AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So, you’re saying I don’t know that you are always the calmest when you have an engine or some piece of technology in your hands, tearing it apart only to put it back together again?” He freezes, his face remaining emotionless as I quirk a brow at him this time. “You’re saying I don’t know that Malik has so many feelings and emotions swirling around in his head at all times that he doesn’t know how to portray them, so they usually come out in fits of anger on a punching bag or wrapped up in a ball of sweetness and sugar as he helps a little girl make another daisy chain? A daisy chain she always fucking made because she knew it would calm him more than her?” I can feel my voice rising, but there’s no stopping me now. “And Talon, the guy who is always laughing and joking, refusing to offer anyone the true version of himself. The version of him that loves to care for others. Maybe it’s doing a gods-awful job of making their favorite meal, or taking them to see their favorite movie, or whatever mundane non-magic way he can show you he cares without words, but that’s the Talon I know.”
My chest heaves with every breath I take, my fingers trembling from the emotion coursing through my veins as Alexi leans back in his seat, pupils blown as he simply stares me down.
I wait with bated breath, desperate to hear his bullshit response, but as is my life lately, a rapping of knuckles sounds against my window before the door opens a moment later.
“We’re here, Sir.” I don’t turn to the chauffeur straight away, keeping my eyes glued to the man who always has a way of stirring such emotions in me, but to my disappointment, he offers a subtle nod before getting out of his side of the car.
Sadness engulfs me. The fact that I just bared a little of my soul to him as I yelled without care or caution, only for him to say nothing in response, hurts my heart. But what manages to lift my spirits above everything else is the fact that he didn’t have a single word in response for me.
This man has a response for everything. Everything.
It somehow manages to put a small pep in my step as I climb from the car, avoiding the chauffeur's gaze as embarrassment over my earlier rant plays on my mind. Alexi doesn’t offer a backward glance as he heads for the building in front of us, and I keep my pace slow for a moment so I can at least attempt to catch my breath before stepping into the store with him.
Awe stricken, I gape at the opulent decor. Towering ceilings soar overhead, chandeliers cascading shimmering light around the large space filled with rack after rack of clothing on display for customers to browse. I feel out of my element. Which is weird as fuck, but this is a stark contrast to the last shopping trip I went on at Peggy Grundy’s, searching for the best possible armor to wear for war.
I can’t decide whether this is better or worse.
“Ah, Mr. Alexi, please, follow me. We have everything set up in a booth for you.” A sales assistant appears out of nowhere, her smile reaching her eyes as she looks between the two of us, and I manage to offer her one in response. Alexi follows after her and I make sure to keep a step behind him this time, not wanting to get lost among everything here.
When the sales assistant escorts us behind a large cream curtain, I don’t know what it is I’m expecting to see on the other side, but it’s definitely not a trio of floor-length mirrors, a large silver sofa, and a changing room off to the right with rails and rails of clothes hanging on the set up to the right of the space, waiting to be tried on. There are silvers, pinks, blues, and even reds mixed in. A rainbow of fucking colors and I don’t even know where to begin.
Alexi drops down onto the sofa without a word, leaving the assistant to look at me, waving her hand toward the changing room. Freezing in place for a moment, I consider whether I should voice how out of my depth I actually am here, but think better of it before I open my mouth. I’ve already let my emotions get the better of me today, twice, if we’re including the virgin blurt earlier. I don’t need to make a third error.
Rolling my shoulders back, I take a step toward the changing room, and just as my hand clutches the curtain that separates it from the room, Alexi calls out my name, making me pause in my tracks.
“I thought you might want to know that the war you’ve been so worried about is over.” He says it so monotone that it takes me a second to process what he’s saying, and the second it registers in my brain, my body stiffens and fear claws at my throat.
“How did it end?” My voice is hoarse with fear and uncertainty, and just the general fact that I’m not in the fucking loop gets the better of me as Alexi finally lifts his eyes from his phone to look at me.
“Zeus and Zellus…” My heart practically stops in my chest, pain exploding through my body as my knees threaten to give out beneath me. No. No. No. No. No. Please, no. “Are dead.”
My legs give way as I crumple to the floor but Alexi somehow manages to catch my fall before I turn into a heap of limbs. If they’re dead, does that mean…
“Rhea?”
Alexi looks into my eyes, curiosity and intrigue flashing in his deep pools as he observes me. “Your friend is safe, Harmonia. She won.”
