A Court of Stars and Memories

38. Playing Games

    A few days had passed since Lysander's last evening visit, but Mitsi found herself unworried by the fact. She'd still seen him every day, and when he wasn't busy, he seemed to be spending more time with her. He'd tracked her down in Windhaven several times just to ask her to accompany him on his rounds, and Mitsi had been happy to oblige.

    Her siblings were less thrilled about them circling Windhaven together. Mitsi had found herself receiving dozens of lectures every evening, most of them from Micah, warning her to be careful, and arguing that she was doing a terrible job of proving that Lysander had no claim on her.

    Mitsi was trying to brush her siblings' concern aside but she couldn't help but feel irritated by their ever-growing list of complaints about her companion. To avoid their lectures, Mitsi had taken to spending her evenings with Seren and Azriel.

    Seren was often painting when she returned from training with Lysander, so Mitsi had resumed taking her sewing into the studio and working on it while she and Seren talked. After Azriel came home and the evening meal was eaten, they relaxed in the sitting room while he recounted the events of his day.

    The whole time he spoke, his shadows had been examining Mitsi, first from afar, then up close. She was a little more comfortable with the wraiths now, though she still found it odd to feel them creeping up her arms and nestling in her hair. Azriel and Seren always seemed amused by their behavior, but there was a little more intrigue in Azriel's gaze than Seren's.

    Mitsi had overheard them speaking about her again one evening, just before she joined them in the sitting room. Apparently, the shadows had been speaking the whole time they were studying her. Once more, Azriel reported that they'd called her "Heart", and that there was something else they knew, but were refusing to say.

    Mitsi entered the room before Azriel said anything else, but his words still weighed on her mind. Why were his shadows so interested in her, and why did they keep calling her that? She'd written to Colette about all of it, but her mother didn't have much advice to offer, other than speaking to Azriel directly. That was something Mitsi wasn't willing to do. At least, not yet.

    Mitsi was still pondering what she'd overheard when she accompanied Eira, Orion, and the Twins through Velaris. She shook her thoughts away as Orion turned to her. "Theron's disappointed that he hasn't seen you lately," he reported.

    "He just saw me three days ago."

    "That's what I told him, but he insisted he needs to see you more often than that." Mitsi returned Orion's amused grin. "He was very annoyed when he missed you yesterday. Even more so when I said you were with Lysander."

    "I'll have to make it up to him somehow," Mitsi laughed.

    "Don't feel obligated to. He'll have to get over his crush sooner or later."

    "Yeah," Eira piped up. "Before Lys decides to take matters into his own hands."

    Mitsi arched a brow. "What do you mean by that?"

    Eira and Orion exchanged amused glances before Eira stumbled. The Twins each had one of her hands and were attempting to pull her in different directions. Luckily, she was able to steady herself with her wings. She rolled her eyes while straightening. "The park is this way, Boys." She tugged them each closer to her side and kept walking.

    "What she means is Lysander has never been good at sharing females," Orion explained, facing Mitsi again. "Not even with younger males who pose no threat to him."

    Mitsi bit her lip, ignoring the way her pulse quickened. "Well, who can blame him, especially knowing how his last real relationship ended?"

    She'd only learned the truth recently, from Mina much to her surprise. The Peregryn female she'd met, Celeste, had cheated on Lysander, and that was the reason for their breakup. Mina hadn't given her any further details, leaving Mitsi to wonder if her sister even knew the whole truth. She'd asked how Mina came across the information and her sister replied that Corbin had told her.