Heirs of the Gods

Ch 31: Ruinous red

THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF AEDION'S POV FROM THE LAST CHAPTER.

WARNINGS: This is one of the heavier chapters, in every sense. Please read with caution! Contains graphic depictions of violence, blood, torture and death.

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Aedion was sipping on his tea and going over paperwork when Ella entered the dining room the next day. He frowned, putting down his papers and observing her. He hadn't thought she'd show up so early, knowing that she hadn't slept much at all.

"Right, so I was thinking, we should reorganise the order of priority of tasks this week. You know, postpone fundraisers, events and all non-urgent matters. I could get started on sending out letters to cancel your less important appointments to free your agenda," she said mildly, plopping down on her seat and beginning her everyday process of filling a mug with coffee and copious amounts of sugar. She hadn't even spared him a glance.

Aedion stared for a moment, at loss for words.

Now, Aedion hadn't been expecting her to suddenly open up and become a wellspring of forthcoming tenderness and friendship. He wasn't that delusional. But he'd expected at least a slight acknowledgement of what had happened last night.

In the time Ella had lived there, he'd come to realise that she liked to sweep uncomfortable things under the rug, simply dismissing the matter. Hell, he'd seen her have a near breakdown the day she found out she was fae, and the next day she'd been up and running, training and doing tasks. Honestly, and then people called him a madman.

Why he'd expected anything different was anyone's guess. He only had himself to blame.

Hoped, you daft idiot, his mind supplied mockingly, sounding like Val. He shrugged the thought aside.

Was it so wrong? She'd allowed him to embrace her last night, for the first time, twice. They'd spoken earnestly, intimately. Yet, she looked for all the world as if nothing had happened, impassively stirring her coffee and buttering a toast.

Furthermore, it was downright frustrating the way she just dismissed what was clearly an issue. She'd not slept at all and she was already thinking about work. Annoyance washed over him again, and he struggled not to exhale roughly.

It irritated him that she shrugged off the matter, that she could put up that bored, unaffected mask. He hated that mask.

Maybe that's why you bother her so much? This time, it sounded like Blaise's cool and rational voice.

Maybe he did. Maybe he preferred her angry, furious reactions to that stony mask she wore otherwise. Because Aedion was greedy and wanted more than whatever she fed to everyone else.

But then Ella looked up at him, with her pale cheeks and those wide, silvery doe eyes rimmed with exhaustion...and he realised why she did it. Just like that, his hurt confusion dissolved like sugar in piping hot coffee.

"That would be good, yes," he conceded, curling his hands around his teacup. "Up early and working I see. I would have thought you'd rest a bit more." He eyed her with an impish expression, "You could certainly use the beauty sleep."

It was a barefaced lie. He found her lovely, even with her tired appearance and slightly frazzled damp curls. He wasn't sure how she slept so little and still managed to look delicately pretty and composed. It was baffling.

He smirked and waited for her angry pout and that sparkle that came over her eyes every time they bickered and she thought up a wickedly clever quip.

Ella did not disappoint. Glaring at him, she launched into their typical morning bickering. And Aedion knew that even if she didn't acknowledge it, there had been a shift between them.