Chapter 82: Sleeping at Last - Saturn
"Yeah," Damien admitted, sitting back down with a sigh. "Mostly my fault. I know."
She gave a small nod, not disagreeing. "Well, yes...the doctor explained the routine more precisely. We can’t just... jump each other on a single day and expect miracles. It’s a cycle thing. We need to, um, engage"—she made air quotes—"a few days before, during, and a few days after the window. So basically, an entire week of very focused effort."
"Oh," Damien blinked. "Okay. That... actually sounds manageable."
Seliora squinted at him suspiciously. "What has gotten into you? Whatever you’re high on, I want it in an IV drip."
He grinned, amused by her skepticism. "Maybe I just realized we’re all running out of time. Even immortals."
She stared at him for a beat, lips parting slightly.
Damien rose, leaned over, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. It wasn’t passionate, but it was intimate. Familiar. Almost kind. "Goodnight, Seliora."
Seliora sat frozen on the stool long after Damien had left, her hands folded tightly in her lap, nails digging crescents into her palms. She stared blankly at the ornate mirror in front of her, the gold-leaf frame doing nothing to distract her from the whiplash she had just experienced.
What... the actual hell just happened?
This wasn’t the plan. She had dressed up, not for seduction, but for strategic intimidation. She’d expected a cold wall of rejection, an awkward dismissal, maybe even a guilt-laced speech about how things had changed now that the golden goddess Luna was back. She had mentally armed herself for war, not... cooperation.
He wanted to try again?
Was it genuine, or some masterful distraction to keep her from storming into the council chambers in the morning and ripping the veil off the palace’s tidy lies? Her fingers twitched at her sides. Maybe it was a trick. But if it was... it was a good one. Gods help her, it was a good one.