214- Midnight Sugar and the Scent of the Demon
POV Aldren Valmorin:
“No, no, no… completely in love with Nerin, I swear, my hands even tremble when I’m near her.”
I laughed at his conclusion. It could only be because my regent was a tough nut to crack and didn’t fall for his chatter.
“How utterly pathetic and depressing, shepherd.”
“Don’t you remember what it’s like? I doubt you weren’t like that around the…” he stopped himself, serious.
His intention that night seemed to be nothing more than to distract me from—
“Quiet.”
“I’m still curious about this supposed prisoner…” Orion pulled my attention back.
I let out a deep sigh, understanding that hiding the information from him would be foolish, since I intended to join him in my hunt for the traitors. The sooner he knew, the better.
“Alright, a brief update: the village was invaded by a supposed spy. Kehin brought her to me, and I imprisoned her, but he fell in love with her and betrayed me. He’s now imprisoned in Noctheria. The prisoner is in my bedroom, and I quite enjoy provoking her—it’s been an interesting pastime, although it cost me Teneris.” I sighed before continuing. “I had to kill her when she also disobeyed my order, which was to take care of the prisoner while she was ill. The she-wolf would have killed her if I hadn’t arrived in time.”
His pupils dilated as I spoke, and I still hadn’t revealed everything. Nor would I. I would not let him see how deeply these events affected me, or that Teneris’s death had slipped beyond my control.
After everything that had happened, I could not appear weak or shaken as a leader. No one would know my weaknesses. I would not allow it.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Orion specifically. But after what Kehin had done, I no longer trusted anyone.
“Aldren… wasn’t imprisoning Kehin a bit extreme?” I knew they were friends, but I hadn’t imagined it went as far as pity.
“Did you hear what I said? Kehin betrayed me.”
Orion swallowed hard before speaking.
“And how did he fall in love so quickly with this prisoner? Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”
My blood boiled in my veins.
“Me? In love? Have you lost your mind?”
“We’re not… talking about Kehin, are we?” He touched my arm, correcting himself and easing me.
“Oh, yes.” I cleared my throat. “Elowen was in heat.”
Orion furrowed his brow, thinking for a few seconds.
“Kehin is a man over two hundred years old. He’s been around many females in heat.”
“He was foolish enough to fall this time. End of story.” I waited for Falako to refill our glasses, shifting uncomfortably on the hard chair.
“And not only him…” the drunk muttered.
“Konrad, do you want to lose your teeth?”
“Even you? Viktor already threatened me today.”
He pursed his lips, nauseated, eyes watering.
“You messed with his life too? Be careful, drunk wolf. He killed his own wife—don’t doubt he could kill you in the blink of an eye, even if it makes our elders furious.”
“Ah!” he snorted angrily, shaking his shoulders. “A barking dog doesn’t bite… I need my Nerin’s tea…”
I exchanged a look with Orion, who laughed at the shepherd’s situation.
“Drink, when it doesn’t knock you down, humiliates you,” Orion said.
It had knocked him down and was now finishing the humiliation. With our glasses full, I raised mine at face level, drawing their attention.
“A toast to maddening passion, gentlemen.”
(...)
POV Elowen Grimwald:
Candy. I just wanted something sweet to numb my sadness.
In the dead of night, with only a single candle lit, I slipped like a shadow through Nerin’s kitchen in search of ingredients for an improvised dessert.
In the city, I had grown used to industrialized sweets, and my dream was to find some hidden in those cabinets.
Nothing.
I rummaged through the freezer and the most I found were frozen red fruits. Mental note: ask Nerin if she had a stash of goodies somewhere.
I had no idea how to make a red-fruit syrup, nor did I have a phone with that famous internet to look it up. All I could do was take a risk with my terrible culinary skills—
a small bag of raspberries, strawberries, and cornelian cherries, a jar of sugar, and a dream.
The ashes and burned wood in the wood-fired stove had already cooled. I had to choose between lighting it again or deciphering that modern stove I had seen Nerin use with skill. At the bar where I worked, the model was still gas-powered.
It shouldn’t be difficult…
I carefully grabbed one of the small, polished pots to avoid making noise. I placed it over one of the markings on the black square of the stove, which I assumed was the right spot.
A touch here, another there, until a red light came on. I tested the heat with the tip of my finger and nearly burned myself—the thing was fast.
I mixed some of the fruit with sugar, hoping the combination would turn into something sweet and comforting. The only sounds around me were the bubbles bursting on the surface of the mixture until… they tangled with the creak of doors and hurried footsteps.
I jolted backward, my heart racing wildly in my chest.
Oh, no…
It didn’t take long for all the lights to turn on and for the familiar figure of a guard to appear in the doorway to the hall.
“Prisoner, return to your cage!” he ordered angrily.
Someone really should have told him that the prisoner’s conditions had changed…
At the sound of more footsteps, the guard turned his attention to the corridor and looked surprised.
Without seeing him, I knew who was coming. The familiar scent flooded my nostrils, freezing me in place.
“No, no, Victor… the prisoner stays,” the deep, authoritative voice declared, with a strangely excited tone.
“Sir, wouldn’t it be better to ta—”
“Go rest, boys. I’ll take care of the prisoner.” The order slid from his mouth, and his presence filled my vision.
It didn’t help that he contaminated the entire energy of the room whenever he arrived. Nor that, for the first time, he looked at me with a different gleam in his eyes, as if facing an angel rather than a prisoner.
Hiding the hatred churning in my stomach, I focused on my plan to be friendly while plotting how I would kill him.
“I was just making a dessert… sorry,” I said softly, releasing a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
Aldren raised his arm and pointed toward the exit, reinforcing his desire for the rude guard and the other who appeared behind him to get out.
Indeed, I held my breath as the men obeyed and Aldren walked toward me, never taking his deep green eyes off mine.
Demon.
If there weren’t another reason, I might have thought he’d just decided to kill me and was enjoying it.
“Aldren, can I go back to the roo—”
He used his supernatural speed to stop in front of me and place his index finger over my lips, the one adorned with a dark metal ring set with a luminous blue stone.
His breath brushed my face, and his characteristic scent of wood and eucalyptus mixed with alcohol—so strong it warmed the air.
If I had known I would run into him, I would never have played the nocturnal ant.
Never.