Page 96 of Daughter Of The Ninth Line
They held each other’s eyes for a moment longer, until the stubborn standoff turned from angry to something more charged. I definitely got the impression there was more subtext going on here than I could understand. You didn’t have to be an emotional empath to feel the sexual tension so thick, you could cut it with a knife.
Just then, the instructor blew the whistle that released us from training, but no one moved. Shay straightened her face into the same imperious mask that Vox used as she flicked her gaze back to me. “Be careful.” Her eyes slid back to Acacia. “Twelfth.”
“My name is Acacia,” she purred, but there was a little bite to it too.
Shay nodded once and turned on her heel, striding out of the ring. I blinked, my eyes flicking between her and Acacia.
Lucio whistled low. “That was so fucking hot.”
Acacia raised a bright red eyebrow at him. “Be a good boy and run along.”
He groaned beneath his breath, looking over at me. “I’ll leave Leviat with you.” He pointed to his war cat, who was licking her paw with an expression that might have been disdain for us all. Lucio looked back at my friend with heart eyes. “Nice to meet you, Acacia.”
She gazed at him haughtily. “You can call me Twelfth.”
With a lopsided smirk, he clutched his chest. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be seeing you, Twelfth.” He strode off in the same direction Shay had gone.
Viana was fanning her face. “I’m not sure what just happened, but I’m going to need a cold shower.”
Acacia’s face finally flushed pink, clashing with the red of her hair. “Hush. Let’s go. Our little Ninth Line adoptee has been keeping secrets.” She dragged me back toward the atrium, dodging the people heading to the food hall.
“What about lunch?”
“Clancy made meal cakes. You won’t want to miss them. Now, stop stalling,” Acacia ordered.
I looked back at Viana. “Has she always been this bossy?”
Viana snorted a laugh and nodded. “The First Line is lucky she can’t back it up with magic. Otherwise, we’d all be bending the knee before her throne.”
The girl in question rolled her eyes. We descended the stairs in silence, and it wasn’t until we made it to the bowels, striding through the common area and into Acacia’s room, that I was content that there were no listening ears. No one would waste spies down here, because they believed that the Twelfth Line conscripts were little better than rabbits, prone to breeding and not worth much.
They were so wrong. I’d found more warmth, acceptance, and beauty down here than I’d ever seen in the Upper Lines. From the wall mural of the rolling sand dunes of Western Ebrus, to Clancy’s culinary masterpieces that made my eyes roll back in my head, to the clothes and jewellery that were basically pieces of art—every single thing they did was with intention to create a community of appreciation, joy, and togetherness.
In my opinion, it was worth more than magic.
As Viana shut the door, Acacia put her hands on her hips. “You’re fucking them both? Do you know what a dangerous game you’re playing? If they find out, they’ll tear each other apart, and then you. They’repowerful, Avalon. The Third Line is territorial, and if Hayle Taeme finds out you’re fucking hisarchnemesis…” She swallowed hard. “You’re just a Ninth Line conscript, not a powerful Heir. You’ll bear the brunt of their rage.”
Her words were stern, but I saw real fear on her face. Fear for me. It warmed something deep inside my chest.
I shook my head. “I’m not having sex with either of them, but what we have is… something else.” Something more than meaningless sex, anyway. “And I’m not doing it behind anyone’s back, especially not Hayle’s. It was his idea.”
That dumbfounded them both. “Hayle Taeme had the idea to share you with Vox Vylan?” Viana reached out and grabbed my fingers tightly. “Are you on drugs? Some of the shit peddled by those Upper Lines can cause serious brain damage. We can help you get clean?—”
Raising my other hand to stop her, I shook my head. “I’m not on drugs, V. I was just as surprised as you, I promise.” I squeezed her hand in mine. “This can never leave this room, okay? Swear it?”
Viana swore immediately, but Acacia hesitated. “I swear, unless I feel like your life is in imminent danger.”
Was that good enough? I needed friends, and a friendship couldn’t survive if it was based on half-truths and lies of omission. I’d have to take a leap of faith.
“Hayle says I’m his soulmate. He said he just wants me to be as happy as possible.”
Viana let out a little whoosh of breath. “Well, getting double-teamed by two hot, powerful guys would definitely make one part of you happy.”
“And Vox?” Acacia prompted.
“Vox believes that there’s some kind of magic at work, but we can’t figure out who or what would benefit from us being… together. We’ve decided to roll with it, because one day he’ll leave and have to enter into a political marriage with someonefrom the Upper Lines, and he’ll live in miserably married convenience forevermore. I think he just wants to have this moment of happiness, without political maneuvering and social climbing. To be desired as Vox Vylan the man, not the Heir.”
They both stared at me silently for a long time. Finally, Acacia spoke. “And Shay knows?” I nodded. “And Lucio?”
