Page 71 of Blade of the Nightking

So I sat in the room and waited. Time stretched unbearably, each passing moment winding the knot in my chest tighter. As the last of the daylight faded, I cracked open the window just enough to let the night air slip in. The chill seeped into the room, its bite grounding me, keeping my thoughts from spiraling too far.

He came just before midnight.

The door opened with barely a sound. I turned from the window seat as Aedric slipped inside, quiet as a shadow. The room was dark, but I would have known him anywhere—the shape of him, the presence of him. He closed the door softly and remained there, back turned, head bowed. His fingertips rested against the wood as though steadying himself.

I said nothing. The shiver that passed through me had nothing to do with the cold.

I latched the window shut. The timid click was loud in the silence. Only then did he turn.

He leaned back against the door, the darkness swallowing most of his expression. I wished, suddenly, that I’d lit a lamp—that I could see him clearly, read every line of his face.

“Hamish has always stood at my side,” he said at last, low and controlled. “He’s fought beside me his entire life. He’s loyal. Unwavering. He always has been.” Something pained slipped into his tone. “Until you.”

I stared at him, pulse pounding in my ears.

“I don’t blame you, El,” he continued, almost gently. “You’re beautiful. So beautiful it’s blinding at times. An Eidra trait, softened by your humanity. Any male would be a fool not to want you.” He dragged a hand through his hair, shaking his head faintly. “But Hamish… What do I do about Hamish?”

The air felt fragile, stretched tight as wire. One wrong word and it would snap.

“Aedric—”

“Do you desire him?”

“No!”

For a long moment, he said nothing. But the heat radiating from him flooded the room, thick and oppressive. The windows began to fog at the edges.

“He’s a good man,” he continued. “But when cracks form—when loyalty falters—the entire foundation is at risk. And with everything as it is now… with Rìan free, with the Firstborn loose, with my Court already fracturing… I need certainty. I need people I can trust without question.”

“Hamish is all of those things.”

“Hamish is in love with you.”

The words fell into the gaping chasm between us. I could barely breathe.

“Aedric,” I said carefully. “We’re friends. That’s all it is. I don’t feel that way about him.”

“No?”

“No.” I rose to my feet, forcing myself to hold his stare despite the tremor running through me.

“He confronted me, you know. About what happened.”

He took a slow step toward me, the moonlight catching the bruise blooming beneath his eye. Gods—had Hamish struck him?

“I didn’t mean to⁠—”

“And I didn’t mean to hit you,” he interrupted softly, almost pleading. “But I had to get you out.”

A heavy silence stretched between us.

“What did you do to Hamish?”

“Nothing.”

I studied him, searching for deceit.

“You don’t believe me.” He scoffed, incredulous. “What do you take me for, Elowen? You think I could harm my own kin so easily?”