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“Berry?” I heard a few seconds later.
“In here.”
I rolled onto my back when I heard the curtain being moved. Greid stood there, clutching his coffee cup—and the bag of pastries, obviously—with a frown marring his brow.
“Oh no. You’re in the nest. What’s wrong?” He clambered in, his long limbs folding awkwardly to fit into the small space. “Wait, do you want to be left alone?”
“No.” I reached out and grabbed his hand, tugging him down. He hastily set his cup beside mine before lying down on his side, an arm curling over my stomach. I told him, “I called Violet.”
“Okay…”
I sighed, running my palm up and down his arm as I stared at the ceiling. “She asked me to go visit her.”
I felt Greid tense almost imperceptibly against my side, before he asked, “Did the thought of going back there make you feel weird?”
That brought a smile to my face. Greid just got me, without me having to say much. Shifting onto my side to face him, I shuffled closer and fisted the front of his onesie. “Yeah. I know I said I’d visit her, but now…”
“I get it.” He leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Is there a way to see her, like, literally anywhere else?”
“Not really,” I said woodenly. “They’re not allowed out of the compound on their own, and I can’t think of anything worse than having another cult member there while I speak to her.”
Greid pursed his lips. “What about if I escorted her? Would they allow that?”
I snorted, tilting my head to kiss his chin. “You mean would they entrust her care to the stunning and ethereal sex wizard Greid the Greater for an afternoon?”
He huffed, ears twitching. “Shut up.”
“Sorry.” I kissed him again to take the sting out of my teasing, knowing he was just trying to help. “I have no idea. But they’d probably think you were scoping her out as another potential lifemate.”
He shuddered, fingers curling into my hip. “Ew. No offence to your aunt,” he added quickly. “I’m sure she’s—But, you know, that’s… really gross.”
“It could work though,” I said thoughtfully. “If you made it clear you were escorting her to see me. Not for anything else. But then they’d wonder why I don’t just visit her at the cult. It’s not like I’m supposed to hate the thought of going back. As far as they know, the cult gave me everything I wanted.”
Then I realised, in a weird, twisted way, it kind of had. I’d always had vague, unformed dreams of finding someone, settling down, living a quiet life where I was free to do whatever I wanted. I had all of that now.
But no. I refused to let myself start thinking that way, to start being grateful for the cult. It wasn’t the cult that had given me what I wanted. The cult had stifled those dreams for years, because I’d let it. Because I’d willingly stayed.
Greid had given me those things. And I’d gotten them for myself. It had been a team effort. He’d given me the tools and the freedom to make a new life for myself, and I’d gone out and forged that life.
A lump formed in my throat as I stared into Greid’s big yellow eyes. He was the best teammate ever.
“Whatever you decide to do, I’ll support you,” he told me, slipping his big hand under my shirt to stroke my bare side. “If you decide to go back there to see her, I’ll go with you. Or if you want me to go and speak to the sex people and politely demand that I take Violet to meet you in the city, I’ll do that too. I’ll put on my big boy pants and try to sound all domineering or whatever.”
I laughed, shuffling closer to bury my face against his throat. “Thank you.”
Claws gently raked through my hair as he kissed the top of my head. “Want to get high and watch wrestling to forget about it for now?”
Snorting, I lifted my head to look at him. “Kind of, yeah. Will it wear off by this evening though? I don’t want to be all groggy when I go to meet Corva.”
“Yeah, we’ll just smoke a little. Then take a shower later and drink loads of water. Where did you and Corva decide to meet up? I can walk you there if you want. And come meet you when you’re done, obviously.”
I smiled at him. “Carnelians. It’s just down the street from Abyss.”
“Oh yeah, I know it. The wine bar.”
“They have other drinks too though, right?” I chewed my lip as I gazed at him worriedly. “What should I drink?”
Greid chuckled. “Whatever you want. That’s safe for humans, I mean,” he added hurriedly.
