Chapter 215

Rosalie only had a half-hour to metaphorically catch her breath before the next major event was upon her. Somehow, one that felt even more important than her meeting with her father.

“Aww,” Delta’s voice came from the window. “Look at the two lovebirds all cuddled up. It’s so cute I might just vomit.”

Rosalie and Zoey straightened out on the bed, their attentions snapping toward Delta’s voice. Sure enough, she was poised there, sitting on the low windowsill of one of the many towering windows adorning the palatial bedroom.

“Delta? Where’d you come from?” Zoey asked.

“Security’s lax in the d’Celestin estate,” Delta snorted. “Surprisingly so. As long as you aren’t in one of their prison rooms, at least.” She slid off the window sill and stretched. “Sneaking into bedrooms is a useful skill to have, anyway, no matter where you are, so I was getting my practice in.” She grinned. “Useful for a few reasons,” she leered, making the innuendo clear. “Not just burglary.”

Delta definitely seemed like she was mostly back to normal, Rosalie thought. Not sulking or glaring. That was good, right?

Then again, she was deliberately avoiding meeting her eyes.

“Uh,” Zoey said, glancing toward Rosalie. “Yeah, I guess so.”

A brief, awkward pause hung in the air.

“Ugh,” Delta said. “You two are gonna be weird about it, then. Of course you are. Zoey, can me and Blondie have a moment?”

Zoey blinked rapidly. “Yeah, sure. I’ll just go ... do something,” she said lamely. She squeezed Rosalie’s knee and gave her an encouraging smile before making her exit—heading out into the hall to do who knew what.

Rosalie had likewise slipped out of bed and stood by then.

Another awkward silence.

“So,” Delta said, uncharacteristically shifting in place, as if looking for something to say. She shoved her hands in her pockets. “You grew up here?” She looked around, obviously meaning the palace.

“Um. No,” Rosalie said. “This is the Fractures. I grew up on our estate in Haven.”

“Right. Obviously. Duh.”

More silence.

There’d been a number of tense situations between her and Delta, but this particular one felt so much worse than the others.

Delta sighed.

“It wasn’t cool you didn’t tell me,” she said, being blunt about it.

Rosalie supposed she shouldn’t have expected anything else.

“I meant to,” Rosalie said. “I really did.”

“That’s what Zoey told me.”

“But then Lucinda showed up.”

“Yup.”

The foxgirl had clearly already been caught up on the situation. There wasn’t much to explain.

Rosalie’s hands clenched and unclenched at her side.

Eventually, she said, “I’m sorry?”

“Why?” Delta asked.

The words caught Rosalie off guard.

“Why?” she echoed.

“It’s not like I’m your girlfriend. Half of what we do is bicker with each other. I’m the one being ridiculous for being upset you kept a secret a secret. It’s a pretty fucking big one, so I get it.”

“You’re not being ridiculous,” Rosalie instantly said.

Delta tilted her head. “Aren’t I?”

Rosalie’s words came mostly by instinct. And her actions—like how she walked forward to close the gap between them. Delta seemed almost wary as Rosalie arrived in front of her. She had to look up slightly to meet Delta’s eyes.

She bit her lip. “Even if we were only friends, I shouldn’t have taken so long. As soon as I knew I trusted you, I should’ve. And I knew that a while ago.” After another hesitation, she added more quietly, “And we’re not just friends. So you deserved more.”

Those words hung in the air for a few moments.

“I don’t usually fuck my friends quite as much as I do you,” Delta eventually joked, but it seemed strained. “So. Yeah.”

Taking a page from Zoey’s book, Rosalie reached out and grabbed Delta’s hands—the foxgirl blinking several times at the action. Rosalie guessed ‘earnestness’ wasn’t really her dominant trait, so Delta was more than a bit caught off guard.

Rosalie took a breath in, steadying her nerves. “So. Like I said. I’m really sorry. I hope you can forgive me. I was just ... scared of how you would react.”

“Scared?” Delta repeated incredulously. “Scared of what?”

Rosalie hesitated. “I know you have opinions. On established wayfaring families. Much less ones like mine.”

Delta’s face stayed surprisingly passive at that statement. Her swishing fox tail gave away her agitation, though. “And? You aren’t those assholes. It’s just your name.”

For a second, Rosalie wondered whether she should accept that dismissal. Because it wasn’t just her name. Her heritage was a fundamental part of her, and she didn’t reject it—she stood behind her father’s decisions. Not that she condoned all of them. But ruling, much less over a violent world like the Fractures, was ... complicated. She didn’t think her father was a bad man.

But continuing that half of the conversation maybe wasn’t appropriate right now. Not tacked onto the end of her apology.

“And I care what you think,” Rosalie finished softly. “So I took longer telling you than I should’ve. Until it was too late. So again. I’m sorry.”

Delta searched her face. Several seconds passed, Rosalie’s anxiety growing, Delta standing there stiffly, but then, finally, it happened. Delta’s expression slowly softened, and so did her tense posture. The relief that washed through Rosalie was nearly palpable.

Then Delta took a half-step forward, and Rosalie was suddenly aware of just how little space there was between them. Her heart started to beat faster as Delta’s face grew closer to hers, purple eyes studying Rosalie with a quizzical look—as if she herself wasn’t even sure what she was doing.

Then her attention flicked down to Rosalie’s lips, and Rosalie’s pulse spiked.