Chapter 91: Chapter 91: THE MORNING AFTER

VALORIA WILDEROSE

My buzzing phone wakes me up from my second round of sleep.

I reach for the table right next to my bed, grabbing my vibrating phone before it can fall off the ledge. I bring the bright screen to my groggy eyes.

The burn from the light is instant. I rub my eyes until they’re clear again, squinting to read the series of texts that enter my phone at one-second intervals. All of them from Elodie.

’Are you awake yet?’

’Hey?’

’Valoria, wake up.’

’Did you get lost? Do we have to send a search party?’

’Oh my god, Calliope’s puking her guts out.’

She inserts a short video gif after the text, of Calliope hurling her guts into the toilet while Yara holds her hair up and pats her on the back.

’I’m going to risk Yara killing me to make a meme out of that.’

I stifle my laughter, not wanting to make my headache worse, watching it on loop three times before I pull out my keyboard and reply.

’Good morning.’

’Finally you’re awake. Are you also hungover?’

’My head hurts like hell. Is that what it is?’

’Congratulations on your first hangover, you’re officially an adult.’

A donkey wearing a party hat is sent as a sticker right after her text. I chuckle again, falling back against my pillow.

My body aches in places I didn’t know could ache. This is what everyone warned me about, and I walked right into it with a smile on my face.

’Let’s never drink that much again.’

’I make no promises.’

’Did you get back okay?’

’I did, thanks to Calliope for taking me back.’

’What?’

’You left on your own. Calliope was the first one of us to go down and after that you walked out saying you would find your way back. I would have followed but I was shit-faced too.’

’I did?’

I sit upright again, and my head stings from the force.

I have no recollection of leaving the room on my own or finding my room and tucking myself in, which is why I convinced myself it had to be Calliope being her typical gentle and loving self.

But if she didn’t… did I really get back on my own?

That doesn’t sound like something I would do. Drunk or not, wandering around the castle alone at night seems reckless even for sober me.

My phone buzzes with another text.

’Is everything okay?’

’Yeah. Thanks again for last night. It was fun.’

’Of course!’

I turn the screen light off and drop my phone aside, falling into deep contemplation.

I close my eyes trying to remember what happened last night after the drinking, using all the brain power I have to remember.

Some bit of it slowly comes back to me.

I remember Calliope passing out after the fifth bottle was empty and then feeling the urge to drink water.

Yara was lifting her off the floor to the bed, Elodie was ranting on about Eros for some reason, and I stood up because I was uncomfortable.

There was something I needed to do. I can’t remember what it was, but it was important.

That’s where it all ends for me.

Everything after that is a black void. No matter how hard I try to reach into it, nothing comes back.

A knock on the door pulls me out of contemplation. I open my eyes, looking towards it silently before it echoes again.

Yue would have entered after the first, not wanting me to bother getting out of bed, so it’s not her. It can’t be Calliope or Yara or Elodie either.

I walk towards the door, pulling it open cautiously.

Azrael towers over me from the door frame on the other side, peeking at me through the small gap I’ve opened with the door.

“Good morning.” He smirks playfully, his brilliant smile painfully bright and almost blinding.

Too perfect and wide for so early in the morning. It gives me a headache.

Or maybe that’s just the hangover talking.

Aside from that, seeing him here forces me to recall my encounter with the goddess Selene last night and the path our conversation took.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, throwing my gaze elsewhere.

For some reason I can’t meet his blue eyes, not while the conversation remains fresh in my mind.

I practically reconfirmed that I would kill him after defending his character in front of her like an idiot.

The guilt sits heavy in my chest like a stone I can’t swallow.

He pulls the door open, wide enough for him to enter without an invitation.

“Hey!” I protest, but he throws me a mischievous grin, unbothered by whatever I have to say about it.

“Think of it as payback. Plus, I own this entire building and the expanse of land that surrounds the region it’s built in. I don’t think I need a reason to be anywhere.”

He settles on my bed with his shoes still fully on, leaning against the soft pillows and sighing with content. His gaze remains on me, gauging how annoyed I am and loving every moment that I glare daggers his way.

He looks far too comfortable for someone who just barged into my room uninvited. Like he belongs here. Like he’s done this before.

I take in a deep breath, reminding myself not to give him the satisfaction of getting under my skin.

“How are you feeling?”

I raise a brow at the random question that is out of character from him.

“Why are you asking?”

“No reason.” He shrugs, humming to himself.

I watch him suspiciously for a second longer before I realize again that a huge chunk of my memory from last night is missing.

“Did something happen last night?”

Is that why he’s here, asking me if I’m okay after treating me like I didn’t exist yesterday?

His smile widens in an all-knowing manner that confirms the worst.

My stomach drops.

“What did I do?”

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