beneath gilded skies|deshret/ofc
✦ summary: An interloper against fate—or peace with an expiration date. —Deshret/OFC; Reader in 3 POV
✧ read chapter 3 on ao3
"How long has it been since you went to Inazuma?" Rukha asks then.
"A very long time," she confesses and finishes her skewer. "I get shipments every so often from the Lady Guuji, along with letters and books."
Deshret slowly digests that information. In three parts: he is in awe; he is defeated; he is infuriated. Awe because Hikari truly is exceptional at whatever she puts her mind to. He is defeated because she is absolutely wasted in the Archives, the Temple, and Akademiya—her practical experience puts her far above the most intelligent professors and royal court. He is furious because the Electro Archon and her associates used her to fulfill their own ambitions.
Jasper ends up speaking for most of the dinner, asking numerous questions about Inazuma, and asking Hermanubis if it's true they can get certain items here. Then Rukha and Nabu begin to answer his questions about flowers.
"For someone who has so many questions about my past," Hikari starts off quietly, leaning closer to him, she continues. "You are surprisingly quiet."
Deshret contemplates this and murmurs as he leans in closer, "I am thinking that the Electro Archon used you rather terribly, and it infuriates me."
Hikari startles at that with naked shock and quickly composes herself. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear before admitting, "Even if she did, do not think I did this without incentive, Desh. Besides," she curls her lip upwards. "I rather liked it doing what I did."
"If I create a position for you – because Archons know we need the help in that area of development – within my circle," he asks softly and turns to look at her. "Where you can do something similar, would you take it?"
She eyes him curiously, then glances at Jasper, who finishes his bread, and back to Deshret, who stares at her with piercing gold eyes. "I would consider it, yes, but Jasper is my priority."
"I know," Hikari smiles at him, soft and sweet, topaz eyes glittering like a handful of stars. "I know you wouldn't, Deshret."
