In the Wake of the Wicked (Veridian Empire #1)

Bonus Chapter

Rose

“Don’t you dare?—”

“Arowyn, I swear to the Fates?—”

I lunged at our friend right as she wiggled her fingers in parting. “Oops,” Arowyn said to Nox and me, shooting us a wink before vanishing into thin air, a small cage rattling in her arms as she left.

I sucked at my teeth and gave Nox a look. “Did she just…”

“I believe so,” he said. Letting out a sigh, he crossed his arms over his broad chest. “On the bright side, perhaps one of them will finish the other off this time. One less person to compete against.”

I snorted. “Yes, but which one?”

“At this point, darling, I don’t care,” he drawled, inspecting the sleeve of his shirt. “If it’s Arowyn, I get all the Luxe for myself.”

I shook my head and laughed exasperatedly. We were kidding, of course—mostly. Arowyn could take Callum on any day. She’d made it her personal mission during our time in the palace to rile him up whenever she had the chance. He was a rather easy target, and our Strider friend latched onto him and his tendency to overreact like a bee to honey.

A split second later, she reappeared at my side.

“Alright, so, not to cause any alarm, but—” she looked around the corner of the corridor, her long, pale blonde hair whipping at my face—“we need to run.”

“Fates, Arowyn, what did you do ?” I asked as she grabbed my forearm and dragged me along toward the north entrance of the palace.

“Well, I popped over into Callum’s room to let the rats loose?—”

“Yes, how did you manage to get all of those, anyway?” I interrupted.

She waved a hand in the air, glancing over her shoulder to see if we were being followed. “Not important. But when I appeared, he was—you know, pleasuring himself?—”

Nox let out a bark of laughter as we crossed into the entrance hall. “This is going to end well.”

“And he screamed at me, so I set the cage down and let the rats go?—”

“Naturally,” I said.

“And one sprinted straight for him and climbed on top, and…well, I’m sure you can imagine the rest.”

“I’d rather not,” Nox remarked. At this point, he and I were wheezing so hard with laughter that we could barely keep up with her as she strutted out the north palace doors and into the blooming gardens. She turned to face us, peering around our heads to the entrance.

“So I think he’s a little pissed,” she finished nonchalantly.

“He’s going to kill you,” I said with a chuckle.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. He couldn’t touch me even if he tried. I get why he’s such a prick. Now that I’ve seen the size of his?—”

“ Celestria! ” a booming voice called from the doors several yards away. Nox and I whirled around to find Callum marching down the steps, his sharp jawline so clenched it could cut glass.

A look of glee washed over Arowyn’s face. She truly loved messing with this man. “That’s my cue,” she said, wagging her eyebrows then disappearing from sight.

Callum charged up to Nox and me. “Where did she go?” he huffed, his clothes wrinkled as if thrown on in haste. I held up my hand to cover a snicker.

Nox clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m not sure, friend, but you look a bit beat . Can I lend you a hand?”

I could practically see the steam billowing from Callum’s ears. “Yes,” I added, giving him a saccharine smile. “I’d hate for you to not be able to finish the job.”

His nostrils flared and the hoop on his bottom lip caught the sunlight as he growled. “You better watch your back in the third trial, Feywood.”

“And it looks like you better watch your front,” I said sweetly, stepping around him with Nox on the opposite side. We left him there, no doubt hellbent on finding our missing friend, and were barely able to contain our laughter as we walked back through the front doors.

“I think it’s safe to say neither of us have ever met someone like Arowyn,” Nox said, chuckling.

“I get what you see in her,” I agreed, slowing my gait as we made our way down the hall.

He gave me a startled look. “What in the world are you talking about?”

I blinked. “Don’t you—I mean, you’ve been so forward with her?—”

“Viper, I’m forward with everyone. You, her, the vendor who sold me my ale at the tavern last night. That doesn’t mean I want to be with them.” He shrugged with an amused expression. “I suppose I enjoy making people feel wanted. Isn’t it nice to be a little adored every once in a while?”

My cheeks burned hot. “Well, I definitely read that wrong, then.” He laughed it off with a wave of his hand, and I snuck a glance at his tall figure. “Were you seeing anyone back home? Before all of this?” I asked.

His nose twitched, his features instantly dimming from lighthearted amusement to a sort of wistful resignation. “No, darling, those kinds of relationships aren’t meant for someone like me.”

My lips turned down. “What kinds?”

“Meaningful. Lasting. Important.”

I blinked back my surprise. “And why do you say they aren’t meant for you? Never been one for commitment?” The Fates only knew how well I understood the fear of letting someone get under your skin.

Without facing me, he responded, “Not when it could get them killed.”

I didn’t want to examine that statement too closely. I rarely saw this side of Nox—the man with the tortured past who hid beneath layers of charm and humor. Much like myself, I realized. Well, perhaps not the charm part. Nox lit up every room he entered with his smile and charisma, a true gem of the Veridian Empire.

But underneath that…

I thought about how adamant he was in his stance against the capital and the Decemvirate. Of the way he said his home province could keep him in line. Of the things he had to endure during the second trial’s dreamscape…things I believed stemmed from something in his past. Something dark and shadowed that I was too frightened to try and bring into the light.

He’d had plenty of opportunities to talk about it, and he obviously didn’t want to. I wouldn’t press him on it. But I wanted him to know he wasn’t alone, at least. That while he may not engage in many romantic relationships, our friendship was important to me.

“For what it’s worth, anyone would be lucky to be with you. No just in that way,” I added when he shot me a smirk. “ You are meaningful. You are important. And even if we never speak again after this last trial in a few days, I’m glad to have met you in any capacity.”

His blue eyes scanned mine for a moment, a look of sincere gratitude lining their depths. He let out a soft breath, then looked back to the hallway. “By your standards, that was practically a love confession, viper.”

I rolled my eyes. “I take it all back.”

“Can’t,” he said, swinging an arm around my shoulder. “That’s the beauty of friendship. Now, what about you? Any special someone back in Feywood?”

Leo’s face instantly rose to the surface, and I bit down on my lip, already feeling my cheeks flame in response. Nox’s eyes widened as I hastily looked away and kept walking. We’d absentmindedly wandered to the wing with the library, one of our usual places to retreat in the last few weeks.

“Oh, there is someone,” he purred. “Who could have possibly captured the elusive heart of Rose Wolff?”

“Fates, you’re so dramatic.”

“And you’re dodging the question.”

“There’s nobody back home, Nox.”

“Ahh,” he rumbled, the sound echoing in the stone corridor as he slid in front of me to hold open the library door. “So he’s here .”

“Yes, actually, it’s you,” I deadpanned. “I’m just so in love with you. Please, take me right here on the table.”

“I mean, if you insist.”

I smacked him on the chest. “It’s none of your business, you nosey Shifter. Leave me alone. I need to find some books.” I was still looking for a way out of the curse—a way that didn’t involve Leo sacrificing himself.

“Rose,” Nox said, his voice suddenly soft as he caught my outstretched wrist. “You’re important, too. Not only to me. I hope you can see that when you’re tucked away in that head of yours.”

My heart swelled and my brows pinched together, unused to this display of emotion among friends. I nodded and swallowed hard, giving him the smallest hint of a smile. “Go make sure Callum and Arowyn don’t kill each other, alright?” I said.

“I’ll do my best, but no promises.” He released my arm and made his way toward the library doors, tipping his head to the elderly man at the center desk as he went.

Mysterious Shifter that he was, I couldn’t help but be thankful he’d worked his way into my trust. He deserved the kind of relationships he was so adamant on avoiding.

I only hoped he could escape whatever waited for him back in Drakorum.