“Then impress me.”
I felt the wind when Ruby stood up and she started walking over to the closest tree.
Jaylyn let out an amused girlie chuckle. “Well, that got her mad.”
“As was my plan. So, do all of your eyes change color when you use your gift?”
“Mine doesn’t change color. They just glow so no. Ruby’s are the only ones that actually change. Adele is more discreet when using her gift. They don’t change. You saw that.”
“I saw hate in them. That’s not a change?”
Jaylyn giggled. “Not for Adele.”
“What is her gift?” Troy asked. “Watching that was weird.”
“She has the Manipulation of Matter enchantment. She can use any form of matter to her advantage but she can only reform them. She can’t create them. She can make armies fall. Although, right now, she’s not the one you have to worry about but I’m sure that will come later because you left her alone where she has time to think. That’s always a bad idea.”
Zayden glanced towards us. For once it seems he actually had a bad idea.
“You better be ready for this!”
“Only when you are!” Jaylyn shouted back to Ruby. “And make sure it doesn’t fall on us!”
“I don’t determine which way it falls!”
“Well, try!”
The wind started to pick up around us more, blowing brush through the cold air. It made everything seem colder for a minute but I didn’t seem to notice when I saw the tree start to wilt and rot right in front of us. Simply incredible.
The longer it happened, the more Ruby seemed drained. She pulled back her hand and fell to her knees, taking deep breaths.
“Ruby?”
“I’m fine. I’m—” She passed out and fell to her side, hiding her red eyes from us.
Jaylyn gasped and didn’t hesitate. She went over to aid her.
“Maybe you should assist her back over here, Darius. She can’t stay over there.”
I looked over at Zayden with the widest smile. Of course I wanted to help and was glad he was letting me. “Fuck yeah I should.” I got up and walked over to Jaylyn, bending down on one knee next to Ruby. “How is she?”
“She’s all right. She just has to get her energy back.”
“Let me get her back over by the fire and she can do it there.”
“Good idea. Ruby, Darius is going to take you back over there so don’t accidentally hurt him, okay?” Ruby didn’t respond. “Can you please try to nod if you can hear me? I want to make sure you know.”
Ruby slightly nodded as best as she could and Jaylyn looked up at me, giving me the okay. I lifted Ruby up enough so I could get my arms under her and picked her up the rest of the way.
We walked back over to the fire and Jaylyn took her seat next to Troy. I walked passed them and sat down with my back up against a rock and lowered Ruby down next to me.
“How long is she going to stay like that?” Troy asked.
“It shouldn’t be that long. She usually takes a quick power nap to get her energy back. She should be fine in a few minutes when she wakes up.”
“Are you sure she’s not dead?” I was looking down at her, almost showing a small sign of worry. “I don’t think she’s breathing.”
Jaylyn laughed and moved over towards us. “She can’t die from doing that. It’s probably the corset. Harder to breathe in them since they have to be laced so tight. I just have to undo it a little bit. Hang on.” She used her fingers and squeezed them into the front of Ruby’s corset and opened three of the hooks down her chest. “See? Alive.”
I was still looking but a little more intensively now that her breasts were more exposed where I could see just the slightest darker tone of her nipples.
Her chest was moving steadily with her breath and I was entranced while watching. My hand moved closer and I was yearning to touch her.
“Darius!” Zayden snatched his voice at me before I was able to come in contact with her skin. “Don’t even!”
I didn’t want to but I backed my hand away. “You sit here and try not to.”
Jaylyn laughed. “It’s okay. She wouldn’t mind.”
“See?!”
“And you said I had no respect.” Troy joked.
“Still. Don’t.” Zayden repeated.
“So, tell us about hers.” Troy said.
Jaylyn moved back away from Ruby and got ready to answer while I tried not looking down or else I’d want to touch her again. “Her gift is called the Touch of Death. She can take life without a weapon and just the touch of her hand. The wind shows the intensity of her anger and her strength is unmatched during that time which means she can’t be stopped unless Adele is around. Her gift has two flaws. She has to get mad in order to take life, she calls that a flaw and when she does it drains her energy and is therefore left pretty much helpless until she gains it back like you see here. She still can use her strength without risk to her energy though. It’s only when she chooses to take life that it does it.”
I had my eyes on Zayden but he slowly shook his head for me to stay quiet. I guess he didn’t want me to say anything about the things he could do in front of them just because they were sharing with us.
“If you were capable of using these gifts the entire time, why did you let yourselves fail?” Zayden asked to get away from me even thinking about mentioning something about him.
Jaylyn took a deep breath and I tried keeping my focus on her like I was interested but I already knew the answer. “Well, we don’t depend our lives on it. We only use it when we absolutely have to and yesterday was because Adele didn’t feel it was Fate’s intent to end it that way. She likes to keep things normal for the most part.”
“How long have you been like this then? Have you always had it? Like born with it?”
“No. Nothing like that. We sought them out. It’s been a little over three years. We got our gifts from Madam Carla, an Enchantress from the south seas of Maaki. We owe her a lot and always carry a part of her with us now. She’s a genius, a little eccentric but a genius.”
Ruby slowly started to move around and I looked back down. She had leaned herself to the left, resting her cheek against my cold steel chest and was practically sitting in my lap, making it worse.
Jaylyn laughed, probably seeing it but when she actually realized what Ruby was doing, she quickly looked up at Zayden.
“It’s fine. Just leave her.” He said.
“Really?”
“Can’t fight the inevitable. You’ve already gotten a taste of that.”
Jaylyn held her breath and looked over at Troy. He just nodded and she gasped, looking quickly back to Zayden with worry. “I hope you’re not angry with him, Zayden. It was entirely my fault.”
“I doubt it but it’s fine. You two can do that all you want but know that it’s not going to change a thing. We’re still taking you to Randal.”
Jaylyn looked over at Troy again and smiled. “Well, Zayden, you’re not known for your generosity but I feel disinclined to argue with you.” She moved a little closer to Troy, leaning against him while he put his arm around her.
“Just know it’s not towards you. It’s more for them really.”
Jaylyn laid her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. She was probably hoping it wasn’t just a dream. I’ve noticed a connection between them and Troy definitely didn’t hide from it. He looked at her and I knew where his mind was. Mine was kind of there too. We were still taking them to our capitol. They were still going to die. I didn’t want it to be true and neither did he.
We looked across the fire at Zayden but his look hadn’t changed. He didn’t seem to feel for them at all the way we already had or maybe he was just doing it the right way.
I reached to my other side to forget about it and grabbed Ruby’s cloak that was laying on the ground and draped it over her. I kept my gaze down on her and touched her cheek with the back of my fingers just as gently as possible. She was so b
eautiful and her skin was soft and warm under my rough hand. I was beginning to feel—something more. I didn’t want her to be killed. I saw no point in wasting a good thing as she said about me and I didn’t take my eyes off her again. I couldn’t. A part of me was just hoping that she would be okay.
Chapter 16
Jaylyn
We remained listening to the crackle of the fire but the silence among us seemed more peaceful this time. The plan to take us to our deaths was still in motion but all I could hear were Troy’s kind words coming back to me.
Could we really be saved? Is this change in Zayden how it will start, caring more about his men’s happiness than what should be done in this time of war?
These questions came up in my mind while I sat comfortable in Troy’s arms. I felt free for the first time in so long but it was all taken back when I looked up at Zayden’s eyes on me, watching, making me feel nervous about why.
“Is this your first time here?” He finally asked, ending the minutes of silence while his eyes still traced mine for answers.
“Me? Yes. I’ve never been to Seni before.”
“It surprises me.”
“Why?”
“You’re an Assassin. To you, isn’t Seni just full of evil people that need to be destroyed?” He made it sound completely barbaric like he thought that’s how I really felt.
“We don’t choose our targets. The Queen does. She’s always kept us away from Seni until the perfect opportunity arose.”
“Well, she’s not very smart, sending her best team to their deaths.”
“She doesn’t care about us. She cares about power. It makes her happy knowing she has the power to destroy us if she wishes. If this is her way then we’ll follow through.”
“That’s very noble of you.”
“We have some pride in what we do right up to the end but make no mistake, killing us won’t end things. It’ll just make it much worse.”
Zayden laughed and started to sit up. “Is that a threat?”
“You’re only walking further to your own doom by taking us to your city.”
“Why? Who’s coming after us?”
“She’s already here.” My eyes glanced over at the shelter with Adele still inside. “Don’t underestimate her just because she stopped Ruby from killing you once. She’s always thinking; always planning.”
Zayden’s eyes found their way back to the shelter. I knew he was thinking about Adele and whenever he did, his mood would always feel different than the dominant in-control leader. I didn’t know what he was going to do; it was always unclear.
He looked back at me like he was going to say something else but Ruby finally started to wake up completely and distracted his attention. She opened her eyes, taking an instant notice to being up against Darius and quickly sat up to see Troy and I together. “How long was I out?”
“Not that long.” I smiled.
“Are you sure? Because something seems—wrong here.”
I looked back at Troy and laced my fingers with his. “Well, I surely don’t know what you mean, Ruby. What would ever give you that idea?”
Ruby still looked muddled through the short silence then looked down to see her corset open. She pulled it back together, hooking the three open hooks while she got up. “Are you sure I’m not dead because this is weird.”
Zayden sighed. “You’re not dead yet but if you’d like to be then that can be arranged.”
“I think I’ll wait until our scheduled time, thanks but are you telling me that you’re fine with this? Not a moment ago or more like the last time I remember, you seemed to forbid it and now—”
“Well, you don’t have to, you know? You must not be good enough, Darius.”
Ruby’s eyes got wide and she fell into Darius’s lap. Her legs straddled him and she hauled his head into her chest. “Don’t listen to him! He’s completely insane! I can handle this for the next few days. It’ll make dying worth it.”
Ruby still had a tight hold around him and Darius tried pulling her back. “Well, glad I can help make it worth it for you.”
She leaned into him, rubbing her nose on his before kissing him. Darius kept one hand on her waist with the other at her head as they continued, something I’ve seen before.
The rest of us were just sitting by until Zayden cleared his throat.
Ruby backed off with a gasp. “Sorry! Was that not part of the deal because I’m sure I was passed out when those terms were established.”
“No. Just making sure that you know we’re still here and you’re not going to get that kind of privacy out here.”
Ruby understood and leaned on Darius bringing his arm around her. “Well, sorry you’ll be missing out, Zayden. If only there was something we could do.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”
He glanced up at the shelter where Adele was and Ruby and I smiled. “You could probably get her to come out here again, you know?”
“What?” Zayden quickly turned his head towards me for saying it.
Ruby laughed. “Adele. We can tell you want her to be. Can’t hide that!”
Darius and Troy looked at each other and we all eagerly waited for Zayden’s response.
“Yeah right. That’s the last thing I’d want. She’s a real mood killer.”
“That’s her specialty cover actually. She’s just too proud to admit that she wants you.”
Ruby laughed again. “I think you’re taking her words out of proportion just a little.”
“Or maybe it’s the hidden reason for saving him.”
“Wait a second. What are you talking about?”
“She’s just pretending.” I said.
“Well, not necessarily pretending.” Ruby cut in. “She just has a problem with authority because she’s so used to being the dominant one. If she was going to submit and be fun, she’d have to feel like she was in charge when clearly that’s not going to happen.”
Zayden glanced back over at the shelter for a moment and I was getting that changed feeling from him again. “I see. That’s why she’s being so stubborn.”
“Yeah, sorry. She’s just not—” I paused to try and think of the right word. “Well, she’s tough. We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for her but she has a hard time letting people in due to the level of stress it causes.”
“Good luck in trying if you’re going to. She has a steel box around her heart and regrettably there is no key. At least I don’t think so. I’ve never seen it.”
Zayden looked back at the shelter again and I looked over at Ruby with a smile. We could tell that he felt something and I wondered what would happen when he finally realized it. “You could go back in there. She could use the company. Trust me. She always gets like this while we’re away from home.”
Zayden turned his eyes back in my direction. “Like what? Incredibly rude and violent?”
“Well, kind of.” Ruby laughed. “It’s brought on by tension as she calls it and it only gets worse when we travel.”
“Why?”
“Lack of sex.” The men immediately looked at each other and struck their faces blank, cute. “We’re not exactly used to going that long without it, especially lately because we’ve been home a lot and Adele takes it differently than we do. She’s just having withdrawals.”
“So, whenever you go somewhere, she’s like this?” Troy asked.
“Yup. We get used to it because we have to. It’s not like we can help her. We’re missing a key factor which you happen to have.”
Ruby looked over at Zayden and smiled but he immediately held his ground, still denying it. “Forget it.”
“Forget what, Zayden? I never said anything.”
“You were thinking it.”
Ruby lifted her eyebrow and shared a look with me. It seemed we were both surprised that he didn’t want her even a little. “Are you actually refusing if I did say it?”
“Would that be so unusual?”
“Well, yeah. Sh
e has everything you could want. Beauty, intelligence, many talents like cooking and oh, you should hear her sing. It’s really—”
“She can sing?” Darius interrupted.
“Yeah. We’ve fallen asleep to her singing countless times when we’re on the road. It’s one thing we can get her to do to actually relax but it has been awhile. I guess I just never really noticed since we haven’t been away from home in months.”
“That’s interesting. We happen to know someone that has a pretty good singing voice too and it has also been awhile.”
“Really? Who?”
Troy smiled then leaned into my ear and whispered the name.
I gasped and quickly turned my head. “You!”
It was not what I expected at all and I was sincerely amazed but Zayden sighed to it. “Well, thank you for that.”
“Can you show us?!” Ruby asked. “Please!”
“I don’t think so! Forget it!”
“You have to get some wine in him first.” Darius smiled. “Then he’ll do it.”
“No, I won’t.”
“But Adele would just love it.” Ruby went on with her happy tone. “You might not actually be as big of a stiff as I thought.”
“All right, that’s enough. None of this is about me.”
“Don’t like talking about yourself?”
“Not one of my favorite topics.”
“That seems odd.” I said. “Most people rather enjoy it. I know I do!”
“I’m more of a listener but you two—” He pointed at us. “You two talk a lot.”
“Minor flaw in our design.” Ruby smiled. “But she’s the one that talks most.”
I laughed. “Maybe. Ruby’s more of a visual being.”
“Look at me. I kind of have to be, don’t you think? Adele’s our—”
“Hateful.” Zayden cut in. “Simply put.”
“Kind of but it’s not like she’s showing you any kind of special treatment. She hates everyone. It doesn’t matter that you’re Senian.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. It’s hard for her to tolerate anyone. She only minimally tolerates us because she’s known us for so long.”
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