‘So strange,’ she murmured.
She cocked her ear, to listen for sounds of the preparations going on outside, but the whole place had gone quiet. The silence gave her greater chills than any walls of ice ever could.
Who were these Brakys? How could they strike so much fear in people who were obviously so well trained to fight? She tried to push her questions from her mind and decided to concentrate on finding something she could use as a weapon.
She glanced around the room and was surprised when her eyes rested on a large sword that hung on the wall over the bed. She grinned as she walked up to it and carefully pulled the weapon from the wall. She tilted it in her hand to look at it closely. It was beautiful and, as the blade of the sword caught the light, Sloane could see it was made of the same blue-tinted metal that the Unfaih warriors wore.
She took a cursory swing with it. It was lighter than anything she’d ever practiced with on Earth, but she could tell from the way it sliced through the air that it was perfectly balanced and strong.
The sword would be more than adequate if needed. She smiled as she watched the metal dance through the air. It felt good to have a weapon in her hands again, especially one as lethal as this. She was surprised they’d just leave it hanging on a wall in there. It was such a waste.
Now she had a sword, the blood in her body hummed with a desperate need to join the fight. She had to get out of this room.
She glanced back at the door, analysing it for weakness. She paced up to the door and crouched to inspect the handle. It was foreign looking and she doubted she’d be able to pick it, even if she did have the right tools on her.
Her gaze fell on a desk in the corner of the room, causing her heart to leap with hope. There could be a key in one of the drawers or perhaps something to help her pick the lock. She moved to the desk and pulled the top drawer open.
The drawer was empty, except for a dried flower that lay in the centre. The petals were a pretty lilac colour, and the flower looked like it had been there for an age. She reached her fingers out to gently touch it.
‘What are you doing in here?’ a voice thundered. Sloane slammed the drawer shut and jumped, quickly turning and crouching, her sword out and ready to do battle.
Rhyn stood before her, looking outraged. His hair, which usually fell in perfect waves, was dishevelled with sweat. He was wearing similar armour to the men she’d seen earlier, though his had more elaborate carvings etched into the design. He was heavily armed with a sword that hung from a scabbard by his waist and knives strapped to his legs, but Sloane also had a weapon.
She darted forwards before Rhyn could react and had the tip of her sword levelled at his neck before he could draw his own. It was an instinctive move, but those were usually the ones that worked best for Sloane. Her sword was at his neck before she had even considered what she was doing.
A small hint of surprise showed in his eyes. ‘I asked you a question,’ he drawled, ignoring the sword she pointed at him. Within seconds he had collected himself and his eyes had hardened against her.
‘No, it’s my turn to ask the questions,’ she responded, her voice level, though her heart raced. She had him right where she wanted him.
‘You really think you can hurt me with that, little human?’ He looked at the sword for the first time since she’d raised it against him. There was no alarm in the way he watched it. He looked at the sword the way you’d look at a puppy baring its teeth, with arrogant certainty that it would not bite.
Her eyes narrowed. She wasn’t afraid to bite. ‘Where’s the rift back to the World of the Woods?’
‘You don’t really expect me to tell you that, do you?’
She pressed the sword up against his throat so it almost pierced his skin. ‘No, I expect you to take me there.’
He looked her in the eyes. There wasn’t an ounce of fear in his gaze, and he seemed so sure of himself. ‘You know, it’s considered impolite to use another person’s sword against them.’
So, the sword was his. The room must be his as well. Sloane refused to look at the weapon. He was trying to distract her. ‘Just tell me where it is. Let me go back to my crew.’
For a moment the certainty in his eyes dropped, and there was almost a sense of sorrow in them, but then his face turned stern. ‘No.’
She squared her shoulders, and the sword cut into his skin, drawing blood. ‘Tell me!’ she roared.
‘No.’ He repeated it so calmly, like he knew she wasn’t capable of following through and hurting him.
Seeing that look of certainty infuriated her. All she just had to do was flick her wrist and the tip of the sword would effortlessly slice his throat, and it would be all over. It would be so easy to end his life.
Do it. Do it now. The words rang through her mind. She needed to take him down before someone else came into the room, or before he tried to fight back. She had the upper hand. She held the power for once. But as much as she wanted to hurt him, her hand stayed still around the grip of the sword.
In a movement so fast Rhyn almost became a blur, he dodged from the sword and swung his plated arm against the blade to drive it away. He launched towards Sloane, and in the blink of an eye he stood before her, his hand wrapped around her own, which still gripped the sword tightly.
Her breathing hitched as she stared into his chest, which was a mere inch from her face. Sloane couldn’t believe how fast he had moved; it wasn’t natural. There was no amount of training that would ever make her that quick.
His free hand went to grip her chin, and he slowly pushed it up until she stared into his eyes. His gaze was penetrating and filled with a charged intensity that seemed to reignite her own fury inside. She almost forgot to breathe as she stared at him, and the silence of the room was filled with more than just their mutual hatred. There was a burning heat that passed between them, which sparked a strange desire in Sloane’s chest.
‘Never point a sword at me again,’ Rhyn said, his voice husky and quiet, as he yanked the sword from her hand and stepped away.
Sloane took a deep breath in, and it felt like a splash of cold water against her face. It cleared her mind, awaking her from the daze she’d been in and smothering the strange response she’d felt at Rhyn’s stare.
Rhyn carefully placed the sword back on the wall and turned to face her. ‘Why are you in the castellum?’ he asked, completely ignoring the fact that she had just threatened him.
She could feel the disappointment in herself keenly. It wrapped around her like a heavy cloak, suffocating her skin with warmth. Why had she hesitated when she should have struck. She had failed, and she couldn’t look Rhyn in the eyes.
‘Kai brought me here, when the warning went off,’ she explained, her voice detached of emotion. ‘He hasn’t been back since.’
It was clear Rhyn was never going to let her go. The sword at his throat only proved he would rather die than tell her where the rift was. It had been a long shot, but at least now she knew he couldn’t be convinced. She would have to find the rift herself. To do that though, she needed enough freedom to search for it. She was only allowed out of Orelle’s house when she was escorted, and she’d never find it with Kai watching her every move.
She needed to gain these people’s trust. They needed to believe she’d given up on escaping. She needed to convince them that she was ready to settle into village life. Orelle had been trying to convince her to accept that she was never leaving. If she acted like she believed that, there’s no way Orelle would allow her continued confinement in her house.
She’d done little to get on Rhyn’s good side today though. After threatening him with the sword she’d probably never see the outside of Orelle’s hut again. She was going to have to do some serious work to gain his trust now.
‘I take it you fought off the Brakys?’ Sloane asked. She tried to sound conversational, but it was difficult to keep the disappointment from her voice. Perhaps tomorrow would be a better day to start attempting to gain Rhyn
’s trust.
He shook his head. ‘No, it was a false alarm. They rarely come out during the day. A lookout thought he saw one of them and sounded the horn.’
Sloane felt a pang of sorrow for the guy. She hated to think of what Rhyn would do to someone who had accidently had the castellum locked down and an army roused to defend it. She was already on Rhyn’s bad side, so she knew all too well that his reaction wouldn’t be good. For a moment, she wondered if he even had a good side.
‘I should probably find Kai and head back to the village,’ Sloane said, glancing at the door.
Rhyn considered her. ‘I’ll take you back to down to the village. I won’t have you leaving my sight up here.’
‘But what about Kai?’ She didn’t want to spend another second with Rhyn today. She definitely didn’t want him babysitting her all the way back to the village.
‘Kai is busy, and I’m beginning to doubt he can be trusted with you.’
Sloane opened her mouth to argue with him but then closed it. She wasn’t confident she’d ever win an argument with this guy.
‘So do we leave now?’ she asked.
‘No. Not yet. I want to have a word with my brother before I take you back.’
Sloane cringed. She could already imagine how that conversation might go down. She felt slightly guilty that Kai would be getting in trouble because of her, but it had been his idea to bring her to the castellum.
She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed to wait. ‘Well, whenever you’re ready,’ she muttered.
‘Don’t sit there,’ he growled.
‘You scared I’m going to rumple the sheets?’ She crossed her arms over her chest to show she wasn’t going anywhere.
Rhyn threw his hands up in the air and grunted. He swiftly turned and headed out the door, slamming it shut behind him. The first thing she did once his shadow disappeared down the corridor was to try and open the door, but again she found it locked.
CHAPTER TWELVE
While Rhyn was gone, Sloane decided to poke around his room. She wanted to see if there was anything she could use against him or, at the very least, something to give her a better idea of who Rhyn was. The room was quite impersonal though.
Rhyn’s room had his sword on the wall and a few knives in one of the drawers. There was also the dried flower she’d found, which Sloane thought odd because she hadn’t seen any flowers since she had arrived in the frozen world. The rest of the room just held regular furniture and left her feeling a little disappointed.
The door flew open as Rhyn charged back in, causing Sloane to jump. She could see a smile tugging at his lips as though it pleased him to see her so surprised. She glared at him and averted her eyes as he began to peel his body armour from his chest.
She turned and folded her arms across the body, feeling uncomfortable that he thought he could just strip off in front of her. He probably did it just to annoy her—it worked. She stared at the ice wall, listening as he moved about the room, changing. As she waited, her gaze drifted to the wooden table in front of her. There were intricate carvings in the wood that she hadn’t noticed earlier. She lightly trailed her fingers over the design as she peered at it.
‘So, this is where you live?’ she asked. Keeping her eyes focused firmly on the wood. She’d found the room intriguing and beautiful when she’d first seen it. But there was something about knowing he slept in it every night that made her feel uncomfortable.
Rhyn grunted in what she assumed was some sort of affirmation.
‘Well,’ she continued. ‘It’s beautiful. I love the way it’s so light even though there are no windows.’
When she didn’t receive another response, she turned to look at him. He was now simply wearing the plain tunic that had been under his chest piece. The top few buttons were undone, and she could just see his chest underneath. She quickly looked up to his face and found him looking at her in the strangest way. His brow was slightly cocked and there was tension pulling at the corner of his lips. She was usually brilliant at reading facial expressions, but his completely threw her off her game.
‘Who are the Brakys?’ she asked, squaring her shoulders to face him. She was sick of his games and just wanted some answers. ‘And why do they attack you?’
‘The Brakys are none of your business,’ Rhyn responded, tightly.
Sloane huffed out a cynical laugh. ‘Of course they’re not. I was only made to run for my life earlier because of them, but you’re right: totally none of my business.’
She was beginning to tire of his attitude. She’d never met anyone so stubbornly determined to hate her in her life, and she had her share of enemies. His dislike of her had been intense and immediate, and she wondered what possibly could have caused it. He’d knocked her out, captured her and held her prisoner, and even she didn’t seem to hate him as much as he hated her. Was it simply because she was human?
‘Why do you hate me so much?’ she asked, striding towards him. She was no longer willing to beat around the bush with this man.
He took a hesitant step backwards.
‘Well?’ As she closed in on him, Rhyn’s eyes glanced to the doorway like he was looking for his nearest escape route. ‘Why?’ she asked.
‘I don’t hate you,’ he said, through gritted teeth. It was obvious how much he disliked admitting it.
‘Well, you sure don’t like me.’
‘No. You’re right, I don’t like you.’ He smiled at the thought.
‘Well, at least we can agree on that. I don’t like you either.’ Sloane took a step back from him. ‘You’re going to have to stop treating me like a prisoner. I don’t need to be babysat by Kai. There’s nowhere for me to run to, and I can’t escape.’
‘You want less restrictions? You just threatened me with a sword,’ he pointed out.
She shrugged. ‘You would have done the same.’ She couldn’t bring herself to mention that she had also clearly failed in her attempt to threaten him.
Rhyn tilted his head and looked at her, his gaze piercing through her outer defences. With one glance from his ice blue eyes, she felt like he could see through to her soul and it left her feeling completely exposed.
‘Unless, of course, the rift back to the World of the Woods is easily accessible and you’re afraid I’ll find it if I’m allowed out of the hut,’ she continued.
He frowned. ‘I am not afraid. You would be unable to find the rift. You are right about one thing though. There is nowhere for you to run, and there is no going back. You are here now and forever.’
Sloane gulped at the word forever. She refused to believe that she wouldn’t escape. She begrudgingly accepted that it might take more time than she’d like, but she would eventually find that rift and get back to Aeris. In the meantime, she planned to use her time well, and she was going to uncover whatever secrets Rhyn was hiding.
‘You just said it yourself,’ she replied. ‘I’m here forever. Are you really going to keep me shackled to the walls of Orelle’s hut for the rest of my life? If the rift is as secure as you say it is, you should have no problem letting me roam the village.’
He considered her closely, his eyes thoughtful as his mind evaluated everything she said. ‘I’ll think about it,’ he said, causing her to frown. It wasn’t exactly the freedom she’d been asking for, but he also hadn’t flat out refused her.
‘Now, I should return you to the village,’ he continued.
Sloane puffed out an exasperated breath, but didn’t say anything. She didn’t like the idea of being babysat by him, but was being careful not to say the wrong thing. He was considering her request, and that was a start. She didn’t want to go and ruin her chances of getting more freedom by mouthing off at him. So instead, she nodded and followed him to the door.
He paused before opening it and turned to her, holding out one hand. ‘The dagger, Sloane…’
She opened her mouth to feign ignorance, but on seeing his knowing eyes Sloane pulled out the dagger that she had tucked
into the back of her pants. Knowing how little Rhyn trusted her, he’d pat her down if she refused. She played with it in her hands, hesitant to give it back.
‘It was going to waste in that drawer of yours; wouldn’t you prefer it went to a good home?’ she asked.
‘No, not really,’ he replied.
She sighed and handed him the dagger, throwing a scowl at him as he placed it on the table by the door. She didn’t know how he’d figured her out, but she’d really liked that dagger and had felt more confident knowing she had it tucked away. She stormed past him and pulled the door open herself, feeling his annoying smile on the back of her neck as he followed.
The castellum was quiet as they wandered towards the exit. It was drawing close to evening and most of the men who had filled the courtyard earlier had gone. A few of them were still positioned along the walls, casting their watchful eyes out over the frozen plateau beyond. The rest of the place seemed oddly silent though.
They reached the large entrance gates that protected the inner castle, and Sloane’s steps faltered as she took in the horizon. Before her was the most incredible sunset she’d ever seen.
The two suns were at opposite ends of the horizon, just beginning to dip below its edge and fall away from sight. They burnt with a rich and bright orange glow, and their rays filled the snow-covered ground with a warm yellow hue. Tones of deep pink and purple touched the clouds around them, and the vivid hues stretched across the gulf of sky between the suns, as though the colours were reaching out to touch one another.
‘It’s incredible,’ Sloane breathed.
Rhyn smiled down at her and, for a fraction of a second, she thought she saw someone she could like in him.
‘It is,’ he agreed. His usual scowl returned just as quickly as it had disappeared though, and his face became passive again. ‘We need to move quickly. The stairs down to the village can be treacherous at night.’
Sloane laughed. ‘They’re treacherous during the day.’
‘Maybe for someone as uncoordinated as you,’ he responded, before setting off towards the steps.
In Ice We Burn (The Liftsal Guardians Book 1) Page 12
