12. Rain

Chapter 12

Rain

It was the worst idea I'd ever had, kissing Adair, and also the best. His lips were soft and yielding against mine, opening instantly for me when I pressed against him.

I should have asked, but he definitely wasn't saying no or pushing me away.

Next time.

Next time I'd ask first.

Assuming he didn't shove me off and demand that the Gloombringer eject me from the summit and the castle so that there wouldn't be a next time.

I turned our bodies, and he went along with me easily, letting me spin us both until his back was against the stone and I was pressing into him, my tongue seeking entrance to his mouth.

He didn't hesitate, just let me in, so I didn't wait either. I pressed my advantage—I was perhaps a few inches taller than he was, but it helped that I had muscles well trained to be a duelist, so when he reached up and braced himself on my arms, I barely felt a tug. Because that was what it was—bracing himself. Not pushing me away.

He leaned into me, shoulders back and posture open, but arms pulling me in even more.

He wanted me as much as I wanted him.

From Sim, there was a strange, dissonant chord of confusion.

I don't really understand either , Iri told them. Humans are always doing this. Maybe it's just because they've got so many soft bits. I'm never sure why they need them. Don't worry, you'll get used to it.

There was a glimmer of something in return, a query or other small vibration I didn't quite catch, and I sighed, pulling back and resting my forehead against Adair's. "Sorry," I said, just for him, then threw in the explanation the others were demanding as well. "I've been wanting to do that since the moment I saw you. And every word out of your mouth just seems to make it even worse."

He was breathing hard, his pupils blown wide, and at the confession, he grinned, wide and joyful, and it was even more beautiful than he'd been before. "Worse, is it?"

"Very bad," I agreed, pressing forward, pushing him into the stone wall at his back, and also, pushing the evidence of my arousal into him, where he could no doubt feel it against his belly. Just as I could feel his pushing against my thigh.

He gave a little laugh, shaking his head. When he spoke, his voice was thin and breathy, like I'd taken his ability to properly make sound with the kiss. "I always hear Moonstrikers are unemotional, but I can't say I've ever heard kissing described as bad before. Especially not a kiss like that."

And that? That couldn't stand. I leaned back in and took his mouth again, hot and hard, sweeping my tongue between his lips and taking what I'd been wanting since the moment I first saw him. I kissed him soundly. Thoroughly. And only then did I pull back, righting myself and catching my breath, smiling down at him. "Unemotional is wrong. Perhaps it looks that way to the uninitiated, but it's never that. The way of Moonstriker is to do what you must first, and only then consider what you want. The summit takes precedence over what I want, or I'd have done that a day ago, and more, if you'd have let me."

He was still leaning against the stone wall, pink, swollen lips open to gasp in breaths as he stared at me, hooded eyes black, his pupils blown wide. "The summit isn't over. And it's not going well," he pointed out.

"Perhaps it's a sign." I leaned in and pressed my forehead to his. "I'm finished playing with Oberon and Huxley. If I go back and they continue to treat me like a child who doesn't deserve to be here, I'll leave. I know the agreement needs to happen, and maybe my mother will be disappointed if I don't do that, but I won't give away my family's assets and information just because those two old goats don't respect me. And maybe there's another way to handle Mount Slate."

He didn't seem shocked or disgusted by the proclamation but bit his lip and looked me over like I was a delicious dish he wanted a taste of. "That seems reasonable. If you go, will your uncle come?"

"Maybe. He'll make them pay for the inconvenience, though, and it'll be harder to come to an accord if he comes knowing they already disrespected the family. I intend to make sure they know that before they destroy this meeting."

Light glinting off a windshield in the long drive up to Gloombringer Castle caught my attention. A long black limousine, more in the style of Gloombringer than the other families, but it was possible it could be the missing Sunrunner. I could only hope whoever they sent, that person would be more empathetic than Oberon and Huxley. Or hells, maybe not. It wasn't like it would be good for them, dealing with the storm-stubborn bastards.

This was why things were broken between the families. It was all about ego and position and tiny, ridiculous things like who sat where at dinner and what time it was served. People could make anything into an argument, if they wanted to "win" badly enough. In the end, the only thing they won was pride and continued separation between the families.

Since we were supposed to be working together to rule the Summerlands, the reality of the matter was that separation in itself was losing. The ruling families just didn't care terribly much because they personally weren't losing, only the people they lorded their power over. When it was harder to travel between the family lands, the people who wanted to travel to see their families or go to school lost out. Or when Moonstriker technology could help hungry overcrowded Gloombringer vassals, but the families were too angry with each other to make those arrangements, people starved, which was rather a bigger problem.

But Huxley Dawnchaser and Oberon Gloombringer were never in danger, so what did it matter to them?

The car pulled into the area right in front of the castle, sleek and dark, with windows blackened so you couldn't see inside. In front of me, Adair caught onto my distraction and turned to see what I was looking at.

When he sucked in a sharp breath, though, my attention was instantly back on him. It was a good thing, too, since his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed right into my arms.

What the heck?

Maybe it was the Sunrunner after all, and his threads were too much for Adair to deal with? But he'd sat at dinner with both Oberon and Huxley and not had that reaction, so that didn't seem right.

I didn't have any notion of what to do for him, either, but maybe the household staff had seen it before. So I scooped him up into my arms and carried him to the door and down into the castle proper.

I crashed through the door into the foyer to find a young man standing there in the middle of the heavy marble tile. He was beautiful, with short chestnut hair and blue eyes so bright they stood out as a spot of color in the otherwise monochromatic room. His clothes were old—not just from a few years of wear, but almost like something that had been worn in another century, simple navy wool trousers and a natural cotton button-down shirt. He had an army green bag slung over one shoulder, and a wool cap in his hands that matched his trousers.

Overall, he looked like an actor playing an orphan or a newsboy in a historical movie and distinctly out of place standing in the pristine foyer of Gloombringer Castle. Something he was clearly aware of, the way his fingers played over the brim of his cap in his hands, and the way he was trying to hunch in on himself—which would have been an impressive feat if he'd managed it, since he wasn't a small person—six feet or so and broad shouldered.

His eyes went wide when he saw me carrying Adair, and he stuck his hat under his arm, coming toward me. "Can I help? Is he okay? "

"I...I don't know. We were on the ramparts, and he collapsed. I need to get him into the parlor and lay him down, I think."

The young man looked around, like he had no idea what a parlor was, and well, I was hard pressed to blame him. Who even had a parlor anymore? Back home I'd have said the family room, but then, we didn't live in a castle, either.

A maid poked her head in, and when she caught sight of me, her eyes went wide. She scurried over and threw wide a set of double doors that—called it—opened into what was unmistakably a parlor. I took Adair over to the nearest sofa and laid him down, turning to look at the maid. "Has anything like this happened before?"

She shook her head, eyes still round with shock.

"Then I think perhaps you need to summon a doctor."

She sucked in a shocked breath but didn't question or argue, just turned and rushed out of the room. I hoped she was going to get a doctor. Turning back to the young man, I nodded to him. "I'm sorry to impose, but could you stay with him while I go get him a glass of water?"

I assumed that since he was inside Gloombringer Castle, he was at least trustworthy enough to be an employee of the place, so I wasn't worried about leaving Adair with him for a moment or two. More than that, I needed to be doing something. I couldn't stand an emergency where I wasn't needed at all, so a glass of water seemed as reasonable as anything else.

"Of course," he agreed immediately, coming over to hover behind the sofa I'd set Adair on. He didn't seem to want to touch anything, which I could understand. The furniture was mostly black and white, including miles upon miles of white upholstery. Even Mother, as much as she'd leaned into the "Moonstriker" look and decorated the public facing parts of the tower in the colors of night, hadn't bought white-upholstered sofas. It was like asking to have to replace them once a year. "I'm not sure...that is..."

"It's fine," I promised. "I'm going to bring a friend of mine who has some knowledge in first aid." That was why Mother had sent Char along, after all, just in case.

More than anything else, that seemed to reassure him, and he nodded. "If he wakes, I'll tell him you'll be right back. You're..."

"Rain," I said, trying not to think of how horrified Mother would have been by my relative lack of manners. Adair was unconscious; he needed me more than the stranger needed my name. Nonetheless, I gave the man a perfunctory bow—no reason to be outright rude. "Rain Moonstriker."

His eyes went very wide at that, which—well, maybe he'd never met a Moonstriker before. It wouldn't have been a huge shock, for someone who lived in Amalion City. Or anywhere in Gloombringer lands. After a moment, he coughed and bowed—as deep as he could without tipping over. "Aubrey Sagara."

"Thank you for your help, Aubrey. I appreciate it." Without another word, I rushed to retrieve Char and a glass of water.