Chapter 75: Am I too late!? [2]
A few minutes passed before Alden was fully certain no one was hovering outside the door. Only then did he finally crawl out from under the blanket.
He sat on the edge of the bed and let out a long, shuddering breath. "I genuinely thought that was the end of me."
Seris was busy smoothing the blanket back into place. She gave him a look. "That’s the first thing you say after all of that?"
"What else am I supposed to say? I was hiding in your bed. I almost got caught. I’m lucky to be breathing."
"Lucky?" She raised an eyebrow. "You should maybe give me a little credit. Especially considering how much you were squirming around down there."
Alden stiffened. He knew she was right — he’d only made it out because she’d handled the whole thing. But admitting that felt like losing something, so he looked away. "I would’ve been fine if I’d hidden anywhere else instead of..." He cleared his throat. "...instead of there."
Seris tilted her head, the smile already forming. "Instead of hiding against me?"
"I didn’t hide against you—"
"Your arms were around my waist, Alden."
"That wasn’t on purpose!"
She leaned in slightly with the comfortable energy of someone who has found exactly the right angle and has no intention of leaving it. "How shameless. Touching a girl’s waist and then pretending it didn’t happen."
Heat shot up the back of his neck. He was completely cornered and he knew it, but some part of him kept pushing back anyway. Not out of spite, but because dragging this out meant she kept talking. "It was an accident," he said again, with less conviction than before.
"Aww~" Her crimson eyes narrowed. "Are you blushing?"
"No." He turned his head sharply in the other direction. "Absolutely not."
Then Seris laughed.
Not the faint, polished smile she kept ready. Not the amusement she wore like an accessory. An actual laugh with warmth in it, the kind that slipped out before she could decide whether to let it. It lasted only a few seconds but it changed the whole temperature of the room.
Alden looked at her.
And a small grin found its way onto his face without his permission. "...Fine. I admit it."
The laugh faded into a quiet smile. "At least you’re honest about something."
She glanced at the desk clock, and her expression shifted slightly. "It’s already past midnight."
Alden turned toward it. The minute hand sat solidly past twelve. His face fell. "What? It’s already the next day?" He pressed a hand to his forehead. "Damn it. I missed it."
Seris looked at him for a moment. "It’s fine." Her voice was even and honest about it. "You still came. That’s what matters."
He met her eyes. The guilt that had been sitting in his chest since the clock ticked over lifted out of it, just like that.
Seris glanced toward the bedroom door. "We shouldn’t keep talking in here. If anyone comes back again we’re done for." She nodded toward the balcony. "There’s a garden below. We can go down there."
Alden nodded. "Good idea. I’ve had more than enough of this room." He rubbed the back of his neck and muttered, "I really don’t have a great track record with being trapped alone in rooms with girls."
Seris stepped out onto the balcony first, one hand resting on the stone railing as she looked down at the garden below. Alden followed, glancing over the edge.
"How are you planning to get down?" he asked.
She glanced at him like the answer was self-evident. "I’m going to jump."
"...Jump?"
"Yes."
"That’s a significant drop."
"Not for me." She gave him the small, confident smile that meant the conversation was already over in her head.
Then something clicked in her head. "Wait— earlier, when I was coming up, I thought I saw wings behind your silhouette in the window."
"Oh." Alden’s eyes moved to his back. "You mean this?"
Dark smoke rolled out from behind him. He opened a pair of huge, black wings with a deep, heavy whoosh. The edges looked like feathers, glowing softly in the moonlight.
Seris stared at them. "...Since when do you have wings?"
"Skill," he said simply.
She looked at them a moment longer before shaking her head. "Every time I think I understand what your skill does, you do something like this." She exhaled quietly. "What even are you."
"Me? I’m just a normal human." He gave an awkward grin.
Her eyes stayed on the wings, something moving quietly across her expression. Then, pretending not to care—which was her usual trick when she was actually interested—she asked, "Can you carry someone while you’re flying?"
Alden blinked. "I’ve never actually tried."
"Why not try now?" She met his gaze directly. "Carry me down to the garden."
He stared at her. "What?"
Something flickered across her face — she’d heard how that came out, felt the straightforwardness of it land somewhere she hadn’t intended. She looked away quickly, her composure breaking for just a fraction of a second. "...Never mind. I was only teasing." She placed one foot up on the ledge, already shifting her weight forward. "I’ll just jump."
Alden reached out and caught her wrist.
"Wait."
She paused and turned back.
He held the grip without saying anything for a moment. He looked down at the garden, quiet and dark below them, then felt the steady hum of the wings behind him. He hadn’t brought a gift. He hadn’t made it on time. It wasn’t much, and he knew that, but maybe this was something.
His grip relaxed, sliding down to hold her hand properly.
"Never mind," he said, stepping closer. "I’ll carry you."
Seris went completely still. She hadn’t expected him to actually agree. She still didn’t even understand why she had asked something so ridiculous—the words had simply slipped out before she could bite them back. Her crimson eyes lifted slowly to his face.
"...What?"
_______
Author’s Note:
Hey peeps, it’s me again!
I really hate you guys. But unfortunately, I can’t stay mad at you all. ;(
I was really expecting a castle this time, so imagine my disappointment when you guys failed me like this. Tears
I know exactly what everyone was thinking:
"Why should I waste my money? Imma just wait for someone else to pay for me and all the other readers. Then I’ll enjoy 20 Chapters for just 1 coin. Yay!"
Greedy bastards!
But I can’t hate you all after all. So even though you guys are being cruel to a poor, suffering author like me, I’m still going to show you some kindness by eventually giving away 20 Chapters!
But not for 1 or 2 coins!
You guys didn’t meet the requirement, so now I’m gonna charge you! MUAHAHAH
Anyways, demanding clearly didn’t work last time, so this time I’m begging you guys, okay?
You heard that right.
I’M BEGGING!
I know you’re enjoying watching me beg. Cries harder.
But hey, as you can see it’s already a new month, so let’s start fresh, shall we?
This time, I’m giving you guys a really good offer.
On the first day of next month (October) I’m planning to dump 30 Chapters!
Just imagine it.
HIT THE GOAL, AND YOU GET 50 ChapterS FOR ONLY 1 COIN!
But this time, I’m not going to show you the same kindness I showed you today.
Either 2 Magic Castles or 1 Spacecraft
I’m gonna become colder and evil from now on. Hehe.
So please, don’t be selfish thinking:
"Why should I? Someone else will do it."
Instead, think:
"I love this auth—"
No.
"I love this novel!"
(Meanwhile, me crying in the corner because apparently you guys only love my novel and not me.)
"So I’ll help it get more visibility, bring in more readers, and encourage the author to keep writing."
See? Much better. (And who knows what kind of special privileges you’ll get from the me in discord...)
Throw your coins at me, and I’ll spend my whole days writing Chapters like a slave for you!
Anyways, I’ve yapped way too much already...
Before I end this, let’s talk about you peeps!
Midnight, Devoided, Zeravar — Thank you guys! I absolutely love your gifts, and I devour them completely. ;>
Wumpus — A true gentleman who thanks me after reading each and every Chapter! Love you, mate. ;)
And last but definitely not least, our ’Certified’ yapper — Alayna.
Damn, I mean, I genuinely love reading your comments whenever you start yapping. ;) Please keep it going!
And hey, it’s not just Alayna—I want everyone to keep interacting! I love reading your comments, theories, reactions, and all the random nonsense you guys come up with. It makes writing this novel so much more fun.
By the way, if any of you feel self-conscious about seeing your names here, please feel free to leave a paragraph-comment telling me you don’t want to be mentioned.
I’ll happily remove your name.
(Yes, this is absolutely an excuse to make you comment.)
Thank you all for reading. Love you guys! ;)
Yours Certified Beggar,
— LayzQuill