The Villainess Wants To Retire-Chapter 131: Morning confessions

SOREN

I woke to empty arms and immediate panic.

The kind that bypassed logic entirely and went straight to worst-case scenarios. Sat up so fast the world tilted sideways for a moment, blankets falling away, cold air hitting skin that had gotten used to having Eris pressed against it.

The alcove was empty.

No Eris. No sign of where she’d gone. Just disturbed furs and the lingering warmth where her body had been that was already fading in the cave’s chill.

My mind went places it shouldn’t go.

Something happened. Someone found us. She left. She woke up and decided this was a mistake and walked out while I was sleeping and I’d never see her again because I’d let my guard down, had trusted that being in a sacred space meant being safe, had believed for one fucking moment that I could rest without consequences.

Then logic caught up with panic.

Reminded me that we were behind a waterfall barrier. That nothing could get in here without the river’s permission. That if something had threatened her I would’ve woken up. That Eris leaving while I slept didn’t mean disaster, didn’t mean danger, probably just meant she’d needed air or space or time alone with her thoughts.

Still didn’t like it.

Didn’t like waking up without her. Didn’t like not knowing where she was. Didn’t like the immediate spike of fear that came from realizing she wasn’t there because apparently I’d gotten attached enough that her absence felt wrong on an instinctive level.

I got up.

Didn’t bother with clothes beyond what I was already wearing, which was basically nothing. Just moved toward the waterfall entrance, following the path she must have taken, listening for sounds that would tell me where she’d gone.

Voices reached me before I got there.

Hers. Familiar. That particular tone she used when she was being deliberately threatening in ways that would terrify most people but I’d learned to find entertaining.

And higher voices. Musical. The ice nymphs, probably.

I stepped through the waterfall.

Found exactly what I’d expected and somehow still found hilarious.

Eris stood near her horse, wrapped awkwardly in what looked like the chemise from last night and possibly a blanket, white-blonde hair catching morning light in ways that made her look ethereal despite the threatening posture. The marks on her neck were very visible. Dark bruises from where I’d bitten her, where I’d claimed her, where I’d made absolutely certain anyone who looked would know she belonged to someone.

The ice nymphs were in full panic mode.

Scattering in all directions, squealing with terror, some trying to hide behind Solara who looked entirely unbothered by the chaos, one actually attempting to phase through solid ground.

And Eris was just standing there with an apple in one hand, looking vaguely interested in their panic, like she was genuinely considering the logistics of nymph soup.

I couldn’t help it.

Laughed.

The sound escaped before I could stop it, echoing in the morning air loud enough that everyone turned toward me.

Eris’s eyes found mine immediately.

"What’s funny?"

Not actually angry. Just confused why I was laughing at her perfectly reasonable threat to consume magical guardians.

The nymphs didn’t wait for my answer.

Flew toward me in a cloud of frost and panic, chiming rapidly in their ancient tongue, all trying to report at once in a cacophony that would’ve been incomprehensible if I hadn’t grown up hearing it.

"She threatened us!"

"Said she’d make soup!"

"The fire witch wants to eat us!"

"We were just talking and she—"

I held up one hand for silence.

Got it immediately because apparently even in panic they remembered hierarchy, remembered that I was the one the river had recognized, that my word carried weight here.

"She wouldn’t threaten you without reason," I said, keeping my tone reasonable despite the amusement still pulling at my mouth.

Though knowing Eris, she absolutely would threaten them just for existing near her in a way she found annoying.

The nymphs clearly agreed with my unspoken assessment because they just stared at me like I’d betrayed them.

I ignored them.

Walked toward Solara instead, toward the saddlebags that were clearly full, toward evidence that Ryse had received my message and responded with his usual efficiency.

"The supplies arrived." I addressed Eris rather than the panicking guardians. "Good."

Noticed the apple in her hand as I got closer.

Red. Perfect. Already bitten into, teeth marks visible where she’d taken a chunk out of the side.

I reached for her wrist.

Not asking. Just taking. Lifting her hand toward my mouth while her eyes narrowed in that particular way that meant she was trying to decide whether to let me do whatever I was doing or stab me.

Bit the apple exactly where she’d bitten.

Same spot. Same angle. Eyes on hers the whole time because her reactions were half the point, because watching her process what I was doing was more entertaining than actually eating.

The apple was sweet.

Good quality. Expensive probably. The kind of thing Ryse would’ve made sure to include because he understood that details mattered.

But I wasn’t really tasting the apple.

Was tasting her through it. The warmth of her mouth transferred through fruit. Indirect contact that somehow felt more intimate than it should.

"That’s theft." Her voice had gone flat. The tone she used when she was trying very hard not to react to something.

I smiled.

"I know."

Chewed. Swallowed. Still holding her wrist, still close enough to feel the heat radiating off her skin despite the river’s cooling.

"You can punish me later."

Color flooded her face immediately.

Gorgeous. The way her pale skin flushed when flustered, when caught off guard, when reminded of exactly what "later" had involved last time and might involve again if she let it.

"You’re insufferable," she hissed, yanking her wrist away.

Cursed me in what sounded like ancient Solmiran but might have just been creative swearing because when Eris got mad her vocabulary got impressive.