“No?” Cael replied, which was not to his usual standard of eloquence, but frankly, he was pleased to get something, anything out.
“Oh. Okay. I thought there were rules and stuff for when you address royalty. ‘Ma’am like jam’ and all of that.”
“Well, there’s no rule requiring you to call me ‘ma’am’,” Cael managed, the neurones in his brain finally firing, “however you wish to pronounce it.”
A smile flashed across her face, brief but brilliant, her grey eyes glittering with amusement.
“Can we walk?” she asked. “I feel a bit weird just standing here.”
“Of course,” Cael said, gesturing for her to lead the way.
Randar and Cribishk hung back further than was strictly protocol, but Cael appreciated the semblance of privacy they’d tried to give him. A couple more hours of showing his face here, and they could leave. Head back to the Station, where he and Asha could be alone in his suite.
Alone. Would she want him to touch her? Unbutton her jacket and loosen her tie, trail his fingers down her face before leaning in to kiss her?
The strength of these thoughts surprised Cael. He’d been attracted to people before - in the purely physical way that Unmatched people sometimes indulged in. These affairs never lasted long, the attraction hollow before it even formed. It only took a few wrong words, sometimes only time, to burst the bubble. For the parties to go back to dreaming of the true Match that waited for them somewhere. And in all his life he hadn’t wanted to kiss someone so much ever, never mind within moments of meeting them.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this place so busy outside of when the marathon’s on,” Asha said. “That little stunt with the tea party has really drawn the crowds.”
She didn’t seem to have any problem finding her voice, though Cael wondered if the speed at which she walked revealed inner uncertainty or nerves. She ducked and weaved through the crowd so quickly that Cael struggled to keep up with her.
“Hyde Park’s better, though,” she said. “It’s got a lot more going on. We should head in that direction.”
She banked sharply to the right, cutting between a bunch of picnicking Humans. Cael drew up just short of them, taking the slightly longer route round them. When he looked round for her, Asha was several feet ahead of him, showing no signs of looking back or waiting for him.
Cael frowned. Was she trying to get away from him?
Reminding himself that things with Humans were never straight forwards, he put on a burst of speed, closing the gap between them.
“Asha, slow down,” he said, as he got close enough.
He reached for her, catching her hand in his. The contact sent a jolt through him, and Asha stopped finally, turning to look at her hand as if it didn’t belong to her.
Once again, the world seemed to slow and fade. Cael wondered if it was just him - the Imorna in his blood ratcheting up his adrenaline, making his perception of time slow - or if Asha was experiencing something similar. Her hand was rough, calloused. He wanted to know the story behind her hands, to know everything about her life and how it had shaped her.
Wanted to know how it felt to have her hands against his body.
No, not just wanted. Needed.
Asha looked at him through narrowed eyes. “Let me go,” she said.
And though he didn’t want to, he was going to. He wasn’t the sort to overstep any sort of boundary set by anyone. He certainly didn’t want to do so with the person who would come to be the most important to him. His Match.
But, before he could, the first explosion went off.
Chapter 7
SHE’D ONLY BEEN THINKING ABOUT GETTING away. As soon as Cribishk and the other bodyguard took a step back, the plan solidified in her mind. All she had to do was open that gap a little bit - utilise the crowds to put more distance between them. Head for Hyde Park, then rather than keep going into the park itself, slip down into the Underground Station there. Then she could just hop on whatever train came first, disappear, meet up with Nell, tell her everything and leave.
But what she’d inadvertently done was lead them in to the thick of the people. People who all stood up and started running at the sound of the first blast.
Asha flinched as another explosion sounded, her body coiling in on itself in some misguided protective instinct. Screams ripped through the air around her, bodies barging into her from all angles, some of them with enough force to nearly knock her off her feet.
But through all the buffeting, Asha realised she still had hold of the Prince’s hand, their fingers locked together, gripping each other like a lifeline. Two thoughts followed in rapid succession.
He didn’t let her go.
Despite what she’d said, she didn’t really want him to.
Asha buried that second thought to examine later, and dismissed the first, too. Now was not the time to be dissecting his actions, her reactions. The way his touch had felt like a bolt of lightning going through her, heat and desire mixing with the fear and confusion in a potent, overwhelming way.
Snap out of it!
Asha looked round, seeing a whole load more people running in their direction, but no sign of the bodyguards. She could let the Prince go, run. In the chaos, they’d never find her again.
But though she hadn’t been Matched by choice, and definitely didn’t care about the alien Prince romantically, she couldn’t leave him to get crushed by the crowds or worse - turned on by some frightened idiot looking for some way to feel less afraid.
She drew up close to Cael, ignoring the way her stomach flipped and danced inside her. Just the adrenaline. That was all it was.
“We need to get out of here,” she said. “Now.”
He followed without protest, letting her lead him towards the edge of the park. When the third explosion sounded, he only tightened his grip on hers as Asha increased her pace.
Her heart pounded as she began to jog. It wasn’t the bombs or whatever was exploding that frightened her. It was the people. The panicked, half crazed with fear people who were charging recklessly in all directions. Just ahead of her, a man barrelled into a younger woman and didn’t stop to help her up, just ran over the top of her, three others doing the same before someone had the nerve to stand against the crowd and help her.
Then another explosion sounded, this one so loud it made Asha let go of Cael, jamming her hands over her ears instead. The crowd’s motion changed again, running away from where they were standing. Asha stood, frozen, holding herself tight and as small as she could, letting the sea of people break around her.
A hand on her shoulder. Asha turned, finding Cael stood next to her, and for a moment, all the noise, all the chaos, just faded away, her entire awareness focused on the warmth of his touch.
And even as she berated herself for responding, mentally going through the list of all the reasons she was not interested in getting involved with any guy, never mind an alien Prince, one thought made itself known louder than any of the others.
Why was his hand on her shoulder? Why couldn’t he touch her skin…
“Are you okay?” he asked, cutting through the strange hypnotism of the moment.
“Yes,” Asha said, shaking him off. Put some space between them so she could remember how to breathe.
She had the feeling she shouldn’t be okay. An explosion that loud had to have been close by. And yet she’d felt no heat, no wind. Nothing at all to suggest something had detonated nearby.
Asha looked around, her eyes landing on a bin that looked scorched, warped. It was hanging on to its bracket by a thread, dangling at a jaunty angle. Asha walked up to it, switching on her phone torch and taking a look inside at the smouldering contents. Between the burned receipts and sandwich boxes, she caught sight of colourful plastic and charred cardboard tubes. A slightly sulphuric smell overrode the usual tang of mouldering refuse.
Asha stepped back and aimed a kick at the bin, planting the sturdy soles of her boots against the side, knocking it free of
its brackets. The lid rolled in one direction, the main body of the bin in the other, scattering its contents across the street - including the cardboard tubes that were now recognisable.
“Bloody fireworks!” she said, kicking the warped bin again. “What moron does a thing like that?”
“One who wants to scare people without actually hurting them,” Cael said, stepping up beside her, examining the remains of the bin for himself.
He didn’t touch her, but still her body warmed, responding to his proximity. What the hell was wrong with her?
Adrenaline. Just adrenaline. She repeated the words like a mantra.
“There’s no way no one got hurt in all of that,” Asha said, gesturing behind them at the park.
Cael looked back, his expression grave. “I was of the same mind. I only hope all the families with children made it out okay,”
Horror swept down Asha’s spine like ice water, flushing away all the warm fuzzies her traitorous body had been feeling. How could she have been so self-absorbed. So stupid. She grabbed her phone out of her jacket pocket again, this time dialling Nell.
It rang once, twice, three times, each one making Asha’s heart beat faster, until she thought she might pass out if Nell didn’t pick up. Finally, she heard the familiar click of the call connecting.
“Asha,” Nell said. “What...”
“Nell, where are you?” Asha said, pressing the phone tight to her ear and trying to block out all other sounds.
“We’re just changing trains,” Nell said. “I’m so sorry we’re late, Asha. You know what it’s like trying to corral Mikey out of the house, he was too excited.”
Asha closed her eyes against the tears of relief that threatened to fall. Just the idea of Mikey, tiny little Mikey, being caught in the stampede was enough to send her into paroxysms of terror.
“Nell, listen to me. Don’t get on that train. Turn round and go back home right now.”
“What?” Nell said, her voice tinny and echoing, the Wifi on the Underground straining to maintain the connection.
“Go home, Nell, trust me. There’s been some sort of incident. It’s chaos here.”
“An incident?” Nell’s voice sounded high, panicked.
“I’m fine, it’s fine,” Asha said. “Check the news after. It might say ’bombs’ but it wasn’t - just some clowns putting fireworks in bins, but the noise has spooked the crowds. People are acting crazy.”
As she said it, she heard the distinctive crash of smashed glass and the high pitched whine of a car alarm.
“Where are you?” Nell said.
“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. I’m just getting out of the worst of it now. Get home. I’ll call you later.”
Before Nell could protest, Asha hung up. Looking round, she could see several people still running, but no sign of the two alien bodyguards.
“The crowds must have pushed us in different directions,” Cael said when she pointed this out to him.
“Have you got any way of contacting them?”
Cael held up what looked like an oversized mobile phone. A very smashed up oversized mobile phone.
“It got knocked out of my hand in the crush a minute ago. I think a few people stepped on it.”
Asha had another look round to get her bearings. They’d been swept all the way through Green Park on to Picadilly. The crowds had thinned, everyone disappearing into the many different side roads, the Underground Stations, the buildings.
“Well, I think we’re okay to wait here for now…”
Even as she said it, she heard the uniform stamp of feet, like some sort of military march, and a rising tide of voices. At first they were just an indistinct chant, but she turned to see a crowd of people heading down Picadilly towards them, some of them holding signs, others holding makeshift weapons. Baseball bats, crowbars.
For the first time, real fear started to ripple through her. Not the reactionary terror of before, but a cold, heart clutching fear. These people weren’t just taking the opportunity to smash a few windows and riot. They were too uniform, too organised. They had to be the ones behind the fireworks - panicking the crowd and then sweeping through with some message of hate to cause carnage. They had a purpose. They were out for blood.
And she could guess without needing to read their signs exactly who their target would be.
“Change of plan,” she said, taking the hat from her head and putting it on Cael’s, covering his distinctive blue hair. She took his hand again, ignoring how even with all the chaos, a sense of calm, of wellbeing swept through her when he linked his fingers through hers.
She guided him through a series of side streets, getting away from the front of the march and moving along side them on a parallel street. Her plan was to get behind them, so they were heading away from each other, then aim for the hotel where Bernard and Cribishk had taken her. Leave the Prince there with his head of security and then go, find Nell…
“Who were those people?” Cael said, keeping his voice low.
“Trouble,” Asha said, casting her eyes all around as they moved forwards through the city. Every side alley could hold a threat, every corner they turned could land them in the middle of something. As they got closer to the march, she could hear the voices chanting more clearly.
“Aliens out! Aliens out!”
Cael’s hand tightened on hers just a little, and she knew he’d heard and understood.
“Cribishk and your guy…” Asha said, a little pool of dread forming in her stomach. “They can handle themselves right?”
“They can,” he said, voice solemn, but confident.
Asha nodded. Where it only took a hat for the Prince to pass as Human to anyone not looking closely, there was no way the two bodyguards wouldn’t stand out a mile. And she liked Cribishk, she didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.
“Come on,” she said. “We’re nearly behind them now. I figure once we get behind them we’ll be safe to stop and think for a minute, figure out how to get back to the hotel.”
As the sound of chanting faded a little, Asha cut back through towards Picadilly. It had been a straight shot from the hotel down to the Mall and St James’s Park where she’d first met up with the Prince. So if she just kept heading to her right, back towards the river, she’d eventually end up on the right road. Relief fizzed inside her, the ordeal nearly over.
Until she stepped on to Picadilly and saw the madness unfolding.
The crowds in the park had been frightened, running senselessly, acting on instinct. Whether the crowds here had seen an opportunity, or were galvanised by the marchers and their message, they weren’t panicking, weren’t frightened. A group were surrounding a taxi, shaking it from side to side as two young women jumped and danced on top of it, screeching like wild animals. Most of the windows in the street had been put through, people walking out of shops with arms full of designer handbags. Further along, a vehicle was burning. Asha only hoped there had been no one inside it.
She tuned back, but she could feel the energy in the air, the crackle of inhibitions removed, of darker desires unleashed. The heat of the November sun had felt pleasant earlier, but now the hot air trapped between the buildings only added to the atmosphere’s dangerous edge. Asha kept moving until they came to a side street with no one else in it.
“Okay, think,” she said, releasing Cael’s hand and pausing to take stock. All around now, sirens were blaring, cracks like gunshots sounding in the distance. The riot police, probably. But that march had been organised. Asha doubted they would roll over in the face of tear gas and a few shields and batons. In a few minutes, the entire area was going to be a war zone.
Even the little side street they were in hadn’t gone unscathed. The windows to two buildings had been smashed, though there was nothing here to loot. A lone van parked up a bit further down had all its windows smashed. The writing across the side panelling said it belonged to an electrician. It was an older model - small and a bit battered even befor
e the windows had been smashed. At least the owner wouldn’t be too devastated, she thought.
And then a different thought occurred.
Asha jogged over to the van, leaning in through the smashed driver side window to unlock the central locking, before heading to the back doors and pulling them open. There wasn’t much inside. Nothing of any worth to a looter, anyway. But there was a small toolkit. Asha climbed inside and grabbed it, opening it up. After a moment, she found a screwdriver and some wire cutters. Electrical tape and gloves too.
Bingo.
She went back to the driver seat. Pulling on the gloves, she swept the broken glass off the seat, before sitting in.
“What are you doing?” the Prince asked, appearing at the door.
“Stealing us a van,” Asha said, jamming the screwdriver into the ignition and turning it.
Nothing. She pulled it out again and started dismantling the steering column.
“You’re what?” Cael said.
Asha looked up at him, breath catching as she met his gaze. His eyes were stunning - so very blue.
Goddammit what is wrong with you?
She cleared her throat, found her voice. “Look, we need to get out of here. We could take the Underground, but if anything kicked off, we’d be trapped inside a small metal tube, unable to get out. We could walk, but I really don’t fancy finding myself in the middle of one of those riots.”
“The police…”
“Are going to be swamped.” She took a deep, calming breath, removing the screws that held the steering column in place. “There have been riots like this in London before. I was a baby, I don’t remember it, but my Dad said it was almost a week of complete chaos. The police were totally overwhelmed. They set whole buildings on fire. People died.”
The steering column came apart. She tossed the plastic shielding out of the van, then picked up the wire cutters, locating the wires she needed.
“I was hoping we could get back to the hotel,” she said as she cut the wires, stripped them, “but it’s too close to the park. We need to get somewhere safe, get in contact with your people.”
Cael Page 6
