Page 50 of A Simple Truth

“Thanks, I’ve been practicing it for a while now. It always makes my dad tear up.” She rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t hide her smile, as her face lit up with glee.

“True.” He squeezed her tighter, landing a big kiss on top of her head. “I couldn’t be prouder of my beautiful, talented daughter.”

“Gideon, would you like a turn?” Lady De Villiar stood up from her stool, putting the music sheets aside.

“I…” he paused, considering. “Sure, why not.” The General casually stood up, shortly taking a seat by the piano. The small, round stool looked instantly petite under his large body. He straightened up, moving one foot to the small, golden pedal near the floor. He held his hands above the piano, hesitating for a moment as if remembering, considering what to play. And then his hands moved. His music was so different from the previously melodramatic notes of the swan dance that Lady De Villiar played. His fingers moved fast, as the upbeat melody unfolded.

“Ah! That’s my favorite song!” Zora yelped next to me, running up to the piano, her voice pouring out a minute later. Her usually commanding voice turned into a silky melody as she sang an upbeat song. Her face dramatically showed every expression of the lyrics. She glared at Orest a second later, gesturing for him to join her. He timidly slid further into his seat on the couch, but under her persistent stare, he gave in. Taking a long sigh, he got up and walked over to awkwardly stand by her. The usually-quiet and reserved Orest’s deep and handsome voice now entwined with the soft, lovely voice of Zora in a perfect duet.

The more I listened to the lyrics, the more I almost laughed.

“What is this song?” I turned to Xentar, amused.

“Oh, it’s a kids’ song. Apparently, Destroyers sing it to their kids, so they stay away from Seers.” He chuckled. I turned my eyes back to the three Destroyers deep into their ballad. A song that, what I now realized, was about a Seer named Bryni that gave bad luck.

Zora’s voice stretched as she sang her solo, just as Orest’s low and deep voice followed suit, their melodies uniting in perfect harmony.

I tried to pull my gaze away from the General’s figure. Tried and failed, as my mind soaked in every detail, every move of his large hands across the keys.

But it wasn’t the way he skillfully played that completely bewitched me.

It was his eyes.

I had stared at his eyes before. In fact, I spent a lot of my time glaring at them.

Except now, something was different. He was focused on the piano, only occasionally glancing over to Zora and Orest, not noticing my admiration-filled look, and for once, I let myself truly stare. His usually harsh, cold, and calculating eyes were somehow so free, exhilarated and enthralled, as if that ancient history they carried was gone and it was just here and now.

And in that moment, I wondered.

I wondered if maybe in a different life, under different circumstances, where he wasn’t the Destroyer General, and I…well, I wasn’t me, that maybe I wouldn’t mind staring at those eyes for all eternity.

28

GIDEON

Ipromised myself that I would not gawk at her all night. A reasonable task, one would think, yet one I had terribly failed.

Though, to be fair, I had no business making such commitments in the first place. From the moment she’d walked in the room earlier tonight, I had known I would be incapable of keeping my eyes off of her.

Xentar and Lord De Villiar stood next to me, buried deep in conversation, their male voices nothing but a background noise to my stalking. I observed Finnleah as she browsed the large bookshelves lining the walls. She tilted her head, reading the sides of the spines, her unbound hair flowing down her back. She’d occasionally pull a book out, read a few snippets, and carefully place it back, then she’d repeat the motion again. Her alluring silhouette stretched or crouched as she reached for different shelves, looking for nothing in particular.

“So, what do you think of that, Gideon?” Lord De Villiar asked, catching me off guard.

“Think of what?” I asked, not paying even the slightest bit of attention to the discussion.

“We were talking about the Elves?” Xentar raised his brow in question.

“Yes, Elves, a very important component,” I threw out some nonsense, my eyes returning to the cause of my distraction. “Excuse me, gentlemen,” I politely said, already crossing the room, finally giving into the urge to stand near her.

“Find anything of interest?” I asked, startling her a bit as she turned sharply.

“A few things.” She returned her eyes back to the De Villiars’ personal library.

I clasped my hands tightly behind my back as I hovered over her, fighting the urge to run my fingers through her hair.

“This one is the best though.” The corners of her beautiful lips tugged upwards, delighted, as she pulled out a large, heavy dictionary. She passed me the book and I flipped through some pages.

“An Elvish dictionary? I took you more for a fiction kind of a reader, not dictionaries.” I elbowed her gently; she rolled her eyes, but smiled.

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