Heirs of the Gods

Ch 69: Take what you want

By the time Ella got back to Gerrathea, it was nighttime. She regretted not bringing an extra coat, as she cast her third ineffective heating charm during her trek from the petrium towards the castle.

Sleet came down like a sheet, icing her to the bone. Frozen tree branches dripped with icicles and snowy flakes dusted her eyelashes. A thin sheet of mushy snow blanketed the forest floor, making everything slippery and wet. It was so bitterly cold, her nose had turned red and her hands, despite her thick gloves, had numbed.

A dusky pink sky stretched above her. She wondered if the old wive's tales carried truth. It wouldn't have surprised her if my morning, the sleet turned into full-blown snow, crowning everything in stark white beauty.

"Miss Elowen, you should have warned you were returning, we would have sent someone to retrieve you," Sir Gawain frowned as Ella finally shuffled into the palace, soggy, miserable and half-frozen, dragging a freezing gust in her wake. "You mustn't risk yourself that way, it's terribly cold and dark outside."

Ella smiled and waved a stiff hand. "Thank you, Sir, but you shouldn't worry. I'm fine."

Sir Gawain didn't seem to agree, but he nodded begrudgingly, bowed his head and remained on watch as Ella advanced towards the stairs. She peeled off her soggy gloves and rubbed her hands together, shivering as she made her way up the stairs.

"He's right, you know. You should have said something, I would have picked you up," Aedion appeared, tutting and shaking his head.

Ella rolled her eyes. "Don't start." She continued her way, trying not to wince as the warmth of the palace thawed at her pitifully cold limbs and face.  "Besides, what am I supposed to do, send a carrier pigeon?"

"We have a nifty little thing called an oath bond, you can yank on that tether and let me know you need something. You've done it well enough before."

"Yes, but that's usually when I'm trying to annoy you," she gave him a mocking grin. "I didn't want to bother you, you're much too busy to go around playing personal coachman."

Aedion raised an unamused brow and tutted. "Your nose is all red."

He reached forward and grasped her nose between the knuckles of his pointer and middle finger, like one did to tease a child, warming her nose immediately. She laughed brightly, the sound coming out slightly nasally.

"I'm never too busy to help you." He then added, "Can't have you getting sick and missing lessons or filing my papers all wrong."

"You're so generous," she deadpanned, walking into her room. Despite her words, an annoying burst of endearment swelled inside her chest.

There had to be a book on that. How to stomp out irksome feelings of warmth inside one's chest. Perhaps all that snow had bested her and she was coming down with a cold.

He followed along and immediately took a seat on her sofa, stretching out his long legs.

"Boots off my sofa," she swatted at his legs and dropped her soggy cloak on the back of a chair in front of the fire. "At least don't get it dirty if you plan on invading my room all the time."

He grumbled something about her being picky but complied and let them drop to the ground.

"Good boy," she teased, opening her closet and picking out a towel and warm clothes. Fleece-lined trousers, an oversized shirt and thick knit stockings Katram had given her recently.

She slipped behind her wooden dressing screen and hung the garments on the edge of one of the panels, shivering as she stripped out of her soggy dress and petticoats. She paused and bit back a smile, as she realised she'd essentially gotten undressed with a man in her company, a mere pace away.