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I shot him a wary glance, silver glints of moonlight dancing off his horns. “I’m surprised that you aren’t yelling at me. The last time we spoke, you seemed less than thrilled.”
Gavril exhaled, looking at the ground before meeting my eye again. “I’m sorry for that. It’s just... I thought you were talking about Xadrian, not Theron. It’s a lot to wrap your head around. Everyone thought you hated each other.”
“I did... until I didn’t.” Blowing out a breath, I shrugged. “I’m not sure when it changed. He’s just—“ I stopped, trying to search for the right words, and Gavril’s expression softened.
“You care about him.”
“Yeah.”
He chuckled. “It would’ve been easier if it was Xadrian.”
I made a face. “I like Xadrian. He’s everything I should want. I just...don’t.”
“I understand.” His eyes were distant, no doubt lost in thoughts of Orya.
“I’m sorry, Gav.”
His brows drew together. “For what?”
“For pushing you to find someone else and try dating again. I should’ve understood that losing a mate isn’t something you just get over.”
Gavril’s gaze softened, and he shook his head. “It’s alright. I know you want the best for me. And Orya might not have—“ He stopped, and I paused, standing side by side in the warm night breeze. “We’ll figure this out, somehow,” He said with a wry smile. “I may not like the Marshal, but I’ll try. For you.”
I smirked. “Don’t act like you have much choice, especially now that we’re allies.”
Gavril chuckled, his eyes alight with mischief. “Speaking of which, did he know you volunteered his army?”
“We didn’t exactly have a prior discussion about it...”
He burst into laughter. “I guess he really meant it.”
“What?”
“When he told Dad he loved you.”
My face was on fire. “Oh.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t push you to talk about it.” He winked at me. I rarely opened up about my feelings. Even with family members, it was difficult to express myself. Though now it felt like I was failing him by not opening up.
I stopped by the inner gate to the palace; the grounds filled with a milling group of rebels. “Gav—“
He cut me off. “I’m going back for Dad. We’ll need him with that bullshit Teodos—with that stuff I mentioned.”
With a resigned sigh, I nodded. “Be careful. Don’t get hurt.”
Gavril snorted in amusement and gave me a quick hug. “You too.”
My throat was thick, and my eyes brimmed with tears as Gavril released me. With one last look, he disappeared around the corner, leaving me standing there alone. Something tugged in my chest, and before I could stop myself, I ran after Gavril.
“Gav! Wait!”
He turned and I launched myself into his arms, burying my face in his chest as I fought the tears threatening to break through. “Thank you. For everything. I thought you’d hate me and—I love you, little brother.”
“Love you too, sis.”
I cleared my throat and stepped away, brushing away the errant tear that fell. “Come and find me after you talk to Dad and I’ll find you a suite.”
A voice came from the darkness behind him. “Make sure it’s far away from the Marshal’s rooms so Haemir doesn’t have a stroke.” Roza stalked forward, still wearing Zerek’s clothes and carrying a bag over her shoulder. “The basement might be far enough.” She turned to me as Gavril shuddered. “We need to talk.”
