Counting to Infinity

Chapter 17

The darkening streets of Veritas suggested that it was time to find a place for accommodation. Thankfully, there was a hotel near the communal stables, where Rascal and all of their luggage were currently being held hostage.

Compared to Marque's cheap motel, the hotel in Veritas was a palace fit for royalty. Polished marble and professional porters replaced mouldy wood and drunk patrons. Though, the receptionist wasn't nearly as charming as Lysandra's sleep-induced drool on the counter. And Raine doubted that a receptionist working at a highly esteemed hotel would be stabbing members of the Order of Truth.

Perhaps it was because of the several nights spent in a dingy tent, but the bed in their hotel room felt like sleeping on clouds. They fell asleep as soon as their head hit the luxurious silk pillows, and didn't wake up a single time during the night.

For the first time, Raine awoke at the same time as Nikolay. He attributed it to the first decent sleep that he'd experienced since landing in Kosira. To his surprise, Nikolay stayed back in the vessel and allowed Raine to take control.

This is a pleasant change from the previous establishment we slept in.

You don't say, Raine yawned. Veritas is as posh as it looked from the outside.

He rolled out of bed unceremoniously, dragging the weighted blanket down with him. When he finally untangled himself from the bed, Raine stood uncertainly in the middle of their room. The concept of a morning routine had never existed for Raine, even before the whole prophecy business. To hammer in this habit, Nikolay had always taken care of the tasks before Raine even woke up.

Raine frantically racked his brain for a plausible thing to do before Nikolay caught onto his apparent cluelessness.

He was far too late for that, unfortunately.

Are you still half-asleep?

Heat rushed to their cheeks, to Raine's dismay. But the more that he tried to quell the feeling, the hotter their face became. Thank god that there wasn't a mirror in sight — he would have collapsed out of sheer embarrassment.

Why did Raine even care about Nikolay's opinion of him, anyway? He was pretty sure that embarrassing himself would yield the exact same reaction from Nikolay as solving world hunger. That being a blank expression, with a hint of pity and disappointment.

No. I was just about to move.

Take your time.

It was impossible to tell whether Nikolay was being sarcastic or genuine, just from the flat tone of his voice. That was the second most infuriating thing about him, the first thing being his tendency to be so goddamn attractive whenever he showed basic human decency.

Fuck. He said that he wouldn't think about Nikolay like that, didn't he? It was tough being gay and desperate in these trying times.

I meant what I said earlier, but try not to act like a braindead moron when you're staring slack-jawed at the wall.

Raine scowled at said wall. Right.

He shifted his attention towards a physical activity to busy himself. The door into the bathroom caught his attention first. Using the wall to guide his sleepy form, Raine stumbled his way across the room and into the bathroom. His bare feet padded against the cold tiles as he approached the sink.

Do you have a routine that you usually do? Raine inquired.

He already knew that the answer would be a resounding 'yes', but pleasantries had been severely lacking in their conversations lately.