Page 98 of Null & Void

I growl, opening my mouth to say yes again, and she holds up her hands in surrender.

“Look, we haven’t fucked in revs, like I said. And even then, it was quick. Definitely no kissing. The point was to get it done as quickly as possible and move on. He was never sober. I don’t think he’s ever had sex sober.”

I groan into my hands, fingers digging into my eyes. “It doesn’t even matter, Tovi! He’s an unbound man who can fuck whoever he wants. I don’t get to have a say in that. Especially not after the way I treated him.”

“Riley’s changed, Mika. Laughing and smiling with actual happiness, and not just being a miserable cunt every day. I barely see him drink, at all. I thought it was because of Lyss, and maybe it is in part. But I think it might be you.”

I make a derisive sound and she cuts me a look, continuing. “He usually tells me about the women he’s been with. In detail, or as much as he can remember.” She’s looking at me, pointedly, trying to let something sink in that I’m obviously missing.

“There was a woman he slept with in Nemoris, at that first inn after we left Mama’s. He was too drunk to remember what happened except that he woke up naked in her room.”

I frown, but she puts her hand up forestalling my ugly thoughts and opinions.

“That Riley? The Riley we have all known and loved for revolutions, is not the same Riley you’ve gotten to know. The drunk and selfish asshole at the beginning of the Nemoris forest was all we knew, and it’s the last we’ve seen of him. We’ve all tried over the revs, us three and his friends back home, his sisters, but we just came to accept it was who he was. Until now…” Tovi sighs, standing up and shaking her head. She gives me an almost pitying look that has my rage swishing its tail viciously, and I don’t know if I can bear to hear the rest of what she has to say.

“He hasn’t told me about any other women after her. Certainly not some Erduborn woman he kissed on the cheek.” She scrunches her nose. “That’s definitely not his style. He doesn’t do affection, not after sex. Even the first time we slept together, there was no confusing anything he said or did with affection,” she finishes sardonically.

“I’m not sure that’s helping anything. How is telling me what a slut Ri?—”

“He never told me about you! In the cave. That is definitely something he would have told me.”

“Because nothing happened! Or he was embarrassed,” I say, exasperated.

A creaking noise sounds in the washroom, and Tovi and I both move to defensive positions. Someone is coming, the sounds of soft footsteps moving toward us.

A familiar face appears in the doorway.

“Bitty,” we both cry softly.

Tovi looks unsure, but Bitty runs at her. They slam into her with force, wrapping their arms around her, Tovi stepping back slightly from the momentum.

They’re murmuring things to each other, and I step into the washroom to give them some privacy. I wash my face, trying to cool it down as my cheeks continue to flame. I can hear the soft sounds of Tovi’s apologies and Bitty’s forgiveness. Despite all of my assurances, part of me worried none of them would forgive her. I hope Bitty’s forgiveness is a good sign for the other two.

I waltz back into the room to see Tovi’s arm resting around Bitty’s shoulder, and they have a matching gleam in their eyes. I give Tovi a knowing “I told you so” look, and she rolls her eyes dramatically. Bitty runs at me next for a hug. They slam into me, enveloping me in their gangly-limbed embrace. I reciprocate, holding on tight. I missed them, more than I care to admit.

No doubt Bitty heard some of what Tovi and I were arguing about, but in true Bitty fashion, they don’t speak a word of it. Giving them my cup, I pour some tea, and we settle down in the comfortable sofa seats.

“How did you find us?” I ask, and then wish I had phrased it differently. The answer to that question could easily be: “I could hear you telling Tovi all of the awful things you said to Riley.”

But Bitty is as diplomatic as usual. “Easily, once I was able to figure out how to move quietly enough. Once I felt I had gone as far east from Eryn’s rooms as I could, I tried to find the quietest rooms. I waited half a day to make sure that no one was there. When I finally jumped down, the room was covered in dust and spider webs. Took everything in me not to sneeze.”

Tovi and I share a look. Whose chambers would be like that? It dawns on me. “Queen Jasi.”

“That’s my assumption, based on all the dresses and jewelry. It looks like a tomb. No one has been in there for a very long time. I was concerned at first, leaving footprints in the dust, but duh, no one is going to see them.” Bitty frowns. “The doors were locked, from the inside.”

“The king and queen didn’t share chambers?” Tovi asks.

“Rumor has it the king has terrible nightmares, so he locks himself in his chambers each night.” I’m frowning as I explain, another reason forming in my head. “But maybe it’s because he can’t hold his shift when sleeping?”

Both Tovi and Bitty raise their eyebrows.

“Are the queen’s rooms connected to the king’s?” I ask.

“There was another door that would connect to a room I didn’t go into, though I couldn’t hear anyone on the other side. There’s also a small courtyard that comes out near the gardens and overlooks the ocean. Unguarded. I’d planned to investigate further another time. The door out of the queens’ rooms took me to a large hallway.”

Bitty excitedly interrupts their own train of thought. “I got to use my lockpicks! I had to use them to relock the queen’s doors behind me. I waited an hour until it was clear to be able to do so,” they say, beaming.

“Anyway, I found a large staircase and I narrowly missed someone in the hallway at the top. I hid in a small library. There were people in there, but they hadn’t seen me come in. Once the hall was clear again, I checked rooms until I found guest chambers that had a washroom with a hatch.” Bitty scratches their head, looking from me to Tovi with hesitation.

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