He'd almost laughed. They'd almost been able to go back to pretending. But the hesitation was so much louder than the non-answer. This... whatever this was, it wasn't going back into the tidy little box Enzo had been keeping it in. It coated everything around them now. Enzo dropped the handful of nuts back onto the platter. The thought of eating them now made his mouth feel dry. He followed Tiberius, anticipation of further explanation pulling him as much as his need to be close, sure footed until Tiberius spoke again.
Enzo's heel caught the edge of the last step, causing his foot to land heavier on the dark cellar floor, his view of the shelves to skew just slightly until he regained his balance. Opening his mouth, Enzo stood silent. No words came to his aid. What had he expected? When they'd parted those years ago, Enzo knew that the next time he'd see Tiberius, it would be with a fiance in tow. The only thing the barrier had changed was that he'd thought he'd never see Tiberius again. But love?
Bile and bitterness rose in his throat; Envy's heralds. The demon, usually so placid and content to let Enzo feed it of his own accord, stirred with eager interest. This was a delicacy it had not yet tasted. Envy even delighted at the news that this love had passed. Enzo clenched his jaw, nostrils flaring at the sting in his eyes. She'd taken that love with her forever.
The weight of the wine bottles settled in his hands and Enzo held them, dumbly. The reveal of how Tiberius felt toward Lyric was a small balm to the burn. It was what Enzo had expected. A duty, borne lightly and well, but the damage had been done and it was all he could do to wrestle the contemptible beast back down into silence. It went, gleefully. Enzo must needs sleep eventually. Envy would enjoy his dreams indeed.
"What?" he said suddenly, nearly dropping one of the bottles. "A... a what?" Enzo instinctively glanced over his shoulder, back up the stairs. A partner... a daughter. Tevinter was no stranger to the occasional messy spousal arrangement. Adoptions of children fathered by former spouses was not unheard of. But the former spouses usually didn't tag along. They typically had the decency to be dead.
"Then you'll be withdrawing from the engagement?" Enzo let out a sigh, relieved. And a bit ashamed for it, but relieved all the same. He moved closer, shifting both bottles into one arm, freeing a hand to grasp Tiberius gently by the neck so that they faced each other. His brows pulled together, arching up in tender concern as he gazed up at Tiberius. "You've discovered her treachery, you'll be blameless."
Enzo's heel caught the edge of the last step, causing his foot to land heavier on the dark cellar floor, his view of the shelves to skew just slightly until he regained his balance. Opening his mouth, Enzo stood silent. No words came to his aid. What had he expected? When they'd parted those years ago, Enzo knew that the next time he'd see Tiberius, it would be with a fiance in tow. The only thing the barrier had changed was that he'd thought he'd never see Tiberius again. But love?
Bile and bitterness rose in his throat; Envy's heralds. The demon, usually so placid and content to let Enzo feed it of his own accord, stirred with eager interest. This was a delicacy it had not yet tasted. Envy even delighted at the news that this love had passed. Enzo clenched his jaw, nostrils flaring at the sting in his eyes. She'd taken that love with her forever.
The weight of the wine bottles settled in his hands and Enzo held them, dumbly. The reveal of how Tiberius felt toward Lyric was a small balm to the burn. It was what Enzo had expected. A duty, borne lightly and well, but the damage had been done and it was all he could do to wrestle the contemptible beast back down into silence. It went, gleefully. Enzo must needs sleep eventually. Envy would enjoy his dreams indeed.
"What?" he said suddenly, nearly dropping one of the bottles. "A... a what?" Enzo instinctively glanced over his shoulder, back up the stairs. A partner... a daughter. Tevinter was no stranger to the occasional messy spousal arrangement. Adoptions of children fathered by former spouses was not unheard of. But the former spouses usually didn't tag along. They typically had the decency to be dead.
"Then you'll be withdrawing from the engagement?" Enzo let out a sigh, relieved. And a bit ashamed for it, but relieved all the same. He moved closer, shifting both bottles into one arm, freeing a hand to grasp Tiberius gently by the neck so that they faced each other. His brows pulled together, arching up in tender concern as he gazed up at Tiberius. "You've discovered her treachery, you'll be blameless."
06-19-2024, 04:01 PM
