Page 50 of Heart of the Villain

Ivelle winked, picking the hem of her white dress off the floor as she sat in the lounge chair by the simmering coals of last night’s fire. “I’ll never tell.”

The two had slowly begun opening up about their childhoods, learning that their mothers had similar techniques when it came to raising their daughters. Celeste wasn’t quite as harsh as Ryanna was, but Ivelle’s mental scars were still prominent.

They talked until a guard came to announce a visitor. Marlena glanced down at her knee-length nightdress. “Who is it?” she asked the guard, whose eyes never wandered from hers, despite the lack of clothing Marlena was covered in. When she stood, she watched the muscles on his face tense as he fought to remain professional.

“I told him it wasn’t really necessary that he announce my arrival.” Arlet’s voice got louder as she snuck around the guard in the doorway, ducking under his arm holding the door open. Arlet entered with a neatly wrapped box, clearly aggravated by whatever had happened before coming in. “We went to school together for ten years, Poe. I’m not here to assassinate her.”

The guard hadn’t looked familiar to Marlena at all… Oops.

“I take my job very seriously.” His gaze returned to Marlena, waiting.

She shooed him away.

Ivelle stood, taking Marlena’s empty mug from the table. Marlena hadn’t told her much about Arlet, but Ivelle had asked multiple times what the plan was with her… How long would Marlena keep her in the dark about their plans? “I’ll give you two some privacy.” She said a quiet hello to Arlet and closed the door behind her.

Arlet took a deep breath, and Marlena watched the tension free from her shoulders. “I’ve been outside arguing with him for fifteen minutes.” She wandered over to the fire, spinning in little circles to warm herself. She was always cold, and this hellish territory didn’t help with that.

Marlena watched her curiously, eyes fixed on the box. “Why didn’t you just come in?”

Arlet stopped, catching Marlena’s gaze over her shoulder. “Because I didn’t want to get stabbed or bit by a bear. Poe’s a really, really large bear in his shifter form.”

“He wouldn’t have lived to see another day if he had laid a single finger on you.” Marlena’s eyes wandered to her ass, a lazy smile on her lips when she made her way back to Arlet’s eyes.

Arlet rolled hers. Marlena knew she didn’t believe her, but she should. Marlena would rip Poe’s arms off and make the others⁠—

“What are you thinking about?” Arlet asked.

Marlena zoned back in, the thoughts about dismembering her guard pushed to the back of her mind. “My present,” she answered, covering for the sinister thoughts she’d interrupted.

“Oh gods, yes, Mar.” Arlet crossed the room, passing the box to her before pressing a light kiss on her cheek. “Happy birthday.”

Marlena held the box in her palms, looking down at it. Vega, Arlet, and Khort had always bought her a joint present growing up, so when Marlena looked at the little tag hanging off of the emerald ribbon and found only Arlet’s name on it in her pretty handwriting, a warmness spread through her chest.

Love. She knew it before it fully clicked. Marlena loved Arlet. She’d always had love for her, as her sister’s best friend—as her friend.

But this feeling was new, and one she hadn’t felt before.

Arlet stood with one hand clasping the opposite elbow. “I thought maybe you could wear it tonight for your birthday dinner.”

Marlena opened the box, setting the lid to the side. Staring back at her was the most gorgeous emerald gown folded neatly inside. Marlena’s lips parted as she ran her free hand over the silky material.

Arlet stepped up and put each hand on either side of the box and held it in place, allowing Marlena to grab the dress by its corset top and hold it out in front of her. The straps fell to the side, hinting to a little off-the-shoulder number. The dress was sleek, form-fitting, and the perfect cut for Marlena’s body.

When Marlena looked from the dress, catching Arlet’s gaze again, Arlet was biting the inside of her lip nervously. “I saw it on a mannequin in Demuto last week and knew you had to have it.”

Marlena laid the dress to the side carefully, stepping into Arlet’s personal bubble. She grabbed her gently by the cheeks, her thumb grazing over the spot she was still gnawing at from the inside. “What’s wrong? You’re not worried that I hate the dress, are you?” Marlena asked. “Because I love it.”

Arlet shook her head and stopped fidgeting to take a deep breath. “You haven’t—you never reached out after Ivelle found us. I started to wonder if you maybe thought this wasn’t worth the risk anymore...” She had always been the more reserved of the group—the one who felt out of place around them. Marlena, the future leader. Vega, the storm-wielder. Khort, the dragon. Bridger, Tolevarre’s strongest warrior.

On late nights when it was just the two of them, Arlet had opened up about her secret quandaries. She didn’t feel strong enough. How would she ever rule over a territory, one that had given up on her years ago, with nothing to offer it?

Vates is a lost cause, but Arlet isn’t.

“Arlet,” Marlena said on a breath, running her thumb over her full lips. “I didn’t intend on making you feel that way… I’m just busy. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes and—” This wasn’t the time to tell her. “I want you. I didn’t want to leave you that night, but I had to make sure that if we tell people about us… when we tell people about us, it’s us who get to make that decision. Not Ivelle.”

Arlet wrapped her arms around Marlena’s torso. “You two look like you’re getting along,” she commented.

Marlena pushed a stray curl out of Arlet’s face. “She’s coming around.”