Page 15 of A Promise so Bold and Broken (Compelling Fates Saga #2)
Chapter Fifteen
L essia sighed as she tried to wiggle into the dress Raine had unceremoniously thrown her when they reached his wooden cabin.
Like the leathers, this dress must have belonged to Solana, and she knew better than to speak ill of the dead, but…
Raine’s mate had truly lived by wearing as little as possible.
The dress was made of satin, similar to the black one Lessia had left at the castle back in Ellow, but its similarities to her own dress ended there.
This one was bright scarlet, sleeveless, with two straps connecting at the nape of her neck and a neckline that wound its way down to her stomach, barely covering her breasts.
It shouldn’t have been possible, but somehow, the dress plunged even deeper down her back, leaving most of it bare.
With the garment coming just below her mid-thigh, Lessia thought she might as well go to Zehmkell in her birthday suit.
The few buttons that kept the fabric together were, for some reason, sewn into the back of it, and she groaned as she squirmed to reach them, the sore muscles in her arms protesting as she stretched them.
A low chuckle lifted her gaze into the mirror she stood before, and she grimaced when she found Merrick leaning against the doorframe, a crooked grin pulling at his lips.
“Do you need some help?” Without waiting for a response, he strode into the room, towering over her as he bridged the distance.
Still staring into the mirror, Lessia shrugged. “I’m not certain these buttons will be of any help.”
Merrick’s eyes met hers in the mirror. “Solana had specific taste.”
“You don’t say,” Lessia muttered.
Another low laugh escaped Merrick as his fingers grazed her back. “She swore like a soldier and never backed down from a fight, but clothing was her weak spot. She loved dressing up, and she’d always make poor Raine do it too. I’ll never forget his face when she showed up with a violet shirt and trousers for him for their mating ceremony.” Merrick shook his head, his slight smile widening. “Of course, he couldn’t say no to her, and we teased him endlessly for it.”
Lessia watched in the mirror as Merrick continued to button the dress, the tip of his tongue sliding between his teeth as he focused on the tiny loops.
“Were you close?” she asked.
Merrick’s eyes remained on the last button as he nodded. “I stayed with them when they first met.” Sadness crept across his face, dimming the light that the smile had brought. “She was wonderful. Except when she tried to set me up with every single one of her friends.”
He rolled his eyes. “When she got something in her head, there was no talking her out of it. But she was warm and kind, and she loved Raine so much. It was almost unbearable to watch them look at each other.”
“She sounds wonderful,” Lessia said quietly, sorrow casting shadows across her face when she thought of the unimaginable pain Raine must carry.
She couldn’t fathom it.
Even with the liquor, he must feel as if he were dying every day.
“She was.” Merrick’s eyes locked with hers as he straightened, and a jolt shot through her when she realized he’d also changed.
Even though his shirt and breeches were black, they shimmered against his tan skin, the silver threads running through the tunic mirroring the starry night sky of his eyes and the newly washed hair tumbling down his shoulders.
He looked almost regal, with the dark fabric snugly hugging his muscles, the pearly hair softly layering around his face, and the polished sword with the bright rubies sticking up over his shoulder.
Lessia realized she’d been staring when one of Merrick’s brows quirked up.
“She… she must have also been very beautiful if she chose to wear this dress voluntarily. I could never,” she joked, pulling at the hem of the short dress and desperately trying not to blush at having gawked at him.
It was quiet for a beat, and goose bumps raced across her skin when she realized Merrick’s fingers still whispered over her back, his eyes trailing down her body, then back up and clashing with her own.
“I-I think you’re done,” she whispered as warmth bloomed across her chest from the nervous energy sparking inside her, the weight of Merrick’s stare making her almost lightheaded.
When Merrick leaned in, his strong jaw brushing the exposed skin on her shoulder, she held her breath, not entirely sure what was happening.
Her eyes remained on his as he gently swept her hair over one shoulder and fastened a button she must have missed at the neck.
Lessia let out a shaky breath when his hands fell to his sides, but Merrick didn’t step back.
Instead his presence surrounded her, and she couldn’t stop her blush from deepening when she noticed her wide eyes in the mirror.
“Thank—” she started, but then she noticed a movement behind them.
Lessia couldn’t stop herself from flinching, and she didn’t miss how Merrick’s eyes widened, his hand twitching toward the sword on his back, before he realized it was only Raine’s head popping into the mirror’s reflection.
“You ready? Or am I interrupting something?” Raine’s brows pulled as he watched them, the frown deepening when Merrick stepped back but kept his eyes locked on hers.
“We’re coming,” Merrick snarled, the impossible darkness of his eyes deepening as his glare shifted to Raine.
Nodding once, Raine spun on his heel, the scowl on his face still present until his reflection disappeared.
“I… I’ll just…” She couldn’t even devise an excuse as Merrick’s hard eyes burned into hers, and she only pointed vaguely toward the bundle of clothes on her bed.
Merrick’s jaw twitched, and she thought he might yell at her like he did during training, but instead, he averted his gaze and began walking out of the room.
“Keep your wits about you tonight,” he rasped as he slipped through the unlatched door.
Lessia blinked a few times.
What had just happened?
Bringing her hands to her heated cheeks, she drew deep breaths until her hammering heart slowed and her reddened face shifted back into her usual color instead of mirroring the dress she wore.
She shook her head at herself.
What was she doing?
Merrick had only been kind to her—tried to help her with the dumb dress.
And while it perhaps wasn’t something she was used to…
She’d just managed to make it awkward.
Lessia nervously went to pull down her sleeve as she met her own wary eyes in the mirror, her heart rate increasing when her fingers only found bare skin.
“Get it together,” she hissed at herself when her breathing became choppy.
She didn’t need to hide the tattoo anymore.
She didn’t need to be scared of Merrick anymore.
She repeated the words as she left the room, forcing herself not to fidget with the dress as she approached the sitting room.
“What are you doing, Merrick?”
Lessia froze when Raine’s harsh tone drifted toward her.
“I’m fighting,” Merrick responded in a furious whisper.
The clink of a bottle hitting glass reached her ears before Raine responded in an equally raging whisper. “You don’t have to. You know that, right?”
Her heart slammed against her rib cage in the silence that followed.
“You’re wrong,” Merrick finally hissed.
“Why? You could make your life so much easier.”
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
The stairs behind her creaked, and she pushed off the wall she’d been pressing her body against and walked over the threshold as loud steps reached the bottom of it, heading toward the room.
“Damned martyr,” Raine griped as he caught her gaze while downing the glass of liquor in his hand.
“Just because you don’t want to fight doesn’t mean you get to judge others for it.” Lessia kept her voice even, the guilt from earlier still ringing in her mind.
But she wasn’t about to have Raine fault Merrick for doing what was right.
Especially when Havlands needed him.
When she needed him.
“Assuming again, are we?” Raine taunted.
When Raine took a step toward her, Merrick slammed his arm into his chest, his eyes flitting her way.
“Don’t make eavesdropping a habit,” he said quietly. “You might hear some things you’d rather not.”
She almost wavered under his cold stare, and only when she nodded did his gaze fix behind her. “Seems like we’re all here. Let’s get this over with, shall we?”
When Lessia turned her head over her shoulder, Ardow and Venko lingered by the back wall, looking as reluctant as she felt to join the festivities tonight.
“You all act like you’re going to a burial, not a feast.” Raine sighed. “Zehmkell is supposed to be exciting.”
She and Merrick groaned at the same time, eliciting another sigh from Raine.
While Merrick’s features remained hard as he followed Raine out the door, the flecks in his eyes twinkled when they briefly met hers, and embers of warmth—not the uncomfortable ones she’d experienced before the mirror, but something more akin to safety—spread in her chest as she fell into step with them, Ardow and Venko on either side.