Filling in the Blanks
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine, I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them unharmed.
Author’s Notes- This takes place in the middle of Chapter 9 of Book 3. After rescuing Dom, but before returning to Stormholt. It also assumes that you don’t choose the romantic options for Dom and Kenna to spend the night together (in fact in this story, there is no romantic history between the pair). This is just my take on Dom being filled in on some of what happened during his absence, since I imagine he’d be kind of curious about Diavolos’ presence, so this story was born.
Pairing- minor Kenna/Diavolos
Rating- PG
Summary- After being rescued from Hex, Dom gets introduced to the newest member of the rescue party.
Words- 1242
“Not to be rude, but who’s he?” Dom asked once as they were all settled on the airship and Hex had been dealt with, motioning towards the man in black who was standing apart from the others.
“Oh, yeah, you missed all the excitement,” Kenna realized, glancing at the man in question, “Dom, I’d like you to meet Prince Diavolos.”
Dom’s eyes widened. “As in Diavolos Nevrakis?!” That explained the outfit, but what in the world was Luther’s favorite son doing on Kenna’s airship?
“That would be me,” The prince confirmed dryly, “but before you send any fire this way, we’re on the same side.”
“We are?” Dom asked, directing the question at Kenna, wondering exactly how much he had missed while he’d been in captivity.
“Unfortunately,” Jackson muttered from his position behind Kenna, making Dom suddenly curious as to where Leon was. However, one question at a time.
“You’ve missed a lot,” Kenna told him quietly. “We went to the Iron Empire to meet with the Empress and that ended up being a disaster. She’s… I can’t even describe what she is.”
“A witch,” Sei filled in.
“She killed Leon,” Kenna continued and Dom could see the pain on her face, “the rest of us barely managed to escape and now she’s coming for us, for the five kingdoms. If we’re going to defeat her, we need every soldier we can get, including Luther and his men.”
Dom supposed that made sense, though he felt a little nauseous at the idea of having to work with Luther after all the pain he had caused. Still, he knew it wasn’t a decision that Kenna would have come to lightly and he trusted her.
“Prince Diavolos volunteered to join us on this mission and he was a big help,” Kenna added, the admiration in her voice surprising Dom a little, given who they were talking about.
“That’s what allies do,” Diavolos said smoothly sending a pointed look towards Jackson before turning back to Kenna, “besides, it’s been an honor to find at your side, Queen Kenna. You live up to your reputation.”
Apparently, the admiration was mutual and a little disconcerting. Dom decided to change the subject. “I think I need to be caught up on what’s going on.”
Everyone took turns filling him in on the events of the last few weeks.
“That sounds… Intense.” Dom said after a few minutes, “but we’ve got a strong army, right?”
“We’ve got everything the Five Kingdoms has to offer,” Kenna confirmed, “the question is whether it’ll be enough.”
Dom studied her face, surprised by what he saw there. Kenna was always so optimistic, during the war with Luther she had never given up hope, but this time she seemed really and truly spooked. He wondered if it was because of Leon, knowing how much the older man’s death must have hurt Kenna.
“You’ve also got two dragons,” he reminded her, trying to cheer her up.
To his relief, she smiled, “I do and given how Azura reacted to Sei, that is probably the biggest advantage we have.” She stood up. “I think I’m going to call it a night, it’s been a long few days.” She reached over and squeezed his hand. “It’s good to have you back.”
“It’s good to be back,” he said with a grin. There was a lot more he wanted to say, but it could wait until they got back to Stormholt.
“May I accompany you?” Diavolos asked suddenly, moving from his spot against the wall and crossing the room so he was standing at her side, “I have a few things I want to discuss.”
Dom wondered what was so important that it couldn’t wait to morning and was about to say so, but Kenna simply smiled. “Of course.” He watched them disappear out of sight, noticing that while they weren’t touching, they were walking very closely together.
“She has terrible taste,” Jackson muttered under his breath, making Dom realize that he wasn’t the only one who was watching them. The other man seemed to realize what he had said and who he was saying it to, because he quickly add, “no offense, Dom.”
“None taken,” Dom assured him, “Kenna and I aren’t together. We have never been.”
Not really, anyway. He had been in love with her once and maybe she had felt the same way, but they’d never had a chance to act on it, and by the time they’d reunited, their feelings had changed and instead they’d settled into a comfortable friendship.
Jackson looked surprised by his denial, while Sei remained her usual impassive self though Dom thought he noticed a hint of a smile, and Annelyse was smiling smugly and holding out a hand to Whitlock, who reluctantly handed over a coin.
“You bet on whether Kenna and I were a couple?” Dom asked them incredulously. Whitlock blushed, but Annelyse merely shrugged. He shook his head at then and then paused, going back to the first part of Jackson’s comment. “You think Kenna and Diavolos…”
“It seems obvious,” Sei stated, studying him carefully, “does it not?”
He had to admit that it did. Not just because they’d left together, but also the way Diavolos had watched her and the way she’d smiled when he’d complimented her. It was the logical conclusion or at least it wouldn’t be if he wasn’t a Nevrakis.
“She invited him to her quarters last night,” Whitlock added, “and he was there for a while.” He blushed when Dom shot him a look. “It’s a small ship, it’s hard to hide things like that.”
“Maybe so, but we shouldn’t be speculating on her personal life,” he pointed out. He knew that they were all coming from a place of love and maybe some concern since they’d all suffered thanks to the Nevrakis family.
His admonishment was greeted with nods and murmurs of agreement. Then after a few minutes, they all decided to call it a night and headed towards their respective chambers. As Dom neared his, he saw Kenna’s door open. He paused for a moment and watched Diavolos reach out and tenderly touch Kenna’s face for just a moment before saying something too quiet for Dom to hear before disappearing down the corridor.
Dom looked at Kenna, who was still standing in the doorway. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and there was a small, secretive smile hovering on her lips and he knew that the speculation had been right. Kenna was romantically involved with Luther’s favorite son.
He wanted to ask her what she was thinking or at least remind her of all the pain the Nevrakis family had caused, but the look on her face stopped him. She looked happy. A few minutes earlier she’d looked tired and scared and he was sure that she still was, but Diavolos had managed to put a smile on her face and Dom knew that he wasn’t going to be the one to take that away from her.
Besides, he was her best friend, not her keeper. It wasn’t his job to pass judgment on her love life. Instead, he smirked and raised a knowing eyebrow as he walked by her door, which got a laugh out of her. He could hear the relief in that laugh and knew that his response had been the right one or at least the one Kenna needed, which was really all that mattered.
- End
