Chapter 29 -Avianna-
\-Avianna-
Officially, I am ill.
That is the story my father gave the court after the nightmares left me barely functional.
The excuse might almost be believable if Caylix did not look half feral every time someone suggests leaving my chambers. I sit curled against the cushions beside the fire while another healer finishes pretending to examine me. She presses cool fingers against my wrist, murmurs something polite about exhaustion, then gathers her supplies quickly beneath Caylix’s stare. I almost feel sorry for her.
“You should continue resting, Your Highness,” she says softly.
“I’ve been resting for three days,” I mutter.
The healer wisely pretends not to hear that. She lowers into a quick curtsy before hurrying toward the door. Caylix opens it for her automatically without ever fully taking his eyes off me. The second the door shuts, the room changes. The tension does not disappear. It deepens because now we are alone again.
Gods. I stare into the fire instead of looking at him but I can feel him anyway. The hex hums constantly now, low beneath my skin like a second pulse I can never fully escape. I can feel even the tiniest shift in his emotions now and it is becoming increasingly difficult to pretend to be normal. Nothing about this is normal anymore.
I finally glance toward him. That turns out to be a mistake. Caylix stands near the window dressed entirely in black again, broad shoulders tense beneath the fabric while rain streaks silver behind him. His dark hair is slightly damp from patrol duty earlier. He looks exhausted.
“You need sleep,” I say quietly.
His expression does not change. “So do you.”
“I have been sleeping.”
“No,” he says calmly. “You are collapsing periodically.”
I glare at him. The tether shifts again. Warmth…affection…concern.
Gods.
I look away immediately. It is becoming unbearable feeling him this clearly. It is not just emotions anymore. I know when he is about to speak, about to move, and earlier this morning I woke seconds before he entered the room because some instinct inside me already knew he was approaching.
Thunder rolls softly outside.
“I spoke with Agameus earlier,” I say carefully, needing distraction before the tether pulls me into another dangerous spiral. “He said the hex is evolving.”
Caylix’s jaw tightens immediately. “I know.”
That calm answer unsettles me more than surprise would have.
“You say that like it doesn’t concern you.”
“It concerns me.” His gaze settles fully onto mine now. “I simply have more immediate concerns.”
I know exactly what those concerns are. Me. The tether pulses hard enough to confirm it instantly. Gods, I cannot survive much longer with him looking at me like this. A knock interrupts my spiraling thoughts. Caylix moves toward the door, every protective instinct sharpening through the tether so strongly I nearly feel it physically. Rhydon enters moments later and the energy of the room changes again.
Rhydon’s gaze moves across the chamber slowly before landing on me beside the fire. Concern softens his expression immediately.
“You look pale,” he says quietly.
“I’ve been trapped in bed for days.”
His eyes flick briefly toward Caylix standing near the doorway.
“Yes,” he says smoothly. “I’ve heard your guard has been quite devoted during your illness.”
Something accusatory sits beneath his words. I feel Caylix go completely still behind him. Rhydon walks further into the room before kneeling beside my chair. His hand settles against my knee possessively.
The tether explodes.
Protectiveness slams through Caylix so strongly it steals my breath for half a second. Rhydon notices and his eyes move from me to Caylix.
Ah. So this is deliberate.
He is testing you, Caylix…Testing us. You have to calm down. I think towards Caylix.
“I was thinking,” Rhydon says softly while keeping his hand on me, “perhaps once you recover, we should move the wedding forward instead of delaying further.”
Every muscle in my body tightens as the tether spikes with alarm. The room suddenly feels suffocating.
“I’m hardly in a state to discuss wedding plans,” I say carefully.
Rhydon’s hand strokes slightly up my thigh and I resist the urge to flinch.
“Of course,” he says softly. “I only worry about you.”
Jealousy floods the tether. Rhydon rises smoothly afterward, though his attention keeps flicking toward Caylix in brief calculating glances.
“I’ll leave you to rest,” he says lightly. “Though perhaps your guard should eventually allow other people near you again.”
Silence. Caylix says nothing. Rhydon smiles faintly before turning toward the door. He pauses beside Caylix on the way out.
“You’ve done admirable work,” he says quietly. “But do try to remember that she's mine.”
The room goes deathly still.
Caylix lowers his head respectfully. “Yes, Your Highness.”
Rhydon leaves. The second the door closes, the tether detonates with emotion so intense it nearly makes me dizzy. Jealousy. Relief. Possessiveness. Restraint. Guilt.
Gods. I grip the arm of the chair hard enough for my knuckles to ache.
“Caylix…”
“I need a moment.”
His voice sounds dangerously calm. Then he turns toward the opposite side of the chamber before I can stop him. Through the tether, I can feel him at war with himself…the violent need to drag Rhydon’s hand off me, the instinct to put himself between us, the overwhelming territorial rage he is trying desperately to contain.
My pulse stumbles hard. None of those feelings are mine. And the terrifying part? Some small ruined part of me likes them anyway. That realization stays with me long after nightfall. Long after Caylix finally settles into the chair near the fireplace to keep watch. The storm worsens outside as sleep refuses to come. The hex burns beneath my skin again, low and aching and impossible to ignore.
I know what would help. That is the problem. Heat coils slowly through my stomach while I stare at the canopy above my bed, painfully aware of Caylix only a few feet away.
No. Absolutely not. I squeeze my eyes shut. Another pulse of aching heat twists through me.
Gods.
I turn onto my side slowly, keeping my breathing carefully even while thunder shakes softly through the mountains outside. I have to shield what I’m feeling. Embarrassment floods me for even thinking about it. The tether reacts faintly, sending awareness from across the room.
No.
No no no.
I force my thoughts away from him frantically but all I can think about is him. This is humiliating. Okay Avi. Focus on nothing. Absolutely nothing. Don’t focus on his voice, or his hands, and definitely not on the way he looked ready to kill Rhydon earlier.
Another pulse of heat rolls through me. The tether goes completely still across the room.
Oh gods. He knows.
Mortification crashes through me instantly and I throw every mental shield I have directly into the tether.
Silence.
For one brief horrible second, I think it worked. Then Caylix’s voice cuts quietly through the darkness.
“Avi.”
The way he says my name nearly destroys me outright. I freeze beneath the blankets.
“Avi,” he says again, voice strained now. “You’re thinking about me so loudly I can barely breathe.”