Page 43 of The Demon's Little Girl
The certainty in his voice makes something flutter in my chest, hope and fear tangled together in impossible knots. "You don't know?—"
"I know him." Avenor's interruption is quiet but firm. "Better than almost anyone. And I know he'd walk through fire for you without hesitation. Has been walking through fire for you, actually, ever since you disappeared."
The reminder of those two years hits like a physical blow. Two years of hiding, of raising Nalla alone, of believing I was protecting him by staying away. But according to Avenor, all I'd done was cause him pain.
"I should go back to bed," I murmur, suddenly exhausted by the weight of everything unsaid.
"Probably." But he doesn't move to stop me as I stand, just watches with those knowing eyes. "Liora?"
I pause at the doorway, not quite turning back. "What?"
"Stop punishing yourself for things that aren't your fault. And stop punishing him for things he doesn't even know about."
23
ROVAK
The zarryn's hooves clatter against the cobblestones as we make our way back through the winding streets. The negotiations with the eastern port merchants had gone well enough—new trade routes secured, tariffs renegotiated in our favor. Standard business that usually leaves me feeling satisfied with a day's work. But today, my thoughts keep drifting back to the estate. To her.
Avenor rides beside me, silver hair catching the late afternoon sun as he navigates his mount through a cluster of street vendors. His posture is relaxed, but I can feel him watching me with that calculating gaze that sees far too much. He's been unusually quiet since we left the trading halls.
"The Merchant's Guild was more agreeable than expected," I comment, trying to fill the silence that's beginning to feel weighted.
"Mm." Avenor adjusts his reins, guiding his zarryn around a cart loaded with quillnash. "They know better than to cross you on shipping routes."
We clear the city proper, the road opening up before us as the walls of the city fall behind. The coastal breeze carries the salttang of the sea and something else—the faint sweetness of aracin blossoms blooming along the cliffs. It should be peaceful, this familiar ride home, but restless energy thrums under my skin.
"You seem happy she's back."
The observation comes out of nowhere, casual as breathing, but I know Avenor well enough to recognize the deliberate timing. He's been working up to this conversation for miles.
"Of course I am." The answer comes too quickly, defensive in a way that makes his mouth twitch slightly. "She belongs at the estate."
"With you."
The words hang between us, heavier than they should be. My hands tighten on the reins, and my zarryn snorts in response to the sudden tension.
"She has a place there," I say carefully. "Both of them do."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it."
I glance sideways at him, taking in the sharp angles of his face, the knowing look in those navy eyes. Avenor has never been one to dance around difficult topics, but this feels like dangerous territory even for him.
"What exactly are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting you stop pretending you don't want her." His tone is matter-of-fact, as if we're discussing grain prices instead of the thing that's been eating me alive for years. "She's back, Rovak. She's here. Make a move."
The suggestion hits like a physical blow, stirring up all the hunger I've been keeping carefully leashed. Images flash through my mind—Liora's soft curves pressed against me in the garden, the way she'd moved on top of me with desperate need, the broken sound she'd made when she came apart in my arms.
"It's not that simple."
"Isn't it?" Avenor's zarryn sidesteps closer, forcing me to look at him. "You want her. She clearly wants you, based onwhat I interrupted in the garden yesterday morning. What's complicated about that?"
Heat floods my face at the reminder. Finding Liora disheveled and flushed, her scent mixed with mine in ways that had made my cock hard instantly. The knowledge that she'd been touching herself while thinking of me, that she'd climaxed calling my name.
"You have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't I?" His laugh is sharp, humorless. "I've watched you pine after her for years. Watched you turn yourself inside out trying to be noble and restrained. And for what? She's not some fragile thing that's going to shatter if you touch her."
