Aelin's command echoed through Fenrys' mind as he paced in front of the bathroom door. You will accompany her everywhere she goes. You won't leave her anywhere by herself, even for a moment, unless she is with someone you trust completely or in a secure location. A dull ache spread through his limbs, urging him to yield to the blood oath.

    He always felt pain when he fought Maeve's blood oath. Aelin's was different. It just ached, like sore muscles after a long day of training. He assumed that was because Aelin didn't want to hurt him, and Maeve did. Fenrys ran his fingers through his hair, then began to braid it, hoping to distract himself.

    It wasn't working. There was a window in the bathroom. A window Nascha could escape from. She could smash through it with her magic, shift, and be out of reach by the time he managed to follow her. Fenrys banged a fist on the door.

    "Unlock it now," he growled.

    "No."

    "Nascha, open the fucking door."

    "Leave me alone."

    "In case you've forgotten, Aelin gave me my orders through the blood oath. I can't leave you alone. You're not in a secure location or with someone I can trust."

    "I'm not going to try to escape. I just want you to leave me alone." The sound of running water reached his ears.

    "I can't do that. Open the door."

    "No."

    "Open it or I'll teleport myself in there."

    "Go away."

    Fenrys resumed pacing, scratching at one of his arms. The sensation hardly drew his focus away from the blood oath. "Open the door."

    "No. I'm giving myself a chance to relax. Go away."

    "I. Can't. Now who's not listening?"

    "It's only fair."

    "You are insufferable!"

    "So are you. Leave me alone."

    Fenrys gave a frustrated hiss and forced himself away from the bathroom door. He paced around the room, letting his thoughts drift. This whole situation was tearing his mind in half. No, it wasn't fair for Nascha to be dragged back here and have a plateful of responsibilities shoved towards her. It wasn't fair that she had been a child who lost her family, home, and kingdom in one day. It wasn't fair that she'd spent so many years alone and on the run.

    But it also wasn't fair that Terrasen should suffer a war because she refused to take her place. It wasn't fair that people would bleed and die, when all she had to do was swear a few vows and find herself a replacement. And, what he said had been true. Nascha had suffered greatly, but so had everyone else in Aelin's Court.

    Fenrys returned to the bathroom. "Open the door. Let's just...talk."

    "I'm not letting you in. I don't want to see you right now."

    "Nascha..."

    "Go away, or I'll make you."

    A faintly amused, but mostly annoyed smirk slid onto his lips. "How do you intend to do that, your Ladyship?" The answer came as a moan and a faint giggle. Fenrys stiffened. "What are you doing?"

    "Whatever your imagination comes up with."

    His imagination was coming up with plenty. Fenrys braced his hands on the door. "You think that will make me leave?"

    "I'm hoping I'll embarrass you and make you leave."

    Fenrys gave a low chuckle. "Did you forget that I have no shame?" Nascha didn't reply. He reached for his magic. "That, Sweetheart, has only convinced me to come inside."

    "Don't you da..." Her words were cut off as he teleported. Fenrys appeared in the bathroom and Nascha glowered at him. "For the record, I wasn't actually doing anything. Now, get out."

    Fenrys tilted his head, letting his gaze sweep over her. Nascha bared her teeth in a snarl. Heat pooled in the pit of his stomach, and Nascha's snarl faded. "Here I thought you were modest, but you're not even trying to cover yourself up." Nascha crossed her arms at once. "It's too late for that."

    He came closer to the tub, studying the curve of her hips beneath the water. Nascha's throat bobbed, though she continued to glare at him. The ends of her crimson hair hung in damp ringlets over her shoulders. Fenrys let his gaze wander below them, where Nascha's tanned arms covered her breasts.

    "Get out," she said. Her voice was hoarse.

    Fenrys walked around the tub. Nascha's smoldering brown eyes followed his every movement. He couldn't explain the way his skin prickled in response to her gaze. He couldn't explain the heat that spread through his limbs, or the way sparks flew in his stomach.

Stars, she was the most beautiful female he'd ever seen. He knelt behind her. Nascha stared straight ahead, breathing unevenly. Fenrys drew her hair away from her neck and bent down, touching his lips to her skin. "I hate you," she whispered. "Leave me alone."

    "You have no idea how much I wish I could." He kissed her neck again, lower. "But there's the issue of the blood oath. My Queen's command. And now...there's the issue of this." He slid a hand beneath her chin, tilting her head back.

    "What?" She spat, even as she leaned into his touch.

    "I'm supposed to attend to your every need." Fenrys kissed her throat, letting his free hand rest on her shoulder. "As you've mentioned, you haven't been able to attend to certain needs because of me. It's only fair that I attend to them for you. Provided, you have no objection, of course."

    "Isn't my hatred of you objection enough?"

    "Not hardly." His hand strayed onto her chest and she shivered, but didn't lower her arms. "If you choose this, it won't mean anything more than...an agreement. I will satisfy your needs, and you will satisfy mine. We will harbor no other commitment to each other, and you can hate me all you want."

    "This is some trick to convince me to stay in Terrasen."

    "It's not. I'm trying to improve your mood, and maybe have some fun." He let his canines graze her throat. "What do you say, Stardust?"

    "I reserve the right to say no at any time." She faced him, a proud look settling across her features.

    Fenrys smirked. "You won't want to say no."

◦ ~ ❘ ☼ ❘ ~ ◦

    Nascha barely had a chance to process what she'd just agreed to before Fenrys slid into the warm water, clothes and all. She tensed as he grabbed her by the waist and set her on the edge of the tub. Water streamed off her skin and he watched her with that simmering look in his eye. She could see a challenge there too. He thought he had the upper hand.

    We'll see about that, Nascha thought. Two can play at this game.

    She scooted closer to him, throwing her legs over his shoulders. Fenrys stared up at her, a sideways grin crossing his lips. Nascha traced her fingers over his scarred cheek, leaning down. "You said that most females claim your tongue is your best feature. I'm not keen on having your scent inside me, so why don't we start there?

    She didn't give him a chance to protest. Nascha laid back, crossing her arms above her head. The wet floor was cold against her skin. Fenrys ran his hands over her thighs and kissed the inner part of one. Nascha managed to keep herself steady, ignoring the bursts of excitement that followed the touch of his lips. Instincts swirled through her mind and it was all she could do to ignore them as well. Fenrys kissed her leg up higher.

    "For someone who hates me, you certainly seem eager," he murmured, his voice nothing but a low rumble in his chest. Nascha almost melted at the sound.

    "Well," she answered, hoping her voice wasn't as faint as it sounded, "it's not every day a beautiful male makes a pact like this with me."

    "Beautiful?" He arched an eyebrow.

    "As if I would agree to something of this nature with someone I didn't find attractive."

    "I see."

    Nascha gasped as his thumb brushed over the heated area between her legs. He began to move it in slow teasing circles. "I said your tongue," she rasped.

    "I like to learn by touch. I want to know what spots you favor before anything else. His thumb dipped in and Nascha shivered, biting back a moan. "Ah, I see."

    "How can you be comfortable with things like this after Maeve?" Nascha asked. His thumb resumed its teasing. A warm ache spread through her lower stomach. Nascha made a small sound as he moved his thumb in at another angle.

    "Defiance," Fenrys answered. "Every time I choose someone for myself, I am defying every claim she ever had on me. I am proving to myself that I am free and my choices hold no risk to those I share them with."

    "Vaughan said you prefer females but you've taken male lovers from time to time. Why is that?"

    Nascha squirmed as Fenrys brought his head down and laid a soft kiss below his thumb. "I can have fun with males, even though I don't fully enjoy myself with them. With females..." He kissed her again and she whimpered, shifting her hips. "I can have fun, and fully enjoy myself while doing so. I can't explain the difference. It's just there." He kissed her a third time, sliding his thumb in and letting it circle inside her. Nascha gave a breathless moan.

    She didn't speak again as he withdrew his thumb, replacing it with his tongue. She writhed and Fenrys gripped her hips, holding her still. He fell into a steady rhythm, kissing and licking her. His kisses were soft while the strokes from his tongue were rougher. Nascha moaned, tightening her legs around his shoulders.

    As much as she hated to admit it, she could understand why females claimed that his tongue was his best feature. Fenrys knew what he was doing. He seemed to know exactly what she wanted. Pleasured shivers wracked her body as he kept moving his tongue within her.

    She loved it. She hated it. She hated that she had agreed to this. She hated him. She hated being here. Why had she agreed to this? Nascha moaned again, grinding her hips against his hands. She knew she would regret her decision later. She would be embarrassed by all of this. That Fenrys had seen her like this. That he'd been the one to bring her to this point. She didn't want to deal with his arrogance more than she already did, and yet...

    Fenrys pulled her closer, adding more force to his movements. She bowed her back with a loud moan, digging her hand into his hair. Fenrys gave a low laugh and one of his hands left her legs. It traveled over her side, sparks falling in its wake. He curved his palm over her breast and Nascha arched into his touch, craving the contact.

    Pleasure swelled through her, hot and pulsing. Nascha gulped down ragged breaths, still moaning with every stroke of Fenrys' tongue. She grasped his hand, increasing the pressure on her breast as his calluses scraped its sensitive peak.

    "Fenrys," she groaned, unable to stop herself.

    "Say it again," Fenrys grunted. She scented his arousal, mixed with her own. "That's the second time you've called me by my name. Say it again." Nascha whimpered, fighting the urge to obey him. She was so close. If he stopped now... Fenrys kept going and sounds escaped her lips. "Say my name, Nascha. Say it, and I'll make you finish."

    She would not give into him. She was not going to let him reduce her to... Fenrys' tongue delved into her again and she caught sight of his glittering onyx eyes. "Say it," he urged.

    "Fenrys!" She cried at last.

    There was the barest glint of his canines as he smiled, before his mouth closed over her entirely. Nascha became undone. Sinful heat coursed through her, flooding every inch of her being. She was trembling. Moaning. Fenrys was still giving her everything she wanted. He didn't draw back until she was limp on the floor, shuddering with release.

    Fenrys trailed kisses over her stomach, in between her breasts, and up her neck, before pausing to meet her gaze. "Do you still hate me, Nascha?"

    "Yes."

    He smirked. "Good. It'll be more fun that way." His lips swept over the corner of hers and he vanished from the bathroom.

    The door was now hanging open and Nascha made no move to close it. She just lay there, catching her breath as her cheeks flushed. Fenrys appeared on the window seat, keeping her in his line of sight. He'd already changed out of his wet clothes, but was only wearing a pair of pants. He made no move to hide what strained just below his hips.