Astelion POV
The sweet scent of honeyed bread, scrambled eggs, and warm tea drifted through the room before the sunlight ever touched my skin. I stirred slowly, my body heavy in that delicious, lingering way that comes after being held all night. The rain had stopped, leaving behind only the faint, rhythmic sound of dripping water from the eaves outside. Pale morning light filtered through the curtains, painting the bedroom .
I shifted against the sheets and realized I wasn't alone.
Kiono lay right behind me, his massive arm wrapped securely around my waist, his bare chest radiating a grounding warmth against my back. His breathing was steady, but it wasn't the slow rhythm of sleep. He was awake. On the small table beside the bed sat a tray he must have quietly brought up while I was a sleep.
He had taken care of me before I even opened my eyes.
As if sensing my movement, his large fingers brushed lightly against my hip. "You're awake," he murmured, his voice rough with sleep but softened by a rare, quiet tenderness.
I turned slowly in his arms to face him, the memories of the night rushing back to flush my cheeks. "You made all that?"
He gave a small, almost shy shrug. "Didn't want you walking on sore legs to the kitchen."
My heart squeezed. He pulled me slightly closer, his hand moving to brush a loose strand of hair from my face. "And your bath is already drawn. I set clothes out for you. Something comfortable."
"You woke up early just for this?" I blinked at him, completely disarmed.
"I didn't sleep much," he admitted quietly, his eyes searching mine. "I wanted to make sure you were okay." There was no military arrogance left in him, no rigid commander armor. Just absolute sincerity. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my temple soft.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The heavy, abrupt sound shattered the quiet room. Kiono's muscles instantly locked, turning to absolute stone beneath my hands. His eyes darkened, the warmth vanishing in a split second as his defensive instincts snapped back into place.
He slid out of bed smoothly, throwing on a loose shirt. He turned back to me, his voice low and commanding but gentle. "Eat first. Stay here while I go check who it is."
I watched him walk out, but the moment the bedroom door clicked shut, the silence didn't return. Instead, a muffled blast of aggressive yelling echoed up the stairwell.
Anxiety spiked in my chest. I couldn't just sit here. I threw off the sheets, my legs aching slightly as my feet hit the floor. Looking around frantically, my eyes landed on the dress I had worn the night before, crumpled near the edge of the bed. I grabbed it, pulling the fabric over my head and smoothing it down as quickly as I could before hurrying out of the room.
As I walked down the stairs, the voices grew sharper, vibrating with an bitter friction. Standing in the entryway was a girl.
She was striking, with sharp, delicate features and a defiant tilt to her chin that instantly mirrored Kiono's own stubbornness. Her hair fell around her shoulders, framing dark, piercing eyes that shifted the exact moment my feet creaked on the bottom step.
The girl turned her head, her gaze locking onto me, scanning me up and down with cold disdain.
"Oh," she sneered, a sharp, mocking laugh escaping her lips. "So she is the reason I can't stay." She snapped her head back toward Kiono. "Kiono, who is this?"
Before I could even process the intrusion, I looked at her, my own voice tight. "No—who are you?"
Kiono stepped between us. "This is one of my younger twin sisters, Heri," he said, his tone clipped and exhausting. "Forgive her manners. She just turned eighteen and she is still a child."
I froze, a small, startled laugh escaping me out of pure embarrassment. I leaned slightly closer to Kiono and whispered, "I am eighteen too."
His jaw tight as he realized that he was five years older than me.
Heri caught the whisper instantly. A wicked, mocking smirk spread across her face. "Well," she drawled, crossing her arms. "It seems my big brother likes children."
"Wait, it's not like that," Kiono snapped, a rare, genuine panic flashing through his blue eyes as he tried to find his footing.
Heri didn't give him the chance. She shoved her way past him into the hallway, a heavy travel bag clutched in her hand. Her eyes locked onto the fabric of my dress, and her expression turned instantly. "Is that my dress she is wearing?"
She stormed straight toward me. Fear didn't hit me, but surprise did as she closed the distance. Before she could reach me, Kiono's hand shot out like lightning, clamping firmly around her wrist to halt her in her tracks.
"I told you that you can't stay."
"And I told you I have nowhere else to go!" Heri screamed back, twisting her wrist against his grip. "I don't care that you got yourself some young prostitute to help you pass time! I won't even tell anyone! But I am not going back home!"
"Do not call her that," his voice shaking the very air in the corridor. "Her name is Astelion."
"Whatever," she snapped.
With a vicious yank, Heri pulled her hand free from his grip. She lunged forward, intentionally throwing her shoulder into mine as she pushed past me to get to the stairs. The force of the collision caught me off guard my sore legs and back gave out slightly, and I stumbled backward.
Before I could hit the floor, Kiono's arms wrapped around me. He caught me effortlessly, lifting me entirely against his chest in a secure hold. He looked down at me, his eyes wild with a mixture of rage at his sister and deep concern for me.
"You need to get some rest, seriously," he murmured, his voice tight.
He didn't wait for my answer. He turned and carried me straight up the stairs, his heavy. He walked right past Heri, who was standing in the upper hallway, glaring at us as he brought me back into the safety of the bedroom.
He placed me gently onto the center of the bed, his hands lingering on my shoulders for a brief second.
"I am going to ensure that she leaves," he said, his voice dropping into a dark, absolute promise. He looked into my eyes, the intensity there making my breath catch. "If she is here, you are not safe."
To emphasize his words, a sudden, terrifying pressure dropped over the house. Kiono didn't move a muscle, but his telekinetic power flooded the structure. The wooden beams groaned. The glass in the windows rattled violently, and the entire house began to shake, vibrating with the sheer, suffocating weight of his anger.
"Stay here and eat," he told me, his expression softening just a fraction for me. "I will go deal with this."
He turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.
Even with the door shut, the chaos was deafening over the steady vibration of the house shaking. Screams tore through the house.
"Fuck you! You asshole!" Heri's voice shrieked, distorted by rage. "You pick a woman over your own sister?!"
"I told you to never come back here!" Kiono's booming voice answered, a terrifying rumble that felt like thunder inside the walls. "I gave you a place to stay and you betrayed me! You are no longer welcome here!"
A loud crash echoed the distinct, sharp sound of glass shattering against stone. There was a violent tumbling sound, a heavy scuffle, and then a sudden, sickening crack the unmistakable sound of a hand slapping hard against skin.
A second later, the heavy front door slammed shut so hard the entire house shuddered one last time before falling dead silent.
The shaking stopped. The air pressure returned to normal.
I sat frozen on the bed, my heart hammering against my chest, my eyes fixed on the door.
A moment later, the handle turned. Kiono walked back into the room. His shirt was slightly pulled, and his left cheek was red, a burning handprint swelling against his skin. But as his eyes met mine, a calm, easy smile spread across his face, as if absolutely nothing had happened.
"Everything is handled," he said smoothly, walking over to the bedside tray.
I stared at the red mark on his face, a cold knot forming in the pit of my stomach. The easy smile didn't match the violence I had just heard. A heavy, unsettling question began to twist in my mind.
Was he protecting me from his sister, or was he hiding something?