Evony came to a stop a passus away from Venita, her eyebrows up. The other girls noticed her first as the silver girl’s back was to her. Admina, whose eyes were red-rimmed, was the first to move, laughing and running towards her. Evony smiled at her friend. “I wasn’t gone that long,” she said.
Venita turned slowly around, mouth open, eyes wide, while the other girls had much milder reactions. Chana gave her a little nod, but the other two only smiled politely. Evony returned Chana’s nod before turning her attention back to Admina, who was speaking now.
“We were told that you’d been called home, that you had to leave,” her friend said, gaze on the ground, voice quiet. “I thought you weren’t coming back.”
Evony laughed. “Things changed and I can stay now, so don’t worry.”
“What kind of cockroach are you?” Venita shouted.
She turned to look at the other girl and sighed. “Do you always have to be so loud?”
“Why are you back? His imperial majesty cannot have possibly allowed this, you are not even a true noble!”
“Since I just came from speaking with Galen, yes, he is allowing this. And really, why do you care? You’ve been obsessed with what I’m doing, with whether I’m here or not from the beginning. I’m not hurting you, so what’s the problem?”
Venita’s glare ruined her pretty face. “Your existence is the problem! You are a living example of the breakdown of proper morals, of how our society is slipping from what it should be, how it is becoming something corrupt, improper, and just disastrous!”
Evony repressed another sigh. Obviously reason wasn’t going to work, which left her with her usual plan: Avoidance. She looked at Admina and said, “Would you like to go for a walk?”
Her friend eagerly bobbed her head, while Venita stepped towards them. “Do not dare ignore me! I am Primus Venita of Argentia, I am a member of the first families, and you will respect me!”
She couldn’t resist the smile and words. “I’m of clan Aureline. Not only are we also one of the first families, we are the first family. We’ve been allies of the Fusciennes since what they held was barely considered a kingdom.”
While Venita stopped, sputtering, Evony hurried to her room, dropped her pack inside, then rejoined Admina. They headed out as Venita screeched her anger behind them. Chuckling, Evony broke into a light jog, while Admina hurried her pace to match hers. She knew Venita saw herself as too much of a lady to ever dare run in public, so once they were out of her range, they were safe from her poisonous rants.
“I see she’s taking it well,” Evony said, once they were out of the hall and in the nearest garden, one filled with flowering bushes.
Admina stared at her for a second before giggling. “She was so happy you were gone, saying how she got his imperial majesty to finally come to his senses, and saying she was the real reason you’d been sent home.”
She snorted. “Hardly, though I’m not surprised. Though I am shocked she’s still at it. I thought ignoring her would get her to stop. I wish I knew what her problem was.”
“Her problem is she’s not a nice person and she’s obsessed with being empress. So are Paran and Neah, but they’re quiet about it. Chana wants to be empress too, but it’s not the focus of everything she does the way it is with the others.”
Evony studied Admina for a second, the insight a bit of a surprise. She knew Admina saw a lot, since most people ignored her as only being a Rector, but she really hadn’t realized how observant she was. She wondered what else she’d missed. “I hadn’t noticed, but I guess I really don’t talk to the others much. What else have you noticed?”
Admina pinked but smiled. “Venita considers you a threat to everything she believes in, which is why she hates you. Chana respects you, even if she doesn’t understand you. Paran thinks she’s above everyone, even Venita. Neah follows Chana for protection, but thinks she’d make a better empress. Most of the soldiers who see you pass salute you, even if you can’t see them. Every time his imperial majesty visits us, his eyes are on you most of the time, another reason Venita hates you. Oh, and Rakin favours Chana, dislikes Venita, and doesn’t like you much either.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t notice even half of that. I knew about Rakin not being overly fond of me, but not the rest. You’re really good at seeing things, aren’t you?”
Her friend ducked her head, cheeks stained even darker now. “I had to learn to keep ahead of my b—It was useful at home. And here at court, I had thought it would be a good idea to know as much as I could about everyone to keep myself safe.”
“It’s a very useful skill. I’ll have to get you to teach me how to notice that much when we have time.”
“I’d be glad to!”
Evony smiled at Admina, who was grinning. They walked in comfortable silence for several moments. Evony eyed the two male servants who were weeding one of the garden beds, admiring their muscular physique. She really needed to start making a list of men she could send back to Silvinsula for a time, to see if any of them tempted any of her family.
Red movement drew her gaze and she saw a handful of men in crimson tunics and breastplates march across their path, looking like they were headed towards the practice fields. It seemed every day there were more and more soldiers in provincial colours around the palace.
Admina evidently noticed them as well, as she said, “Only a little over a week until the midsummer festival. I wonder if we’ll be expected to attend.”
Evony shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you. I wish I could compete. Then again, there’s always next year I suppose.”
“You think you’ll come visit next year? I would like that.”
She chuckled. “Something like that.”
Chapter 20: Pushing
Evony finished tying her hair back, wishing it didn’t take so long to dry. At least it was summer, in winter it had a tendency to freeze if she didn’t stay in front of the fire for far longer than was really comfortable. It was getting long enough that she thought she should probably cut it soon, even if that did make it frizz worse.
Tugging her chiton so it lay straighter, she double-checked the placement of all her weapons then walked out of the bathhouse. She stopped almost as soon as she was outside, eyes on the soldier in black who was waiting there. He saluted her before handing her a piece of sealed paper. “Thank you,” she said, not familiar with the man.
“It is my duty, brightness,” he said, saluting her again and hurried off.
Evony broke the seal, thinking it looked half familiar. Inside was the shortest note she’d ever received. My rooms. G
She shook her head but folded the paper and headed towards Galen’s suite. She supposed he must be busy, given he hadn’t come by to see her like he’d said he would when Balint had arrived. She hoped nothing too serious had happened, that he wasn’t calling her to try and convince her to go home again. Because she thought she might actually punch him this time if he tried.
Following a path very familiar to her feet now, Evony nodded at the few soldiers and small handful of servants she knew now. The soldiers almost all returned her nod with a wave or salute, while only about half of the servants did. The others hid their eyes. Which was something Evony understood was a sign of respect, but always felt too much like a sign of fear for her to be comfortable with. Not when she had no intention of scaring the people who were avoiding her gaze.
Reaching the relative privacy of the hall to Galen’s rooms, Evony finally relaxed a bit. With two assassination attempts, she was keeping herself on her highest alert, only relaxing out of that state when in her room, Admina’s, or Galen’s. And even then, she wasn’t fully relaxing. And she wouldn’t until she was sure all the threats to Galen had been properly neutralized.
The guards on Galen’s door just waved her through again, making her frown. She really
did need to mention that to Balint. Even if she was the only woman in the palace who wore a short chiton in public and was openly armed. That thought gave her pause. How many women were carrying hidden weapons? That might be an avenue an assassin might exploit. She made a mental note to tell both Galen and Balint about it, to ensure the proper safeguards were put into place. After all, she couldn’t be the only woman on the mainland capable of fighting and killing.
Evony walked into Galen’s room, not terribly surprised when she saw him sitting at his desk, stacks of papers beside him. He appeared to be signing and sealing one stack, and reading the pages from another, almost simultaneously. She watched him for a second, admiring both his ability to multitask and the view she had of his back and the muscles that shifted there every time he moved. He was a fine male specimen. And she thought that was something most people would agree with, but then again, she was prejudiced.
Galen’s gaze found her when she was halfway across the room, his head snapping up at the sound of her soft footfalls. His face smoothed out when he saw her and he offered her one of his upward lip quirks. “You are much faster than I anticipated.”
“Well, your messenger was waiting for me outside the baths. He was hard to miss since most men with any kind of sense don’t hang around the front of the women’s baths, at least not obviously. And I don’t think you make it a point of hiring fools to guard you and the palace. What are you working on?”
“Reports,” he said. “The endless stream of paperwork that seems to be necessary to run the empire. I envy my younger self. I miss having the luxury of leaving things half done.”
Evony folded her arms on his shoulder and looked down at the papers. “Can’t you get some assistants to handle some of this for you?”
“This is what my aides have sent me. There is only so much I can trust them with. Not all of them are as loyal as I wish.”
“Then you need to find some more loyal people to help you, because this is a mountain. How do you get anything else done?”
“I am used to it, I suppose.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Get yourself unused to it and find some good help! You’ll go crazy if this is all you’re doing.”
“Balint has mentioned something similar, as has Rakin, in his own way. I suppose if three voices are saying the same thing, I had best listen.”
“You should. Especially if all three of us are agreeing. Did you need my help with any of this?” she asked, waving a hand at the stack of papers.
“No,” Galen said, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips, before he sobered. “I wanted to speak to you about the current state of our investigation.”
Evony straightened, mood going as serious as his. The plot against him and assassination attempts were nothing she was going to take lightly. Galen stood as well and led her to the divan they’d been on just the day prior. Only when they were sitting beside each other did he continue. “We have several members of the Porifirio family answering our inquiries while the rest are under house arrest,” he said, eyes lightening with emotion. “We have been hammering at them, squeezing everything we can out of them. So far we have verified that they hired both assassins, that they had intended to have me killed and replace me with a ruler who would be more inclined to let the noble families do as they like without interference. They are currently regretting that decision now.”
Evony reached out to grab Galen’s hand, not liking the glint to his gaze as he spoke. He looked so alone, like it was him against everyone else. She wondered if he even knew how to ask for help...
He looked at her for a second, then squeezed her hand gently. “With them as an example, none of the other families will dare even think about moving against me. I intend to make certain of that.”
She met his gaze steadily and shook her head. “I understand wanting to strike back at those who attack you, at wanting to burn out the rot root and branch, but I think you’re pushing too hard. If you keep pressing, keep cornering people, they’ll feel like they have no options left. People with nothing to lose are the most dangerous. Ensure you’re not completely without mercy.”
Galen held her stare for several heartbeats then sighed. “Too many see mercy as weakness.”
“And untempered strength is seen by too many as unfair abuse.”
He frowned. “You will not agree with me?”
“Not if I think you’re wrong.”
“If you were anyone else, I might be offended.”
“If you get offended by people disagreeing with you, you’ll never get anything done. Different viewpoints help spot weaknesses that you can’t see and find solutions you wouldn’t have thought of.”
“You are not very comforting.”
“Neither is the world as it really is.”
He grimaced for a moment. “Enough of this,” he said. “I can think of a better use of our time.”
Evony was about to ask what he thought was better when his arms went around her waist. An undignified squeak escaped her lips as he picked her up and deposited her in his lap. While she didn’t find straddling him unpleasant in the least, she would have appreciated some warning. But then Galen was kissing her and she didn’t care anymore.
What it was about him that made her desire burn, she had no idea, but it was kicked into full blaze the second their lips touched. Already she could feel the rising tingle of her need as she pressed herself closer to him, her arms going around his neck.
His tongue wrestled hers for dominance as their lips danced, every movement seeming to stoke the fire within her, her lips seemingly affected by the same tingles as her divide. Evony was happy to keep this up for hours, but Galen obviously had other plans. He drew away for just long enough to pull open the front of her chiton.
He dove straight in with his mouth, without even teasing her nipples with his fingers first. The first touch of his tongue to her flesh had a soft cry escape her lips, the soft skin hardening into a bud in moments under the attention of his mouth and tongue. He swirled her nipple around, gently pressing his teeth into it in a way that made her gasp.
One of Galen’s hands pressed into the small of her back, his palm hot through the thin material of her chiton as he slid her as close to him as he could get her, his mouth continuing its delightful attentions. So focused on what he was doing to her, Evony didn’t notice what his free hand was doing until she heard the dull clunk of something metal hitting the floor. She jerked to look, catching a glimpse of her knives before Galen grabbed her head and recaptured her lips with his.
Moments later, Evony’s chiton went the way of her weapons and she found herself nude, straddling Galen. Not to be outdone, she slipped out of his embrace enough that she could tug at his tunic. He looked at her, eyes heavy with desire. “I refuse to be the only one naked,” she said as she struggled with his belt.
That got her a slow smile and he stood, quickly divesting himself of his belt, sword, and tunic then swept her up and strode towards his room. He threw her onto his bed before jumping up beside her. She chuckled as he grabbed her hips and pulled her close to him, smiling up at him and waiting for his lips to come back to hers.
Except that’s not where they went. She jerked slightly when she felt his breath against the curls that surrounded where her legs met, her eyes going wide. Galen’s hands held her in place and he held her gaze as he slowly lowered his mouth to press his lips against the very top of her divide.
The feeling made her shiver in the most delightful way, her pleasure point throbbing with desire. He kissed her lower then opened his mouth, adding his clever tongue to the mix. The second it touched the slick wetness of her slit, she was lost. Evony grabbed fistfuls of the sheets beneath her as she cried out, the feeling overwhelming. If Galen’s hands hadn’t held her in place, she’d have escaped the feeling too intense every time his tongue flicked at her pleasure point.
She glared until she noticed the stiff banner of his own need. An idea struck her, given how similar they’d been so far. Before he could react, she sat up, leaned forward, wrapped a hand around his phallus and licked the tip.
He froze, shuddering faintly, while she swirled her tongue inside her mouth. He tasted salty, not that she minded. She had always preferred savoury to sweet. With a smile, she leaned forward and tried running her tongue along the length of him. The sound he made was all the encouragement she needed to continue her experiment.
Evony gently folded her lips around the tip of his length, letting her tongue run circles around it, feeling him tense with every movement. About to try to go lower, Galen’s hands softly pushed her away. She looked up, wondering what she’d done wrong.
But the heavy-lidded expression and the way he grabbed her hips firmly and pulled her towards him told her the answer to that.
With the combination of the moisture of her divide and what she’d done to his shaft, Galen slid inside of her far more easily this time, thrusting the full length of himself inside of her like he couldn’t wait any longer. She knew she couldn’t, letting out a happy cry as she felt him inside of her.
Using the hands he still had on her hips to help, Galen moved in and out of her much harder and faster than last time, something she found she preferred. The way he managed to get all the way inside her, so he felt like he was hitting the back of her made her cry out every time she felt it. His hard phallus filled her and made every spot inside come alive.
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