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As we enter thedining room, I quickly scan the table. Kai and Finn have both come downstairs, and are now seated near the head of the table. To their right is Eva, with Lucian on her lap. One hand holds a large chicken leg and the other fidgets with the boy’s shaggy hair. He’s a spitting image of the king, just with red hair and smattering of freckles.
Across from them is Aeress. She’s the mad king’s youngest daughter, but was little when the war ended. Eva and Finn chose to raise her as their own, and therefore she became Griffin’s older sibling more than an aunt. Her long white hair has been braided into a crown around her head and instead of the frilly dresses I’m used to seeing her in, she’s in fighting leathers, like she just came from training.
Next to her is Finn and Eva’s youngest, and most ruthless, daughter, Callista. Mage through and through, she’s mastered most magics and she’s only ten. A prodigy in the making. Her golden blonde hair is cut into a long bob, the tips of the strands dyed crimson. If Finn were a woman, Callista is exactly how I would imagine him. She didn’t even take her sword off to come to the table.
I bet if I was to look under the table, I’d find that Finn didn’t either.
Valeria is next to her, and the two are in the midst of a conversation when we enter. Except, the moment she sees Alice and I, whatever Valeria had intended to say, dies on her tongue. Her emerald eyes meet with mine, and I’m immediately aware that the only two available chairs are between her and the king.
Alice takes her seat next to Kai, and I bite my lip.
Am I hungry? I could probably wait for dinner…
“Asmo,” Alice singsongs, twirling her fork in the air. “We’re waiting on you.”
With a deep breath, I take a seat. Valeria watches my every moment, every twitch of my muscles, reading into it. “Can we talk after?”
With a curt nod, I glance at her out of the corner of my eye. My gut twists at the sight of the red rimming her eyes, the lids a bit swollen from her crying. It cracks something inside me, and I have the sudden urge to kiss her, to assure her everything will be okay, but I can’t.
I don’t know if it will and telling her so would only mislead her. Until we know what’s going to happen, we shouldn’t get any closer. If we do and she goes back to the Elven Islands, it’ll only make things harder.
This is still new. The feelings are fresh. To walk away now might hurt, but it wouldn’t shatter us like it would if we were to fall in love. If that happens, the choice is gone. I’d sooner go to war than let her leave me.
It’s for the best.
Piling my plate with various meats and fruits and vegetables, the two of us eat in silence as the others carry on about anything and everything. They’re pretending war isn’t on our front doorstep and hundreds of lives depend on a decision that no one is willing to make.
In my mind, I know the right thing to do is look after our kingdom’s well-being. To sacrifice a second chance at love for the greater good of our people. And Valeria returning to the islands means no one else has to die.
Aside from my burning desire to kill the elf lord, to make him suffer the same fate he bestowed on the gargoyles, doing so would mean war. And I’m not willing to let countless othersdie for my revenge. Especially when our kingdom isn’t prepared for it. Our people have grown soft. Not many of the newer generations know how to fight because we’ve been at peace for two hundred years.
Still, none of us would force Valeria to go back. It has to be her decision.
Though, the ache that echoes through my chest knows what Valeria will do. Someone with generativity will choose the greater good over themselves. She’s already proven herself to do so by digging graves for dead strangers and risking her life going beyond the wall to lay them to rest.
She’s going to go back. We’ll end up breaking our deal, and ultimately, I’ll be left at Grim’s Keep, surrounded by the darkness and void of her light. My only company will be gargoyles who can’t communicate. And Griffin.
At some point, my desires changed from wanting to be left alone, to wanting to be left alone with her.
30
Valeria
Once we’ve eaten, Asmotakes me to the room we’ll be staying in for the night. The tendrils of darkness and light fade away to reveal a room easily two stories tall. A large, canopied bed sits in the deepest alcove, dressed in rich, luxurious fabrics of onyx and molten gold, and embroidered in royal swirls.
It's exactly what I'd imagine his room would look like. A room that resembles his personality, dark and secretive, but alluring.
A fireplace that’s at least three times my height flicks to life in the living area, sending waves of heat that surge through the room, swallowing up the chill that was present moments ago. It pricks my skin, the contrast making me shiver. The flames dance with a voracity akin to greed, enveloping the logs in shades of green.
In front of it is a fur rug and two large leather couches that frame the space. They could easily seat a dozen or so people, but they look too untouched to have been used by anyone but Asmo.
The feet step over the dark marble and admire the golden striations that wisp through the grain. Even the walls are dark,made from slabs of obsidian, and mage lights embedded into them lick over the rough natural surface of the stone.
There aren't many windows. Just one on either side of the fireplace, and both arch into points at the top, casting beams of light into the living room. I can faintly see the particles of dust floating there, even though the room appears spotless.
“Is this where you lived? Before Grim's?” I ask.
A silent pause settles upon us, and my curiosity gets the best of me. I turn in a tight circle, waiting for him to answer, only to find a vast wall of bookshelves that stretch from floor to ceiling on the wall behind me.
