Page 34
DAVEN
“Ihave my orders, Daven.”
“And I’ve already told you what I think of them,” Daven snarled. “Don’t you need to babysit Mirel?”
Vandor didn’t reply. His eyes tracked Ryneth as he crossed the penthouse. Kylix’s lackey was ruining Daven’s moment. He wasn’t going to leave. That much was clear.
The Luminary had waited only because the medics had ordered no questioning until Ryneth could stand without collapsing. Now that he’d been released into Daven’s custody, apparently that mercy had expired.
Fucking Kylix.
“Fine. Have it your way, but I want your presence to be nothing but a shadow. I’ll be the one taking Ryneth to the Academy tomorrow.”
“Agreed.”
“I’m glad we got there eventually,” Daven grumbled, turning his back on the Luminary guard the moment he walked inside his home. “Oh, did you get him his Academy uniform?”
“It’s already in his wardrobe.”
That was too much information. The motherfucker had been inside his house, had made space in his wardrobe for Ryneth. Had touched Ryneth’s new clothes.
The ones Daven had chosen himself.
The thought of Vandor’s hands on Ryneth’s clothes made Daven’s pulse jump.
“I didn’t mean to overstep. I was ordered to make sure Ryneth is all right.” Vandor’s voice stayed flat, as if he could hear Daven’s pulse jump and knew exactly what he was thinking.
Perhaps his thoughts were loud. Everything about him always was. Only his air could quiet him. And now, apparently, Ryneth.
Without turning back to Vandor, he booted his front door shut, his eyes already on Ryneth, who had found the double glass doors and stepped onto the terrace of his 200th-floor penthouse. If he stepped any closer to the edge, Daven would drag him back.
Ryneth didn’t. He just stared up at the sky, as if welcoming the endless stars and the few neighboring planets that were particularly visible tonight.
Daven typed on his multi-slate and the shadows of the penthouse retreated. Soft amber-white bands lit along the ceiling edges, warming the penthouse in a low, golden glow. He didn’t like how right it looked. Ryneth in his space, under his sky, as if he’d always belonged there.
He expected Ryneth to turn around with those same large eyes he’d had when they first entered Daven’s penthouse, but the other man didn’t move, his gaze still fixated on the endless galaxy spread out beyond the glass.
Annoyed, Daven flicked his thumb across the slate again. Low orchestral music filled the silence, the deep hum of it vibrating through the floor beneath their feet.
Finally, Ryneth looked down, and Daven grinned when he saw him squint as cooler light rose from the floorboards and spilled toward the glass.
The glow stretched past the terrace and into the dark beyond, a clean ribbon of light cutting through the black.
Daven stepped closer, watching Ryneth’s reflection sharpen in the glass. “The light follows my command even out there.” He couldn’t help but sound smug. “There is nowhere for the shadows to hide once I decide to see them.”
“That’s… really beautiful.” Ryneth watched the artificial dusk fade into black, then turned back to face him.
“So are you.”
Ryneth stiffened. A flush crept up his neck, stark against the pale cast of his skin. He let out a dismissive huff and looked away, but he couldn’t stop the involuntary twitch of his fingers against the thin fabric at his waist.
Daven tapped the glass once more. The massive terrace windows shifted, dimming to a reflective sheen that turned the outside void into a mirror. “And now I can see every angle of you, aethera. I like the way the light catches your skin here.”
He followed Ryneth as he made his way back inside and staggered at the doors. “Need a hand?”
“I’m not a pet, Daven.” Ryneth snorted, but the sound barely left him before his foot caught at the threshold and his body tipped forward.
Within two steps, Daven caught him and scooped him up against his chest like he weighed nothing, one arm under his knees, the other braced across his back. “Uh-huh. Keep talking like you’re free while I stop you from collapsing on my floor.”
