Evie
When hope and peace begin to fray
The wait is agonizing, not unlike how she imagines a servant would feel before a king, waiting to be released or punished for spilling wine on his cloak. He knows how to captivate a room and make them hang on every heartbeat, and though she is his only audience she’s not immune to the effect.
She isn’t expecting him to turn away and bring back a giant scale. Any confusion on her face melts away into something stricken and flushed as he leans close, heart rabbiting halfway up her throat to nestle in the soft spot below her jaw, pounding louder than the bubbles and the echoes of their laughter in the caverns. Evie holds still, scarcely daring to breathe lest she be the one to break, and as enticing as that idea is, it wouldn’t secure her those brownies - which are far more important right now.
The scale in her hands jolts her back to herself, his abrupt departure leaving her spinning adrift, cheeks flushed and lips slightly parted. Only to part further around a yelp at his blasé explanation, clutching the scale to her chest. “What?!” she squeaks, trying to get her brain back up to speed. When it does, she scowls fiercely at him, still crimson tinged. “You better have perfect aim,” she warns, moving her fingers to hold onto the smallest bit of the scale as possible without dropping it into the water. Holding it out to the side just to be extra sure. As confident as she is in Deimos’ magical capabilities, she’s still tempted to hurl the scale at his head and snatch the brownies while he’s dazed. “And those brownies better be worth it.” A mostly empty threat, but they both already know that.
She isn’t expecting him to turn away and bring back a giant scale. Any confusion on her face melts away into something stricken and flushed as he leans close, heart rabbiting halfway up her throat to nestle in the soft spot below her jaw, pounding louder than the bubbles and the echoes of their laughter in the caverns. Evie holds still, scarcely daring to breathe lest she be the one to break, and as enticing as that idea is, it wouldn’t secure her those brownies - which are far more important right now.
The scale in her hands jolts her back to herself, his abrupt departure leaving her spinning adrift, cheeks flushed and lips slightly parted. Only to part further around a yelp at his blasé explanation, clutching the scale to her chest. “What?!” she squeaks, trying to get her brain back up to speed. When it does, she scowls fiercely at him, still crimson tinged. “You better have perfect aim,” she warns, moving her fingers to hold onto the smallest bit of the scale as possible without dropping it into the water. Holding it out to the side just to be extra sure. As confident as she is in Deimos’ magical capabilities, she’s still tempted to hurl the scale at his head and snatch the brownies while he’s dazed. “And those brownies better be worth it.” A mostly empty threat, but they both already know that.
know that daybreak is not far away
