Page 87 of Revenant

“We’ll talk tomorrow.” Pryce lets out a quiet sigh, forcing a faint, wounded smile, and retreats into the hall. “All of us.”

Elias crosses the room, threading his fingers through Alicent’s, claiming both her hand and attention. “Let’s get you a shower, kitten…and into bed.”

We’ve all come to terms with the arrangement. It’s something none of us expected or have experience with, yet it’s become an unspoken rule. It’s obvious Alicent is forming a connection with the four of us, and if that makes her happy, that’s enough. It’s the very thing keeping my lips sealed now.

I want to challenge Elias, to be selfish and reach for her—but I don’t. Tonight, she’s his.

28: Alicent

Rain pelts against the window panes as sleep evades me. Meanwhile Elias sleeps like the dead, mocking me with his soft snores. He looks so at peace, lips slightly parted, the usual tension he carries between his brows a distant memory. Before he fell asleep, the room dissolved around us as he painted a beautiful picture of his homeland.

Fog clung low over water that stretched farther than any real coastline should, the two of us seated at the edge of a weathered dock, our feet dangling above water dark enough to hide what it held. The wood beneath us had gone a deep silver gray with salt and age, worn smooth in places where generations of shipmen crossed it for generations. Somewhere behind us, a scattering of modest stone cottages leaned into the hillside, as if the whole village had been carved from the coast rather than built on top of it.

The wind picked up, and I swear I felt it against my skin, real as anything. Elias said it’s the first place he wants to go once this curse finally breaks, not out of nostalgia, but because he wants to show me something that was his before Veilcrest.

I can’t wait for the chance to stand where he stood as a boy, salt in the air, his hand in mine, and I finally get to see the parts of him that existed long before I ever did.

I turn over, facing the opposite direction of Elias, and peek at the clock resting on the nightstand. 2:00 a.m. stares back at me in bright, red numbers, and the pressing thought I’m not going to get any rest is blatantly obvious.

I grab my phone, and the screen lights up with a vengeance, as if it’s attempting to alert the aliens where to land their mother ship. I immediately turn the brightness down, not wanting to wake Elias. Just because I’m not getting any sleep, doesn’t mean he can’t.

Ten minutes pass of aimless scrolling on social media before a text message comes through. My text tone rings through the silent room, and I smother it against the sheets while trying to silence it. I look over my shoulder, certain it would’ve woken him up, but his soft breaths still fill the space. Releasing a heavy sigh, my heart rate finally starts to slow before I check the notification.

After Moriah and I got back from the Mooncut Lounge, it wasn’t hard to figure out who’s messages belonged to who. I saved them accordingly, and so far, I haven’t had any indications my assumptions were wrong.

Koen: Late night, or early morning?

I stare at the message, trying to decipher a deeper meaning.

Me: I’m not sure. What’s it called when you haven’t been asleep but also don’t plan to?

Koen: Touché, love.

I exit the message app and get back to doom scrolling, but another text comes through.

Koen: What are you wearing?

Heat immediately flushes my cheeks. Is he really doing this? Now? When I’m lying in bed with one of his best friends? And what about Moriah? I know she thinks he’s hot—but would my replying bother her? She’s definitely boy crazy, but she’s never said he’s off-limits. After a few seconds, I decide to shelve the thought for another day.

Me: How promiscuous of you. While I’m in the bed of another man, no less ;)

His reply is instantaneous.

Koen: Then his clothes I presume?

Me: Possibly.

God I’m not good at this. I’m not sure how to navigate flirting with one guy while sharing a bed with another.

Koen: And he’s doing what, exactly?

Me: Sleeping.

Koen: Imbecile.

Dots appear before they vanish and my chest deflates. Until they reappear and I stare at the screen in anticipation.

Koen: Can you be quiet, love? I have an idea.