Page 101 of The Heart of Nym (The Twisted Roots Duology #1)

The moment she positioned her hand to knock, the door to the palace swung open. Nymiria’s stomach plummeted to her feet, her hand frozen in the air as she stared at the herbal witch.

Hilla.

“Good evening.” Nymiria chirped, forcing a smile onto her face and securing her paralyzed hand behind her back.

The witch’s eyes roved around, looking from the sky to the landscape. “It’s morning.”

Foolish.

“Oh, well, good morning. I must apologize for my intrusion, but it seems as if I am needing a place to stay.” She explained. There was absolutely no way that Hilla believed this facade. Even Nymiria was cringing at the sound of her own voice—too cheerful and too high pitched.

Moving away from the crack in the door, Hilla pulled it open further, waving her hand to welcome Nymiria inside. They walked in silence for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say to the other until they finally arrived in the foyer.

It was exactly how she remembered it. Rock and gems in every corner, plants scattered about as if no one knew where to place them. Black and purple everywhere. Nymiria sighed. “Once again, I do apologize—“

Hilla waved her hand nervously, letting out a forced chuckle. “No, no. There is no need to apologize. It’s just that we weren’t—“

“We?” Nymiria’s finger paused on a blossom crawling up one of the tall pillars, her brow arching.

“Your room isn’t prepared just yet. I mean, it is prepared, but we haven’t had the chance to dust or polish anything.”

While she hadn’t known what to expect at all in showing up here unannounced, she was certainly a fool to assume that she’d be in Aziel’s room. A very foolish assumption, considering his… company.

She must have not ruined Hilla for him.

That was rude. You were the one who left, remember?

Nymiria had to remind herself of this. Even though her stomach was in knots and she felt like emptying its contents onto Aziel’s new, pretty purple rug, she forced a smile.

“I haven’t had a bath in two weeks, Hilla.

A little bit of dust is the least of my concerns.

” Nymiria assured her, finally releasing the flower in her hand, only to find that she’d completely crushed the poor thing in her grip. “I wasn’t aware that I had a room.”

Hilla was now guiding her up the stairs, turning to the left instead of the right. Another frown, her brow crumpling at the thought that he’d really wanted her this far away from him.

Your fault.

She ground her teeth, inwardly urging that nagging voice in her head to keep quiet.

“Aziel has had a room waiting for you for months. It was his first request upon returning.” Hilla explained, offering her a kind smile.

Nymiria scoffed, rolling her eyes at a moonflower painting that hung on the wall.

“How thoughtful of him.” As they came closer to the end of the corridor, the hairs on Nymiria’s arms lifted at their own accord.

She slung a glance over her shoulder, only to find an empty hallway lurking behind her.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where he is, would you? ”

Hilla looked at her with a confused expression, shaking her head as she withdrew a large ring filled with keys.

She sifted through them without looking, only feeling the grooves to decipher which one was needed.

“He doesn’t really inform anyone when he leaves, nor does he disclose where he is going.

He sort of just comes and goes as he pleases.

” She paused, glancing down at the keys and pulling a single one free.

“He does frequent Thorn’s and often stays at The Twisted Willow, though.

I know that much. Mostly because his tab from the Willow is always delivered on Monday morning and it’s my job to ensure it gets paid. ” She shrugged.

“Does he not like staying here?”

Hilla shrugged again, turning the lock and pushing the door open. “I’m not sure. As I said, he’s not here much. And when he is, he doesn’t usually speak to us. Unless he gets bored.”

“Us?”

“Lorelei and myself. He offered us a place to stay when we were all displaced after Yaar and she and I took over managing the household. Gods only know that he won’t.

Apparently, he has far more pressing matters to attend to other than cleaning and cooking.

” She rolled her eyes and walked into the room.

“He comes home, locks himself in his room, takes the majority of his meals alone, sleeps alone, and only ever lets Trio inside. It’s quite pitiful, I must say. ”

“Sounds quite lonely.” Nymiria muttered.

Hilla nodded, turning to face Nymiria and waving her into the room.

“I’ve tried to tell him to find a companion, but he insists that he’s taken another vow of celibacy.

” She chuckled, shaking her head at the thought.

“The two of you seemed to have gotten quite close in Yaar. What ever happened there?”

Nymiria didn’t know what to say, so she just told the truth. “I ran away because my mother was the Witch Queen and I feared that Aziel would always see her face in mine. That everyone would.”

Hilla’s face drained of all color, her lips parting around a small gasp. Upon realizing her mistake, she placed a hand to her chest and cleared her throat. “Well… you are welcome to stay as long as you like. Aziel said—“

Nymiria slid her way into the room, gliding around Hilla’s shocked form.

“Can you tell him something for me the next time you see him?” She asked, nose scrunching at all of the purple decor.

When her eyes caught the small notes of pink scattered around the room, she felt her heart soften.

Whether the detail was added by Desi, Trio, or by Aziel himself, it made her want to smile.

She sank her teeth into her cheek to keep the muscles from reacting.

“Tell him that I’m ready. For what he offered me on the ship. ”

“Tell him yourself.”

Nymiria whirled around, her brow furrowed and lips pressed into a thin line at the sound of his voice.

Hilla was gone and, in her place, Aziel stood there with his horns on full display.His lips twitched into a smug grin, eyes roving over her less than presentable attire.

She was in rags compared to what he wore.

Though it was a simple black tunic with black breeches and boots to match, he still looked like royalty.

And there she was, covered from head to toe in muck and sweat, her hair matted and twisted around twigs and leaves.

She folded her arms in front of herself, as if it would stop him from seeing how she looked.

It didn’t, but he didn’t laugh. He didn’t even make a sarcastic remark about her state of being.

“Hello, moonflower.”

“Hello, demon.” She sneered.

He let out something short of a laugh, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he took another step closer. “Welcome home.”