The Heir of Night

40

Theia hated that she didn't want to part with Nyx. Even when he was going to leave her to simply bathe, she craved his presence. She'd never hated someone so much yet wanted them so badly. Still, she returned to her own room and changed into more suitable clothing for strolling Velaris. A dress was her choice, but she still made sure to pull a coat on over it. Another thing she hated was how different the socks, of all things, were to her own from home. No scratchy, flat material. They were thick, warm, and soft. The smallest things put such space between her world and this one.

"Ready?" Nyx's voice called from the doorway as he pushed the door open. Theia nodded as she laced her boot and stood. He was dressed more casual than she usually saw him outside of the house. He wore a simple dark grey knit sweater, black trousers, and a long coat. He grinned when he looked over her dress, one damned brow lifting.

"What?" Theia asked, training her face into a scowl. Nyx shrugged, leaning against the doorframe.

"I've seen you voluntarily wear a dress twice now, are you becoming a lady?"

"Shut up, Nyx," Theia growled, shoving his chest with both hands and slipping between him and the doorframe. As she marched down the corridor, his laugh echoed behind her. She was utterly confused about the way her lips twitched, as though she wanted to smile at that. It had been two days of him bringing her to Velaris and somehow, she was already so much more attached to him. It had to be some strange mental situation with kidnappers.

"Where would you like to start?" Nyx asked as he hurried beside her on the stairs. Theia shot him another look.

"You're the guide, aren't you? Where do you want to take me?"

"I can think of plenty of places I'd love to take you," Nyx mused. Theia's cheeks burned and she avoided his gaze until they made it outside, where she prayed the cold could be her excuse for rosy cheeks.

"I went to the market square, the street with the taverns, and I accidentally stumbled upon pleasure houses. Where else is there?" Theia huffed, tucking her hands in her sleeves as she glanced up at the male. He was already grinning at her, his brows pressed together.

"The pleasure houses? Really?"

"Well, I've never been in the city! I don't know the streets and they just happened to be behind the taverns!" Theia argued, whipping the back of her sleeve-covered hand against his abdomen. Nyx laughed again, shaking his head.

"And how did you know they were pleasure houses? Did you go inside?"

"A lady told me, and then offered me a job," Theia mumbled, forcing her eyes to her feet as they walked. Nyx laughed again. Theia tucked her chin in her jacket to cover her rising smile.

"She offered you a job? I'd say, you'd make good coin." Theia whipped her hand against him again, making Nyx only laugh harder. Of course, as anything he says does, the thought ran across her mind. The female that spoke to her was awfully pretty, even as disheveled as she was. Theia didn't have that kind of alluring beauty, not the kind the female had.

She remembered the polished hand that pulled the male in, lifting her own hand to study her chipped and blunt nails. Surely, with careful primming, Theia could gain the looks of males like Elena or the female at the pleasure house, but only with a lot of hard work. As they walked closer to the buildings, Theia thought back to herself in the mirror.

It wasn't exactly self pity, seeing that Nyx had enough interest in her, but Theia couldn't imagine herself as that flawless beauty that his mother was. Even the other females in the war camp, the ones with calloused hands and toned muscle, still held that feminine beauty that enticed males and females alike. Theia was painfully average in her eyes.