Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Zarya woke to the smell of fire and opened her eyes in time to see the paper in Arkon’s hand turn into a phoenix and fly out of the window.

"Everything okay?" she asked, rolling over.

Arkon turned and gave her a brilliant smile that knocked the air from her lungs. He had a habit of being stunning when she least expected it.

"We need to go and give Gio an update, but apart from that, everything is fine," he said and gestured to the shirt and robe he had placed at the end of the bed. "Those are for you unless you want to teleport naked. I’m all for it, but it will make me want to fuck you again."

Zarya reached for the shirt and pulled it on over her head. Arkon pouted.

"Don’t look at me like that. I would think you had enough last night," she replied, climbing out of bed. The shirt fell to her knees, and she reached for the robe.

Arkon unfolded her collar. "It’s bold of you to assume I could ever get enough of you."

"Even after I almost blew you and everything else up?"

Now that she had calmed down, she was embarrassed by her lack of control. What would the djinn think of her?"

"Especially when you do that. We can’t talk about it, or you’ll make me hard again," Arkon replied, making Zarya huff and roll her eyes. He lifted her chin. "I’m serious. You are amazing, and if our positions were reversed, I wouldn’t have been able to stop at all."

Zarya’s cheeks heated at the praise. "You were very good at convincing me to come back."

"And I always will be. Now, let’s go back before Gio’s messages get any more aggressive."

"As long as there is going to be coffee, I’m ready."

Arkon pulled her closer to him. "We need to find you some proper clothes first. Seeing you in mine is doing weird things to certain body parts." Zarya brushed her hand over the front of his pants.

"I meant my heart, you deviant," he chided. "But thank you for the encouragement."

Zarya was still laughing when the teleportation spell dropped them back into her rooms. The fact he could make her laugh so easily was just another reason she was in love with him. The thought made the smile slip right off her face.

"You okay? You just went through about thirteen expressions," he said, dispersing the spell with a flick of his fingers.

"Fine, my stomach just did a weird turn. I need food," she replied. "I’ll get dressed and meet you in fifteen minutes?"

"Sounds good." Arkon headed for the door, still looking suspicious. Zarya blew out a long breath before hurrying to find clothes to wear. In the bathroom she tried to get her heart rate back to normal.

Focus on your revenge. That’s what you’re really here for, she reminded herself. Was it though? Her reasons for hunting down Arkon, like her feelings for him, had never been so clear cut.

She had a quick, cold shower to shock some sense into her and got dressed. She didn’t know how formal the meeting with the doge was going to be, so she swiped on some mascara and some lip gloss. Her hair was a mess of curls from having it dry naturally, but it didn’t look bad, so she left it as it was.

She tucked the front of Arkon’s shirt in her black pants and rolled up the sleeves. It was dark red and soft against her skin, so she’d decided to keep it. She pulled on her boots and opened the door as Arkon was raising a hand to knock on it. He looked her over.

"Still wearing my shirt?" he asked.

"War booty," she reminded him. "Why? Does it look bad?"

"No. I just didn’t know we were going back to torturing each other," he said, hooking an arm around her shoulders and blowing a raspberry on her temple. "Let’s go, Wolf Mage. We have business to attend to."

Arkon let her go again, and she followed him through the marble corridors of the palace. She knew better than to take his hand. People wouldn’t like it, and with her current train of thoughts all jumbled to hell, it was better if she didn’t touch him at all.

Instead of the council chambers, they found Gio and Zahir in a small library eating breakfast.

"Hope you saved some for us," Arkon said, and a nearby servant scurried away. Zahir gave them both careful looks.

"And how are we this morning, children? Feeling any better?" he asked.

"I’m fine. I...apologize for last night. It won’t happen again," Zarya said, fiddling with her bracelets.

"We are all guilty of losing control in battle sometimes. The point is you regained it," Zahir replied with a forced smile.

Zarya realized she had actually scared him. Maybe he was more scared over the fact that he now knew how much Arkon had been holding back over the years.

"How did it go with the survivors?" Arkon said, pouring out coffee for Zarya and then himself.

"As well as it could under the circumstances. They have been shipped back to Rogotin for treatment," Zahir replied.

Gio hummed. "I want a ship delegated to bringing them home to Venice. If any of the Varangians wish to come, they’ll have a place in the Republic. I don’t want any of them feeling like they need to stay within the empire while Arkadi is ruling it."

Zarya sipped her coffee. "He won’t be for long, but I’m sure they will all appreciate the safe harbor."

"Speaking of Arkadi, I received an interesting message today from a minister in Kyiv. It was passed to one of your ravens for a quick, magical delivery," Gio said, handing the folded letter to Arkon.

He scanned the lines and gave it to Zarya. She smiled as she read it. General Zaytsev and Strahil had been seen returning to the palace, and there had been an increase in soldiers around it. The ministers who had long been frustrated by Arkadi had finally banded together.

"They are starting a rebellion," she said with a wicked laugh. "This is going to work in our favor. If the people really knew about the camps and what Arkadi and Strahil had been up to, they would hit the streets to vent their outrage. How do you feel about going to Kyiv?" She directed the last question to Arkon.

"Why? What do you have in that devious mind of yours?"

Zarya tapped the letter on the table. "Would you like to start a riot with me, Grand Sorcerer?"

"I would be delighted, Wolf Mage. How do you want to go about it?"

Gio huffed out an amused laugh. "Jesus, it’s like we aren’t even in the same room, Zahir."

"You two do understand this is meant to be a collaborative meeting," the djinn reminded them.

"We are collaborating!" Arkon argued, gesturing to himself and Zarya. "Your job is to tell us the outcome you want, and it’s our job to make the plan."

"If we can get the people on our side, it will force Arkadi to leave the capital for his own safety," Zahir said, pulling on one of the golden hoops in his ears. "Do you think he would go to the Winter Palace?"

"Without a doubt. It’s his safe haven where he always goes when he’s stressed," Zarya replied.

They spent the morning trading ideas with Zarya adding what would infuriate the people the most, and how they could best take advantage of her saint status.

When they went back to Arkon’s room to finalize the details of what they wanted to do, they found a package wrapped in silk waiting for them.

"How come you get presents and I don’t?" Zarya teased lightly.

"This is actually for you from me," he replied and held it out to her.

"Thank you?" Zarya took it and sat down before untying the silk. She wondered what he would possibly gift her. He didn’t seem a chocolates and perfume man, though she couldn’t say the thought of either thrilled her much. Arkon knew her too well to try the usual courting games on her.

Inside the wrappings was an urn made of silvery blue glass. She opened her mouth to ask what was inside, but then her magic brushed against it, and she knew. Asa.

"Oh, Arkon…"

"I had Zahir get the djinn to prioritize a search for her. I don’t think it’s all of it. Strahil wouldn’t be stupid enough not to carry some with him, but I thought you would want what they had anyway," Arkon said, blabbering a little. "Those jars were so fucking awful. I didn’t want you to be reminded of them, so I got this for you instead."

Zarya’s eyes filled, and she cradled the cool glass to her. "Thank you," she said, her voice a broken whisper. He crouched down in front of her and placed his hands on her knees.

"What do you need, little wolf? Can I get you anything?" he asked. She leaned forward and pressed a tender kiss to his lips. This beautiful, complicated man was shattering her insides with agonizing emotions, and she couldn’t stop them. How could she not be in love with him?

"I need a pencil and paper," she said and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "We have a sermon to write."