange kid.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Bitty meets me halfway back to our accommodations. Apparently, the prince and I were quiet enough that they couldn’t catch everything said. I’m still impressed and slightly horrified by how excellent their hearing Gift is. No wonder they evaded discovery as an abandoned child until they passed out from hunger and were found by Beans.

Waiting until we are safe from prying eyes and ears, I tell the three of them what was discovered and discussed. They are all equally baffled by the prince’s relationship with his father.

Riley puts his head in his hands, breathing a large sigh of relief when I get to the part about the Prince Oferdu seeing his sister two weeks after she had supposedly left. Beans makes a quiet, celebratory “fuck yes” gesture and strokes his mustache one-handed while pacing. Bitty flops back on the bed they share with Beans, thanking the Divine.

Their collective relief is contagious.

I crawl into the bed next to Riley after a quick wash. They’re double beds, but Riley is double the man. His presence is imposing on the bed at the best of times, but more so after the adventures of last night that haven’t been spoken about. Riley and I have our backs to one another, and Beans extinguishes the lantern as we all say our goodnights.

I lay awake listening to the slow breathing of three people falling asleep. I roll onto my back to stare at the ceiling. Why can’t I sleep? I’m considering getting up to stretch on the floor when Riley rolls over in his sleep to face me. Shifting myself down and onto my side, I look at the man who keeps sending me and my rage into volatility. It’s too dark to see much more than vague outlines.

My eyelids are getting heavy while I’m facing him. I close my eyes for a second to imagine his freckles, those endless—almost black, blood-red—lashes, and his perfect lips. When I open them again, I’m facing the wall instead of Riley. The room has lightened, and the birds of dawn are singing their song. Sounds of the city beginning to wake drift through the window and under our door.

Riley twitches his hand in his sleep. He is gently gripping the top of my ribs, while his heavy arm is draped over me. His body is pressed along the length of my back and legs. Moving my head slightly, I feel his other arm above my head, across the pillow I’m not even using, again.

I listen intently for the sounds of breathing from Bitty and Beans, but they’re still asleep. Savoring a small, stolen moment of affection, I try to focus on every part of me that Riley is touching. His knee is resting on top of mine, spooning the back of my other knee. The weight of his draped arm is a comfort, and his chest rises and falls against my back, soothing me.

His hand falls to the bed but moves quickly to pull me closer, like a reflex. I freeze. Is he awake? His heavy breathing suggests otherwise. That’s when I notice it. The distinct hardness of Riley’s erection against my backside. My stomach rockets into my chest, causing me to shoot forward and into a sitting position.

Riley wakes with a startle, looking at me blearily. “Nightmare?” he asks me in a concerned whisper. His hand reaches up to grab my neck, using his thumb to stroke the bare skin. My skin immediately prickles in response, and I turn to respond. But his eyes are shut, breathing already returning to the rhythm of sleep.

In confusion, I watch this enormous man fall back to sleep, while still half stroking the back of my neck. I can’t help myself; I look at the tent in his pants. I didn’t know that men could be aroused in their sleep too. What does Riley dream about?

Riley sniffs, giving my neck a squeeze as he sits up and rubs his eyes, oblivious to me objectifying him in his sleep.

“Good dreams?” I ask, facing the wall as I stretch to hide my knowing smile.

Riley’s unused voice crackles as he tries to whisper. “I don’t often get to remember them, Firecat.”

I turn to look at him, not bothering to hide my stupid grin. “You might not remember, but something else thinks you had a nice dream.”

He frowns for a moment before looking down and jolting to cover himself. He grabs his pillow and wallops me with it. “Now who’s the pervert?”

I laugh softly, falling to my side and throwing my pillow at him as he stands. He shakes his head smiling and mouthing “pervert” at me as he walks to the washroom, with the sounds of Bitty and Beans waking up as I reach for the pillow I threw.

Riley offers to get breakfast with Bitty, going stir-crazy at being inside this whole time. Unfortunately, the nighthouse doesn’t have its own tavern, so we’re limited to supplies that don’t require cooking while we are here.

When they’re both gone, Beans checks in with me. “You are not alone Mika. Please stop taking the entire Divined world on your shoulders and let us support you.”

“I’m trying. I promise. But you can’t help me with this beyond Bitty being a scout and keeping an ear out.”

“That might be true, but no unnecessary risks. I’m not sure how sober Riley is going to stay if you keep giving the poor kid a heart attack every few weeks. Or me, for that matter,” he says, laughing. I’m frowning at the side of Beans’ face as he makes their bed. I don’t want to know what he means about Riley, I need to focus on today. “You’ve already aged me more than Bitty ever has, little one, and I don’t think Mama or Frankie would forgive me if anything happened to you either.”

I swallow the lump in my throat, unable to speak. At some point in this journey, Beans’ terms of endearment have latched onto the last pieces of my soul, and I’m not sure they’ll ever let go. Or if I even want them to.

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