Sky and Storm ( Warriors of Vis #1)(13)
The Estas princess kept glaring at him, her lips twisted in disgust. He wandered what she saw that upset her so. He had seen his face in the mirror. He was paler than usual and the dark circles around his eyes were still there, the effects of his long, delightfully exhausting night with Storm. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he returned her stare.
“Sky, are you sick? You look like hell,” Mehra said sweetly, batting her eyelashes and trying to feign concern.
Sky rolled his eyes and filled his plate with food.
“You think?” Cloud bit back. She reached for Sky’s chin, turned his face to her and examined him closely with a sly grin. “You do look like shit, darling,” she agreed and nodded for emphasis. Sky huffed and filled a cup with tea.
“Maybe it’s something serious,” the princess said, her eyes sparkling with delight. She really was a mean little bitch, Sky thought and shook his head, forcing himself to just dig into the delicious food.
“Yes, a whole night of fucking is quite serious I suppose,” Cloud said, causing Sky to choke on his food and have a coughing fit. His sister-in-law patted his back and helped him through it, both chuckling and thus covering all the protests and warnings from the king and queen.
“Stop making up stories,” the princess said, huffing and hiding her annoyance in her own cup of tea.
“I’m not, I heard the screaming. Apparently my brother is very good at it,” Cloud replied calmly, her hand placed protectively around Sky’s shoulders. Sky couldn’t help glancing at Cloud, wondering what had gotten into her. Cloud had always been the first one to make fun of him, to tease and torment. She was always quite keen on pointing out how fucked up his whole marriage to Storm was. It felt strange, yet it somehow warmed his heart. Cloud turned and winked, then proceeded to tell everyone at the table just how often said screaming had awaken her during the night.
“Thank the gods morning came and they collapsed or fainted or whatever. I need my beauty sleep,” Cloud said, fanning herself. “I’m surprised you can stand,” she added, turning to face Sky again.
Thankfully, Sky was in between bites, otherwise the choking would have been repeated. He shrugged and continued to eat in silence, trying to hide his smile. Truth be told, sitting was uncomfortable and he knew he was walking funny. It had been worth it though, and so much better than everything he had imagined. Sky got lost in his memories of the night before and found himself alone with Cloud at the table. He looked at her, startled and wondering how much time had gone by.
“That good, huh?” Cloud said, bumping her shoulder into his.
“Why did you tell all that to the princess?” Sky asked, looking at her carefully.
“It’s the truth, isn’t it?’
“Truth, rumors, fairy tales… since when does that matter to you? You’ve been taking shots at me ever since I got here.”
“Oh, Sky!” Cloud sighed and smiled, no malice in her eyes. “I can take all the shots I want at you, I can act all mean and hurtful, but it’s never because I actually dislike you.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “You’re my brother-in-law, think of it as sibling rivalry. Someone doing their best to harm you? Well that’s a different story and they are going to be torn to shreds.”
Cloud got up, waved at him and left him alone at the table. Sky swallowed hard, looking at her as she disappeared down the hallway. Cloud’s tongue had a sting, but now that he thought about it, she’d always made a point of seeing him, and probably her getting him all riled up had forced him out of bed on more days than he’d care to admit. The strong feeling she was on his side was all he needed. He knew the king and queen would rather see him gone, so would most young people in the castle and around it. His departure would have meant a chance with Storm. His gorgeous husband was quite the catch. Stunning, smart, powerful, who wouldn’t want him?
Sky cleaned out his plate and went outside for a walk. As he dragged his knee-high boots over the dusty stones of the winding path through the lush castle gardens, his mind wandered back to his night with Storm. Even if it turned out to be the only one, it had been more than he’d ever dreamed of. Perfect, delicious. Storm all to himself.
The day passed quickly, a huge luncheon, afternoon activities and another pompous evening eating up his time. With Storm gone, the queen insisted on his being there. She kept Sky close, always whispering in his ear about the qualities of her favorite choices for her stepson’s concubine. Of course, the Estas princess was the top choice. That was heritage for you. Mehra was shallow, not very bright, and condescending to everyone. Cruel comments were the norm, all accompanied by a fake smile and wide eyes, but she was the heiress of Estas, so that made her better than anyone else attending.
Sky prayed she’d keep being annoying and mean when Storm was around. Sky might no longer know his husband, but from what he remembered from their childhood, those were unforgivable offences to Storm. Then again… she was nothing but a breeder and a way to gain more power. Storm needed both an heir and more land to add to his thriving empire, so the princess might become the severely flawed gem adorning his husband’s bed.
It was late when Sky finally made it to his chamber. His muscles hurt and his eyes felt heavy. He had eaten three meals, which had not happened in a long while. He felt full and a little dizzy, so he stripped and slid between the sheets. Sleep called to him the moment his head hit the pillow and he smiled to himself, knowing Storm was responsible for all of this.