Page 89 of Of Blooming Embers
Snorting, I lifted my shoulders. “I’m not sure. He says we’re fine, but I know he’s lying. He still hadn’t forgiven me before the end of the Winnowing Trials.”
“You’re a good friend, Ryn, but don’t get lost in the muck. Is it a shame your relationship didn’t grow into more than smooshing private bits?”
“I—”
“No. The correct answer is no. You and Gavrel give off more heatthan a fecking volcano. And while I can understand how that’d be a tug on the bollocks for Kaden, he’ll get through it. You can feel however you damn well want to. Derya wasn’t wrong. Living is messy. Love is messier.”
A flame wavered within me, and I pressed my tongue to my inner cheek.
Breena smirked. “Yeah, I said love. You bloody know it deep in your womb.”
My eyes rolled as I waved my hand at her. “Tell me about what’s going on between you and my cousin.”
Her mouth went taut, eyes looking down the hall. “Ah, dodgy. Well played, my friend. But the answer to your question is nothing. Our brains loathe one another, but our bodies … not so much. We haven’t introduced our bits, if that’s what you’re thinking; more like wrestled until we came to our senses.”
One of my eyebrows rose, my mouth twisting. “And what’s the story behind this extreme aversion?”
“Damned if I know. I’m fecking delightful.” Her bottom lip pushed forward. “I met him turns ago when Rhaegar recruited me to the cause. Riled up is Marek’s constant state of existence. As soon as I enter the room, the stick up his arse shoves deeper.”
I turned, laughing. “Perhaps you should make it your mission to find out why.”
“He can keep his stick and his secrets,” Breena huffed.
“Whatever you say, Bree.”
My room was a few doors away from Breena’s. I pulled out my room coin and slid it into the glowing slot above the metal knob. With a click, the door unlocked.
Before heading to her accommodation, Breena squeezed my fingers. “Ryn, I’m happy to know you. To remember you.”
Before I could respond, her chin dipped, and she marched off to her quarters.
A grateful smile lingered as I went into my room. It vaguely reminded me of Morpheus’ palace, but with a fireplace, a small sitting area in front of the hearth, and black silk sheets on the four-posterbed. The opal floors and walls shifted in the sunbeams in shades of coruscating aqua, pinkish-orange, and chartreuse. It was like walking through a refracted cloud of rainbows.
Tranquility enveloped me, pushing on my muscles from all sides. As if floating, I moved to the nacreous tub in the corner and turned on the faucet.
There was a hazy white globe hovering next to the basin, and I didn’t hesitate to brush my fingertips over it.
A gentle, pulsing glow suddenly emanated from the orb, and a hauntingly beautiful melody echoed in my mind. Its otherworldly chords flowed through every part of me, as if a celestial enchantment were seeking out the bruised areas of my soul that needed healing.
With a shuddered sigh, I undressed and sank into the fizzing bubbles. A slightly citrusy, floral aroma drifted through my body as I washed. I reclined, letting sleep take me while the ethereal harmonies, scents, and water soaked into my aching limbs and ravaged soul.
Within the hour,I awoke, rejuvenated. After drying off, I wandered over to the armoire nestled in the opposite corner near the bed. Not one to question the mystical ways of Aion, I shrugged and opened it. Inside were various pieces of clothing, all in my size. I chose a silky copper-colored slip dress and sighed as the cool fabric slid down my body.
I turned toward the door at the sound of someone knocking. Thinking it was Gavrel, I opened the door with a bright smile, but the sullen line of my cousin’s mouth met me.
“Marek, how dashing you look with clothes on,” I teased, repressing the outward expression of amusement. I reached for him, resting my fingertips on his forearm. He flinched at the contact, so I withdrew my hand. “Come in.”
He hesitated, stepping back into the hall. “No, I …” He looked down, his ruddy waves curtaining his high cheekbones. “… I just came to check on you.”
My arms wrapped across my middle. “That was kind of you. I’m all right. What about you? Are you thinking of Yaya?”
He winced. “Yes, but I’ll be fine. With all the things you’ve learned in the past days, I can imagine it’s been … difficult.”
My heart cracked a bit as I studied him.Myfamily. I still couldn’t believe it, but it was burrowing within the concept of my identity. Who I once was, and who I was becoming.
I gathered a lungful of air and let it flow from me slowly. He waited patiently, eyes assessing me. Like he did everything. He was all sharp edges and pent-up shadows, but he was here, making an effort.
For all we knew, I was the only family he had left. “It has … been trying, but it’s the same for you. For all of us.”
