Chapter 71 THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE
Varkos
The heavy doors of my bedroom close behind me with a soft, final click that echoes through the entire room. I stand there for a moment, my shoulders locked, jaw clenched so tighly I swore I could hear the crack of my teeth.
They dared speak those words in my own house.
And yet here I am, forcing every line of my body into something that resembles calm. Because Ginnie’s here…and Lily too. The last thing either of them needs is to smell the fury rolling off me in waves.
Ginnie’s head is resting against the headboard, pillows tucked behind her back, one of her hands curled protectively around Lily’s tiny body. They both looked up the moment I entered the room.
Ginnie’s eyes find mine first.
And fuck—she sees it instantly.
Her brows pinch, that quiet, searching look she gets whenever she senses that I’m hiding something from her. She doesn’t speak right away. She just watches me, reading every rigid inch of my posture, every flicker I can’t quite bury.
“Lily, sweetheart,” she says softly, brushing a curl behind her tiny ear. “Can you give Mister Varkos and me a few minutes? We need to talk.”
“But I wanna stay with you.” Lily’s small face squeezes in annoyance.
“I know, baby.” Ginnie’s voice stays gentle, patient. “It won’t be long, I promise. Then you can come right back and we’ll finish the story, okay?”
For a second, Lily’s lower lip trembles. She glances at me with those big, uncertain eyes—then back at Ginnie.
“Go on. I’ll call you in soon, okay?” Ginnie leans down and presses a slow, tender kiss to her forehead. For a moment I think the child is going to remain hell-bent on staying. But then she sighs—a tiny, dramatic sound that belongs to someone three times her age and slides off the bed.
Before I realize what is happening, she stops in front of me. Without warning, she throws her skinny arms around my waist and buries her face against my thigh.
“Thank you, Mister Varkos.” She mumbles into the fabric of my trousers. “For saving Ginnie’s life.”
The words land like a slap across my face at first.
I don’t breathe.
I don’t move.
Behind her, Ginnie’s eyes widen, her lips parting in the same stunned silence that’s choking me. Lily squeezes once—hard, then lets go just as abruptly and runs out of the room, leaving the door open behind her.
The silence that follows is deafening as I stare at the empty doorway, feeling something strange and unfamiliar claw its way up the back of my throat. Not rage. Not anymore…this was something softer.
“Varkos?”
Ginnie’s voice pulls me back, she’s sitting upright now, the sheets pooled around her waist, studying me like I’m a difficult puzzle she’s trying to figure out.
“What happened?” she asks quietly. “Why did the Council of Elders come looking for you?”
I cross the room in three swift motions. My boots thudding loudly against the floorboards. Then I stop at the edge of the bed, running a hand through my hair in frustration.
“Nothing,” the words taste bitter as it rolls off my tongue. “Just…some irrelevant pack business.”
Her gaze doesn’t waver.
“Don’t do that,” she snaps, her voice carrying a serious edge now. “Don’t lie to me. I know they said something important to you.”
I drag a hand over my face, trying to scrub away the last echoes of Eldric’s voice. Execution. Treason. Three days.
“I’m handling it,” I mutter.
“Varkos.”
She reaches out, and her fingers brush my wrist. That single touch cracks something inside my ribcage. I open my mouth to finally tell her the truth, bitter and unstoppable. “They want you—”
I force my jaw shut. Hard. The rest dies in my throat.
“They want me what?” Ginnie’s eyes narrow, searching every expression on my face.
“I said it’s nothing.” I shake my head in protest. “Can you just let this go?”
“Varkos.” She tightens her grip on my wrist, not letting go, “You can’t hide the truth from me for long. Tell me what they said.”
My pulse hammers under her fingers. I can feel the lie trying to crawl back up, but she’s looking at me like she already knows I’m holding something dangerous behind my teeth.
“Tell me,” she repeats, softer this time, but no less insistent. “Whatever it is, I can handle it.”
For one second I almost break—almost let the words spill from me and ruin this beautiful moment for her.
But I can’t.
Not yet.
Not when she’s still healing, not when the supposed war is there days away and I need her safe inside these walls more than I need her prepared for the fight.
Before she parts her lips to say something more, I lean in fast, cupping the back of her neck with one hand, and I kiss her. My mouth crashes against hers like I’m trying to swallow every question before it can form.
She gasps against my lips—surprised, then melting into it almost instantly. Her free hand fists in the front of my shirt, pulling me closer even as her body arches toward mine.
I deepen the kiss, my tongue sliding against hers, tasting the faint sweetness of whatever tea she drank earlier. One of my hands slides down to her waist, possessive, pulling her closer against me.
A small, broken sound tears out of her and into her mouth—something between half protest, half surrender, and I feel it vibrate through my chest. When I finally pulled back—just enough to let her breathe, her lips were swollen, her pupils blown wide.
“Varkos…” she whispers, her voice breaking. “That’s not an answer.”
“That feels like an answer to me though.” I rest my forehead against hers, breathing in every ounce of her scent.
Her fingers tighten in my shirt. “You’re shaking,” she whispers.
“I’m not.”
“You are,” she shoots back, her fingers sliding up my arm, slow, deliberate. “You look furious. And you’re scared.”
I scoff. “I don’t ever get scared.”
“Liar.”
She leans in, her lips brushing the shell of my ear. My hands find her waist—careful, deliberate. I pull her closer until she’s half seated on my lap, her knees bracketing my hips.
“I missed you so much, Ginnie.” I rasp against her throat. “Every fucking second you were gone felt like torture to me.”
“I thought—” She stops, her voice breaking despite trying to steady it, “I thought I’d never feel you like this again.”
I don’t wait for her to say anymore, I drag my mouth along the curve of her neck, tasting the warmth of her. “You will always feel me. Every night. Every morning. Until you get so sick of it.”
My hands slide beneath the transparent nightgown she’s wearing—soft cotton that smells like her and clean linen.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I growl low, “I want to worship you until you forget there was ever a world outside this bed.”
Her fingers fist into my hair, tugging just hard enough to sting. “Then do it,” she breathes, her lips brushing mine—once, twice, teasing.
“Varkos,” she gasps against my mouth. “Make love to me.”
The words detonate something primal inside my chest. I flip us carefully into the bed, until she’s beneath me, her hair sprawled across the pillow, eyes locked on mine.