He wasn't a Wallmaker, descendant of the greatest builders and inventors. He wasn't a prince, with royal and powerful blood running through his veins. He was no accomplished Charter Mage. He wasn't right for her. He wasn't Sameth.
Sameth, the one they always overlooked. Sameth, the one they dismissed as useless until he was named a Wallmaker. Even now, it was all about helping Nicholas through his baby steps, teaching him how to enter the Charter.
And who helped him? Lirael. Lirael supported him every step of the way. She smiled when Nicholas singed her hair (Sameth wouldn't have done that) and kissed him when he unlocked a door (Sameth could have pulverised it). His parents believed there was nothing but good in their relationship, and Ellimere was too caught up in her own world to care. Only Sameth saw.
Oh yes, Sameth saw everything. He craved the moments she would smile at him, albeit tiredly, when she returned from her travels. He saw how, when she found Nicholas, her entire face lit up and she would rush to embrace him. He saw the glaring disparities between them- she was gloriously powerful, exalted. Nicholas was a weakling, a null, nothing. She was always ahead, looking back, with Nicholas running to catch up. It frustrated him that Lirael couldn't see it. Sameth saw it all.
He even saw their nighttime activities, sometimes. When they got carried away and left their door ajar, or the balcony windows were thrown open, or they slipped away into the gardens, he'd see Nicholas grunting like a beast atop her. He didn't understand what she liked about it (Sameth could do better), but she moaned and arched and cried for more, more, more, glowing all the while. She was beautiful.
One time, Sameth saw her. Only her. Passing her personal chambers, he peeked in out of habit and there she was, blissfully naked, her hair, darker than sin, spilling everywhere, her legs spread wide. She was panting as her hands crept up and down her body. Both hands: flesh and blood, and the one he'd made for her, the golden one. The sight sent him soaring on clouds of pleasure for days. She was his, in part. She would complete him.
Sameth would make sure of that
It started off as a whisper. That Nicholas was staying away from her, that he had found other... distractions. Of course, Lirael was almost always away, so she couldn't know better about his activities. But the rumours reached her- Sameth guaranteed it was so. Nick came to him with dark circles under his eyes and his clothes in disarray. He was worried that Lirael was pulling away from him.
Sameth couldn't have asked for more.
He saw the distance growing between them. Nick didn't deserve her. He was too weak and narrow-minded and naïve for Lirael. Nick didn't understand her. Only Sameth did.
When she began to notice him, his heart tattooed a pattern against his ribcage, its staccato rhythm nearly audible. Her glances lingered. She spent more time with him. When Nicholas entered the room, she turned to Sameth and Sameth only, because, after all, he was what she needed.
Then, one night, their shouts echoed through the corridors. Sameth lay wide awake in his bed as the lovers used words like knives, slashing each other to ribbons. She'd realised, he knew. There was no need for Nicholas in her life.
Sameth saw her come to his bed and opened his arms. As her shoulders wracked with sobs he murmured soothing words, gently divesting her of her robes, always comforting her. He lowered his lips to her quivering mouth, tasting there the sweetness of triumph. The warmth that flowed everywhere they touched told him this was right. They belonged together. When her sobs turned to cries of pleasure, he felt ready to explode with joy.
Afterwards, he lay pressed against her under the covers, arms wrapped around her waist. She was curled into him, skin against skin, something he'd only ever dreamed about. He ran his fingers over the scars that littered her body, up to cup her breasts, pressing in between to feel her flickering pulse. She was the half of his whole. Finally, he was complete.
What Sameth did not see, what he was surprised to feel, was the wetness on her cheeks. But he understood; her love for Nicholas, whilst misguided, still hurt her. That was why Sameth was the one- he would never hurt her. And, in time, she would come to love him too. The tears...would pass.