Supreme Spouse System.

Chapter 258: Help?

Help?

Leon nodded slowly, his gold eyes on Nova as she turned to leave. The gentle click of her boots sounded through the quiet of the candlelit bedroom, each step receding into the silence like a memory. But just as Natasha’s fingers skimmed the frame of the door—

”Natasha. Wait.”

She paused.

The moonlight outlined her form in pale silver, throwing her shadow on the marble floor. Her head moved slowly, dark eyes meeting his across the room, unspoken but keen.

Leon climbed out of the edge of the bed, the muscles in his back rippling under the open folds of his black robe. His bare feet did not make a sound on the hard stone. Moonlight caressed his skin as he moved forward, the lean power of his body casting long shadows behind him.

Natasha raised a brow, her lips twisting up with interest. ”Oh?” she husked, a flirtatious edge to her voice, though something impossible to decipher danced in the back of her eyes. ”Didn’t expect you to be in the mood to come along. You’re going with me now?”

Leon’s tone remained calm. ”Yes. I have to go with you to the Core Palace.”

Natasha’s brow rose even higher, a silent laugh escaping her lips. She obviously hadn’t anticipated that reply.

Nova didn’t shift from the bed until he turned around. Her linen shirt clung loosely to her frame, just covering the exposed skin underneath. She sat quietly, observing him—her green eyes soft, but knowing. The sheen on her skin was faint and glinted in the light. Her lips parted, but she wasn’t speaking yet.

Leon’s eyes flicked toward Natasha and away again as he concluded his sentence. ”There is something I must attend to before we depart Moonspire.”

Natasha’s smile stretched farther, slow and verging on too knowledgeable. ”A pleasure, my lord,” she replied with a soft, velvety growl.

Nova’s fingers swept her knotted hair back away from her cheek. She walked over to him in silence. The white shirt slid over her curves like mist enwrapping a statue, thin and clinging. She didn’t require his words—she’d already read the truth between his eyes.

He wasn’t merely going as Duke Leon. He was going as a man... to meet a woman who counted.

Nova’s heart gave a small, aching throb, but she smiled faintly. She understood.

”You’re right,” she murmured, voice soft, but clear. ”You should go take care of her.”

Leon faced her, moving in close, and grasped her hand in his. He brought it to his lips and imparted a slow, pious kiss to her knuckles. ”My love... I’ll not be long. I must talk with her. Tomorrow, we depart from Moonspire—but she’s not going with us. Not yet. I must not depart without saying something to her first.”

Nova’s breath stilled. Her fingers clenched lightly around his. ”I know,” she whispered. ”She deserves your time, too.”

There was no bitterness in her tone. Only acceptance. Maturity. Love.

She laid her hand lightly on his arm. ”Go. I’ll see the others in your mansion. I’ll tell them you might not be back tonight.”

Leon gazed at her, warmth spreading in his chest. ”Thank you... for understanding, Nova.”

He leaned forward and kissed her slowly—lingering, warm lips full of affection. The type of kiss that implied more than mere desire. A promise. A goodbye, but not a sorrowful one.

Nova kissed him in return, her hand gliding up around the back of his neck. Her body sank against him as her breath shivered, suspended between need and release. The heat of that kiss wasn’t desperate—but it seared. She did not want to break away, but she would.

Standing in the doorway, Natasha watched.

She noticed the way Nova held onto him. The manner in which Leon kissed her as the world contracted to but a single woman. The vision tugged at a tightness within her chest that she refused to acknowledge.

The moment was shattered by a dry click of her tongue.

”Tch. Tch.” She folded her arms, her tone holding just enough irritation to slice through the air. ”Now, now, my lord... if you’re finished kissing your duchess, we simply must go. I must get back to that fool’s side before he realizes I’ve left him.”

Leon smiled, drawing back slowly. His golden eyes rested on Nova’s face for a final second, as if committing her to memory.

Nova cocked her head, her teasing smile. She looked sideways at Natasha, tossing her chin in mock challenge. ”Try not to be too jealous, will you?”

Natasha rolled her eyes. ”Please. Like I care.”

But the fleeting scowl on her face betrayed her.

Leon did not say a word. He just nodded once more at Nova. ”I’ll see you soon.”

Nova’s voice was husky. ”Go. Before she hauls you out by the collar.”

Leon smiled. ”Come on, Natasha.”

Not a word, Natasha spun on her heel and went to the window. Leon stepped along beside her, his cloak flowing around him like dark water. The night breeze whipped through his hair as he sprang out into the night.

Natasha was right after him, one last look over her shoulder—back at Nova—before she disappeared behind him into the blackness.

The room was quiet once more.

The aroma of sweat, sex, and pale chamomile hung in the heat, curling over the rumpled sheets and bunched pillows.

Nova was alone in the faint candlelight, the fire playing on her flushed face. She sank slowly onto the bed once more, arms and legs heavy, body still alive. Her breathing was soft. A smile was etched on her lips—content, but ephemeral.

She was aware that this moment could not continue.

Peace was only a breath between storms.

War was coming.

And she couldn’t afford to cling too long to warmth... no matter how much she longed to.

Rising again, Nova walked toward the bathroom, her bare feet whispering across the floor. The soft click of the door echoed behind her as she shut it, sealing away the last warmth of the night.

Outside, the wind vibrate faintly against the colored-glass windows. Moonlight poured out upon the vacant bed.

Silence was restored.

And the night continued.

---------------------------------

Elsewhere—

The moon poured a pale silver light upon the vacant corridors of the Core Palace. The floor shone beneath the starlight, reflecting the gentle beat of boots stepping steadily against stone.

Natasha strided on in her typical feline manner, hips swaying ever so slightly beneath the folds of dark fur. Her boots clicked in measured, deliberate steps—unhurried, untroubled. The corridors were empty at this time; their stillness broken only by her steps.

Behind her, but not visible to anyone else, Leon trailed—completely wrapped in the fold of a shadow cloak. The sorcery shrouded him like breathing mist, hiding not merely his existence but even the sound of his footfalls. It was a casting of great care, hiding everything... everything except from her.

Natasha sensed him behind her. Not in hearing, but in feeling—the tingle of knowledge that resulted from being looked at by eyes you recognized too well.

They strolled so for some time. In silence. Ease.

Then, very low, almost not loud enough to disturb the air, she shattered it.

”I’m impressed, you know.”

Her eyes did not turn towards him. Her lips hardly moved.

Leon’s eyebrow shot up in soft amusement. ”Oh?”

”Shadow affinity. I did not think you possessed something so unusual.” She sounded offhand, but there was a flash of interest under it. ”Did not think you were the type to have such mastery of the dark arts.”

Leon smiled softly, and the sound was like silk stroking steel. ”There is much that you do not know of me.”

His mouth curled into a knowing smile. ”I am full of surprises.”

Natasha gave him a glance out of the side of her eye, the corner of her mouth curling upward in a very small smile. ”True. But I’m learning.”

”Yes... yes, you are.”

They lapsed into silence once more. But it wasn’t oppressive—it drew between them like a subtle thread, unspoken but known.

A few more steps, and Natasha cocked her head to one side, then said, ”But tell me, my lord. Why did you accompany me?”

Leon didn’t respond at once. His eyes, unseen though they were, were on hers, blank and serene.

”I don’t mind you keeping me company,” she went on lightly, ”but I have the sense that this isn’t merely about meeting your new wife. This is. intentional.”

Leon sighed quietly, barely audible. ”It is.”

He waited a moment. Then supplied, ”I require your assistance.”

Her eyebrows went up a fraction, but she never paused in her stride. ”Assistance?