13. Adair

Chapter 13

Adair

I woke to the sun in my eyes and a throbbing pain in my head, and I cringed away, burying my face in the soft upholstery behind...wait. Upholstery?

I wasn't in my bed, clearly. Where had I?—

My cheeks flamed at the reminder of where I'd last been. Kissing Rain Moonstriker atop the battlements of Castle Gloombringer.

Surely he wasn't so skilled at kissing that I'd passed out. Was that even possible? He had been quite skilled, though. So what had happened?

A bright flash, like the sun directly in my eyes, came back to me. An overwhelming sense of threads, threads, and even more threads, fucking millions of them, invading my brain all at once.

I blinked my eyes open, lifting a hand to shield them until the room seemed to normalize, despite the throbbing, pounding pain in my temples. I glanced down to where my hand was braced on the white-on-white patterned sateen sofa I knew well from the front parlor. I glanced up toward the window, wondering how late it was, if the sun was coming in that west-facing window, and froze.

The drapes were drawn wide open, and it seemed no later than it had been when I'd gone up to speak to Rain.

But I didn't have to cast about for an answer on what was happening. No. Right in front of me was a young man—boy, almost—in shabby clothes, a rustic threadbare rucksack slung over one shoulder, looking uncomfortable as a cat in a costume.

"Hi. I'm, uh, sorry, but the man who brought you in went to get you a glass of water. And a healer, I think." He winced, apologetic and trying to shrink into his own shoulders like no one else who'd ever set foot inside Gloombringer Castle that I knew of.

More important than his clothes or stance or the nervous way he spoke, he shone like the fucking sun. Golden threads shot from him in every direction, like rays of light shining down on every single part of the Summerlands.

They were pale, translucent, and would have been barely visible if it'd been one or two, but there weren't one or two. There were millions. They might not know it yet, but the whole of the Summerlands loved this man.

Including me.

I took a moment and a few deep breaths and asked, "Aubrey Sagara?"

He brightened immediately. "Yes! I mean, I...that's me. I was a little worried the man left me in the wrong place, that there was a servants' entrance I should have used or something. Everything's just so...much, here."

I clapped a hand over my mouth to avoid bursting into hysterical laughter, because that wouldn't have reassured him. He was entirely right, though. Everything about Gloombringer Castle, and all the living Gloombringers, was "so much."

Well, except for him.

His threads were a lot, yes, but the man himself was so unassuming. Attractive, yes, but ordinary too, in a way.

When I'd gotten myself under control, I nodded to him. "It is. But we were expecting you. Ben didn't come in with you?"

"He said he had to go get someone for the boss. His boss." He glanced around, nervously biting his lip, then looked back at me. "He works for Adair Courtwright himself."

I blinked at him, confused. Adair Courtwright himself ?

That made it sound like he was talking about someone other than just me.

Footsteps echoed through the main foyer, distracting us both and drawing my eye to where Rain had returned with a glass of water and one of his people. His shoulders sagged when he caught sight of me. "You're feeling better? What happened? Did you forget to eat?"

I couldn't help it, my heart fluttered at the concern in his voice. He rushed over to my side, not spilling a drop of the water as he practically fell onto the sofa beside me, holding out the glass and pinning me with his concerned blue gaze.

The other Moonstriker gave us both a nod and stood near the entrance of the room, hands folded behind his back, not saying a word.

"I..." I couldn't tell the truth, I realized. Oberon had agreed to meet Aubrey, not claim him, and he wasn't convinced the boy was his. Looking at Aubrey, I didn't know how anyone would fail to see it. Aubrey looked like the pictures I'd seen of Oberon in his youth, if a bit more handsome.

Mostly because he was smiling and open in a way I didn't think Oberon had ever been. I was once again sad I'd never meet his mother, if she'd managed to raise someone with Oberon's genes in a way that had made him into this man.

A man the whole of the Summerlands would love.

So instead of dodging the question or making up a lie, I did the best I could. "I'm sorry, Rain, but I can't explain it at the moment. Hopefully soon. I...you know how it is."

His smile was softly radiant, like everything about him always was. Like the moon.

It was less overwhelming and painful than looking at Aubrey, as much as I was already convinced I would like the young man. Aubrey was going to give me a migraine for sure. Rain did not. I remembered the feeling of his fingers on my scalp and shivered. His lips on mine, his body pressing me into the wall.

Fuck.

I broke the eye contact and stared at my knees. It was the only safe thing to look at in the whole room, with everyone fucking glowing with their thousands upon thousands of connections.

"It's fine, Adair." There was a choked sound from Aubrey at that, which wasn't a big surprise. I supposed he'd had to find out sometime, though, and maybe it was best no one was actually looking at him when he did. "I understand you have to hold Gloombringer interests above anything else. You're the most loyal man I've ever met. More than any of us deserve."

The Moonstriker vassal cleared his throat, and when Rain turned to look at him, said, "I'd like to respectfully disagree, my lord. You've always proven our loyalty to the Moonstriker entirely worth any effort we give it."

Another noise from Aubrey. Poor guy might be in danger of passing out. It was time to extricate him from this situation. And then make it worse, by taking him to see Oberon.

Ugh. I wished I could avoid that part entirely. Just make Aubrey the heir to the family and send him to Oberon's country estate, so they'd never have to interact. He'd never have to know the depths to which his family had sunk before his arrival.

I suspected that his mother had told him a thing or two about the circumstances, though, so it was likely he already had a terrible impression of the Gloombringer, and he was there at the castle despite it. So there had to be some hope.

I inclined my head to the Moonstriker vassal, then Rain. "Every impression I've gotten says the same." I reached into my pocket for the painkiller bottle, managing to get one out despite my clumsy fingers and stick it in my mouth, took the glass Rain was still holding and took a drink to wash down the pill. Then, finding myself parched, I gulped down the whole thing at once. "Maybe one day I'll see Moonstriker lands for myself and learn more," I told him, giving him a small smile.

His face lit up at even the suggestion, and he nodded to me. "I'd love to show it to you. Anytime you can be free."

It was a ridiculous dream of an idea, free time. But if Oberon was gone, and Aubrey...well, however nice he might be, being in his presence for a minute was already making my head ache. It didn't matter if he was the kindest person in the world, I didn't think I was going to be able to work for him as directly as I did his father .

For now, though, there were no choices. I handed Rain the empty glass back, nodding. "Thank you. I have to"—I motioned vaguely at Aubrey, and Rain sent an interested look his way, which wasn't ideal, but honestly, the man looked like Oberon. People, particularly ones as smart as Rain, weren't going to miss it for long, if at all—"I have to see to Oberon."

"Of course," Rain agreed, standing as I did. "I'll be back in the meeting room in half an hour or so, if anyone is actually interested in speaking."

That gave me a moment's pause, and I turned back to him. "Do you want me to give him a time frame?"

We both knew what I was really asking: if he wanted me to give Oberon an ultimatum on his behalf.

He considered for a moment, cocking his head, then shook it. "No, I don't think so. If things go on this afternoon, we'll be fine. If they don't, I'll speak to Oberon and Huxley at dinner."

Of course. Because he was Rain Moonstriker, and he didn't ask other people to do his dirty work. He also wouldn't have gotten angry with me for saying "we" that morning, like the Dawnchaser had.

In that moment, I'd have given anything to have been born in Moonstriker lands instead, to be a vassal of their family, calm and serene like the man standing behind Rain. No doubt he never dreaded going to see his lord, the way I was right then.

Rain would never have been as obstinate about accepting an heir, or the existence of emotions in men, or imaginary snubs.

The problem with that idea was that I didn't want to work for Rain. I wanted Rain himself, and I doubted he was the sort of man who'd sleep with his vassals. It was a near-insurmountable obstacle, and I didn't know how we'd ever get past it if I agreed to work for his family. I wasn't on his level, and it wasn't as though I could give him little Moonstriker heirs to take control of the family after him.

In my head, Rhodri gave the approximation of a snort. Don't be ridiculous. He's clearly your Match. It doesn't matter how much you struggle, you're one hooked fish.

Match? The way she said the word implied more than the simple definition, and I wanted to know more, but she didn't offer up any other information.

I didn't have time to sit around asking her questions, either. I turned to Aubrey, summoning up my best bland Gloombringer smile. "Shall we, Aubrey? I believe Lord Gloombringer is waiting for us."

Aubrey's eyes rounded, and he looked like he wanted to choke on his own tongue, but to his credit, he didn't flag or turn tail and run for it. He swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay. We, uh, we shouldn't keep him waiting, then. Right? Sir?"

"Please, it's just Adair, but yes. Keeping Oberon waiting is the best way to have an especially terrible afternoon." I motioned for him to follow me and marched my way out of the parlor toward the family residence.