Zephyrine
It’s quiet in <b>White </b>Pack at night, and everyone in the Dusk household has gone to bed. I can’t sleep.
Finished
I lie beside Dessyn, who’s already fast asleep, understandably, given she hosted the coronation and was run ragged all day.
I shift <b>slightly</b>, turning onto my back, staring <b>at </b>the ceiling and trying to steady my thoughts. At first light, I’ll head to Hue Pack to retrieve the rest of my belongings.
I let out a soft sigh and pull the nket up over my head, determined to force myself to sleep. But the moment I close my eyes, his <b>face </b>appears behind my eyelids.
That pierced brow. Those eyes. That mouth.
My eyes flutter open. I swallow hard, my pulse unsteady as I dare to wonder, just for a <b>forbidden </b>second, what it might feel like to be kissed by him.
I’ve had passing thoughts like this about Nyroth before, but none of them ever curled heat between my thighs the way this one does.
I close my eyes again, attempting control but It’s the sensation creeping over my skin that stops me this time. The chill thates not from the night air, but <b>from </b>presence. His presence.
Арех
The goosebumps rise so abruptly that I crease my brows.
I slowly open my eyes again and carefully slip out of bed, <b>making </b>sure not to wake Dessyn. I pad softly to the window and peer out, expecting nothing. Just the guards <b>on </b>night <b>duty</b>, around the fire,ughing in low voices. Normal.
I sigh again. Maybe I really am losing my mind but just as I start to turn away, something catches the edge of my vision.
A solitary figure.
Apex
He stands at the edge of the <bne</b>, under the pale glow of the moon, like a specter cloaked in midnight. His eyes are fixed straight ahead, on me. A chill slides down my spine.
He came here.. for me
I draw away from the window, suddenly breathless,
What do I do? Why is he here?
After a few seconds of anxious debate, I grab my cloak and slip quietly out the door,
He stands alone. No guards. No raven, No horse in sight. Just him, and the cold night air that makes everything feel. impossibly still.
I approach slowly, stopping a few paces away. He’s pulled his hair back into a tight <b>knot</b>, dressed more simply than usual, but nothing about him looks in. Even in silence, hemands everything around him.
He says nothing. He just watches.
“How did you find me?” I asked but no words came from him. This make another long silence fell between us.
“You walked here?” I ask again.
He doesn’t answer aloud, just gives a small nod ahead, his chin tilting.
I follow the motion and see a ck warhorse nearly invisible in the shadows. Powerful. Quiet.
I turn back to him. He’s still watching.
“It’s a powerful horse.” I murmur.
He nces toward it and nods
Then, softly he replied.
#Finished
“Do you want to ride it?” The offer stiffens me. “There’s a tavern I go to when I’m bothered,” he adds <b>gently</b>. “You want toe along?”
He’s always so direct. So raw in the way he feels. Never once has he hidden himself from me.
I look at the horse again. If I say yes, we’ll ride together and I’ll feel him too close. I may forget who I am.
But I’m bothered, too. So I nod.
He doesn’t speak again. He just reaches for my hand and twines our fingers together like it’s second nature. Like we’ve always belonged<b>. </b>
He leads me to the horse, and with one smooth motion, lifts me onto it as if I weigh nothing. I settle onto the beast, stunned by how steady itis, how much I’ve missed the rhythm of a real mount beneath me.
Then Apex mounts from behind, and I forget how to breathe.
His arms stretch past me to take the reins, caging me in with silent strength. His chest brushes my back. Solid, warm.manding.
1 lower my gaze, desperate to rein in the chaos building inside me. Then his voicees, <b>soft </b>at my ear.
“Shall we?”
Gods.
It sounds like amand even though it’s a question and I can’t say no.
“Yes,” I whisper.
The horse takes off at a gallop, and I have ridden many times before with my brother, with soldiers, but nothing <b>has </b>ever felt like this.
This feels sinful.
The wind is cold, but surrounded by him, I feel only heat.
By the time we reach the outskirts of town, the horse slows, and then stops. A tavern lies ahead,nterns flickering outside, and the low murmur of voices within.
I eye the line of carriages and noble horses.
Apex dismounts with effortless grace and offers me his hand.
I hesitate, just for a moment, before taking it.
He helps me down, even though I could’ve done it myself. For some reason, I let him
We enter together.”
The tavern isn’t buzzing, but there are enough people talking,ughing, and drinking that no one spares us a <b>nce</b>.
Apex leads me to a table tucked into a corner as though it’s always been his. He pulls out a chair for me and I sit, stealing a brief nce at him.
Oh, look who it is,” an older woman calls <b>from </b>behind the <b>counter</b>. She walks toward us with a smirk. “And you’ve brought a newdy tonight?”
13
Maier mons
She’s hugh women here before
“Two cups of presd. Apex says.
~10) pussa.” 1 est in sharply:
The eyes lift to mine, and a fair frown creases his brow, the way it always does when he is bothered.
He nods, gaze dropping again.
“Never mind” he murmurs,
“All right,” the taver keeper says cheerfully. “Tl be at the counter if you need anything
She walks off, leaving a silence that stretches between us.
study him. He doesn’t look like a womanizer. But he does look like a man who’s been with women. Many
I shouldn’t bother me but it does.<fn6ced> Official source is find?novel</fn6ced>
“You don’t want anything?” he asks gently.
That tone makes me get more angry. It’s probably how he speaks to thedies he had brought so far.
“I want to leave,” I say,
1 push up from my seat before he can respond. Something I can’t name ws in my chest.
1 storm out only to collide with a drunken nobleman stumbling toward the exit
His drink sloshes across my dress, soaking the bodice.
“Gods, my apologies,” he slurs, reaching <b>for </b>my chest to wipe at the spill but before he can touch me, a hand grips his wrist, crushing.
“Do not touch her.”
Apex throws him off. Not hard but the drunk flies into another table, crashing into tankards and shouts.
Chairs scrape back. People rise and The barkeep rushes over.
“I was <b>only </b>trying to help!” the drunk protests.
The woman waves him off with <b>a </b>sweet smile before turning to me.
“Oh, sweetheart, you’ll need a fresh dress. There’s one upstairs. One of thedies left it behind. Apex, take her to the room.”
The <b>room</b>? He has a room here?
I nce at him. He stares back without <b>blinking</b>, unreadable.
“Let’s go,” he says.
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