As Theo strode through the palace, Lily at his side, he could feel the eyes of the goblins upon him, their distrust and loathing as clear as day. But he would not be cowed. He had committed to his plan, and to Lily, and he refused to give up on change, no matter how impossible it seemed.
He watched Lily's awed expression as they wandered through corridors filled with gaudy furnishings and paintings. He knew after the last few days, she deserved a moment of rest, but Theo found himself restless after the discovery that his cousin was the one scheming against him. Sleep would not come to him, even if he immersed himself in the welcome scent of Lily's hair and skin, or the gentle rhythm of her heartbeat and breath. So long as he was without a plan, he feared he would go many sleepless nights.
He directed them to the royal suite, six rooms that had served as the goblin king's personal quarters. Decorated in gold and black, with thick rugs and velvet curtains, it felt more like a prison than a place of relaxation and comfort. However, he knew that the guard of this palace was loyal to Theo and the royal bloodline without question, and in this time of uncertainty, where he was not sure where his enemies waited for him, he had to rely on them for his and Lily's safety.
Two rooms over, Lily looked longingly at the bed, but she followed him toward his study. The ornate wooden door swung open, revealing a dusty room with a large, mahogany desk covered in maps. Two plush sofas waited by the fireplace, and Lily curled up on one of them, blinking sleepily at him when he went over to his desk to review his maps and notes of the goblin rebellion and everything he knew so far.
"You can go to bed if you're tired," Theo said as he sat in the tall-backed chair behind the desk. It creaked as he pulled it closer to the desk. "I'm sure you're tired after the day we've had."
Lily blinked her eyes open rapidly. "I'm fine, I just need a few moments off my feet, that's all. My mind is racing too much to get any real rest right now."
"I know how you feel. I need solutions, answers, but it's as though I'm stuck running around myself, searching for information that's not there. Some cue I missed that could have prevented all this."
"No one is perfect. You loved your cousin, didn't you?"
Theo nodded, thinking of the time, when they were just young men, when they'd gone hunting in the very forests that Kaleus had betrayed him in for elk. They'd spent nights, weeks, out in the wilderness together, with nothing but one another for company. Had all those bonding moments been false? Calculated attempts to earn Theo's trust?
Or had he lost Kaleus' trust somewhere along the way?
"Don't do that," Lily said quietly, breaking Theo's stream of haunting memories.
"Do what?"
"Get caught worrying about what you could have done better. Thinking about what you should have done in the past to prevent the present. None of that matters, only what actions you take now to either right the wrongs done by him, or by you." Lily's lips were settled into a firm, but thoughtful line. "There must be someone else here who could help us. Others you trust to have not betrayed you?"
Theo couldn't help but watch her for a moment, marveling at how beautiful she was. And with that thought came another realization: he did not want to lose Lily. He wanted to keep her safe from harm, both physical and emotional. And with that determination fueling him, he knew that together they would end the goblin rebellion once and for all.
The question was how?
It felt as though the answer was circling just out of reach, trapped somewhere in the hazy fog in his mind. If only he could sleep, find some peace in the chaos, perhaps he could piece everything together. Right now, despite being the single most powerful goblin in North America, he felt helpless.
"We can start by gathering information," said Theo finally. "I'll talk to some of my advisors and discover who among them is truly loyal, and who has been tainted by my cousin's traitorous whisperings."
Lily nodded eagerly, her sharp mind already spinning with ideas. Together, he and Lily could make a difference in this war between good and evil, hope against fear. Still ... despite the rush of growing determination, he feared that even if some of his advisors were still loyal to him, there might be no choice but to go to war with a subset of his own people.
"Maybe you're right," Lily said suddenly, rising from the couch in one smooth movement. She came to the desk in several quick strides, an unfamiliar glimmer in her eyes. "Maybe we should rest."
He shook his head. "I can't."
Lily took the statement as a challenge, and she came to sit on the desk to his left, crumpling a map and several other papers beneath her. She spread her legs apart somewhat, enough to hike her short black and silver dress up to the middle of her thighs and send Theo's head racing ahead to other places.
"We can't keep going like this," she said, her voice barely a whisper as she reached out to touch his face. "You're not thinking straight. But if you really can't sleep ... then maybe you should kiss me instead."
Theo nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. He was entranced by the softness of her lips, the way her cheeks glowed in the firelight. All he could think about was kissing her, losing himself in her touch. It'd been so easy for her to distract him from what had seemed so important just minutes ago. So he allowed her to whisk him away.
He leaned forward, cupping her face in his hands and meeting her lips in a searing kiss. She tasted sweet, like the vanilla and chocolate wafers she'd snacked on when they were still in the city, and he deepened the kiss without hesitation. Their tongues entwined as they lost themselves in one another, the heat and need pouring from their mouths and bodies. Lily's legs wrapped around his waist as he pulled her closer, and she ran her hands over his broad shoulders. He could feel her heart racing, and he ran his hands up and down her back in a soothing gesture. Finally, reluctantly, he pulled away from her, both of them breathing heavily.
"We shouldn't," he said regretfully. "If we're going to win this war ... I can't let myself be distracted."
"I understand," Lily said, "but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy each other's company while we can. It might be what you need right now. To relax, even if you find that sleep keeps eluding you."
Theo looked deep into Lily's dark green eyes, curiosity growing inside him. At what point had she changed from that spiteful, terrified creature he'd cornered in the woods, married, and brought to his bed against her will, to this elegant, fierce woman who looked like she could command an army without flinching?
Had she always been this magnificent, and he'd willfully ignored it?
Theo didn't need her to proposition him a third time. Whatever her motives, a moment to breathe could be exactly what he needed right now. His mouth found hers again, a clash of teeth and tongue as rabid as it was lust-filled. Heat burned him wherever her touch graced him, and Theo only broke the kiss long enough to sweep everything off the desk with one arm, sending it all clattering to the floor. Lily gasped as Theo picked her up and deposited her gently on the now clear surface, before crawling over her to resume their passionate embrace.
Theo's hands roaming over Lily's body. She was so soft, so perfect, and he couldn't believe she was really here with him. That she was his, his wife, bound to him by whatever cruel fate makers had brought them together. After all Theo had done, he didn't deserve her to be so understanding, so willing to be by his side and champion him.