Solace: Book Three (Strange in Skin Trilogy)

by Sara V. Zook

  Emry shrugged and then crossed his arms.

  “You had this done while I was away?” I asked, amazed. “Did you come up with these colors all on your own?”

  “Well,” he said, his face twisted into a half smile. “I did have some help with that.”

  I chuckled. “Well, it’s great. Just what the castle needed to liven it up a little.” I perused some more of the plants, my fingertips touching each one.

  “I did it for the wedding. I thought you’d love a place totally consumed by flowers. It was just in my head like that, the ceremony, flowers everywhere with you in the middle. I can’t imagine anything more beautiful.”

  My heart gasped. What a warm gesture by my fiancé. How did I even deserve someone as amazing as Emry Logan? He had an image of our ceremony and had come up with all this.

  “I might add more flowers,” he added.

  “Where?” I asked. “They’re everywhere, and it’s gorgeous. It’s perfect for our wedding.” The tears came then and escaped down my cheeks. I swallowed hard to try to speak. “Thank you so much.”

  Emry rushed over to me and took me in his arms again. He pressed my head to his chest and ran his fingers through my hair. “Anything for you, Anna, anything.”

  I was too choked up to speak. I just listened to his heart beat as my mind raced with thoughts of how I even got to this point in my life. I didn’t think anything else could possibly be this surreal. I was surrounded by the most wondrous garden one could imagine, perfectly arranged, and I was about to marry a man I had met on Earth in prison but now was about to become king of another world. The overwhelming emotions took control of me. Emry just let me sob into his chest, soaking his shirt, as if he could read my mind and understood it all.

  ***

  Ben came up and whispered something into Emry’s ear. We were on our way to the dining area to eat. The aroma from the kitchen floated down the hall and filled the whole lower section of the castle. It smelled as if some type of meat had been simmering all day. I was sure my belly wasn’t the only one grumbling from the delicious smell.

  Emry let go of my hand and paused to look back at Ben. I really didn’t want to stop. I had had a light lunch of snacks with Trishelle and was starving right now. I wanted to grab his hand and drag him away from Ben.

  “How is that possible?” Emry asked, his eyes wide in alarm.

  Ben made eye contact with me and then looked back to Emry. He shrugged one shoulder. “My apologies.”

  “Are you still working on it or is that it? You’re not just going to drop it, are you?” Emry snapped.

  “I’m still on it, but there’s only so much I can do,” Ben replied.

  Emry sighed, his irritation evident. “It’s unacceptable though, Ben. Someone has to know something.”

  Ben clenched his fists together at his side. “I’m just as disturbed as you are.”

  “I don’t like not feeling safe.”

  “Like I said, only so much I can do,” Ben repeated.

  I eyed them both. What are they talking about? There seemed to be so much tension between them. I guessed this had to do with his stressful day he didn’t want to talk about earlier.

  “Are you coming to get something to eat?” Emry asked him.

  Ben shook his head. “I have some work I want to do in my room. I’m having a plate sent up later.”

  Emry nodded and turned back to face me.

  “Still don’t want to talk about it?” I asked.

  He reached for my hand. “Let’s just get something to eat.”

  I pulled my hand away from his and looked up into his eyes. “Listen, don’t protect me.”

  “What?” he asked, surprised.

  “You heard me, Emry. I mean it. I don’t want you to try to protect me by not telling me all this stuff, even the scary stuff. Something obviously has you frazzled. I want to know what it is. Right here, right now.”

  He studied me for a few moments.

  Yes, I am serious. I bit my lip.

  “Okay,” he finally said.

  “Yeah?”

  He chuckled at my shock. “It’s not that I wasn’t going to tell you, Anna. I just don’t have much to tell.”

  I raised my eyebrows.

  He lowered his head. “It’s the whole Raleigh and Jillianne thing, how they were killed.”

  “Um, yes, I vaguely remember,” I said sarcastically, the thoughts of waking up to Raleigh’s corpse in my bed sending shivers up my spine.

  Emry ran his hands up and down the sides of my arms. “I’ve been getting Ben to dig for answers to try to find who’s responsible for their deaths. I don’t feel safe not knowing who to trust.”

  One of the guards entered the castle and raised his hand to wave.

  “Hi, sir,” the guard said cheerfully. He then looked at me. “Ma’am.”

  I raised my hand to wave back.

  “How are you doing?” the guard asked.

  Emry narrowed his eyes at the man. “Fine. We’re fine.” He was annoyed.

  The guard nodded and hurried past us.

  “What was that about?” I asked. “He was being nice.”

  “There’s something about that guard,” Emry answered, his eyes still looking toward where the man had disappeared down the hall. “He’s being a fake kind of nice. He’s up to something.”

  “Emry,” I whispered. “Are you sure you’re not being paranoid? I think he was just being nice.”

  “I am paranoid. That’s the whole problem. I live here in paranoia. It’s starting to get to me.”

  My thoughts went back to Trishelle’s father. His words of how the contributors could “crush me like a bug” echoed in my mind. I, too, lived with a certain amount of paranoia, but I had to trust in being with Emry. It was the only thing that felt right in this strange realm of uncertainty that I now called home. It was what was keeping my head above water.

  “Ben will figure it out. He’s smart. He knows the insides and outsides of this place.” I tried to sound assuring to him.

  “I feel like he’s … preoccupied,” Emry admitted. “Do you get that feeling?”

  I took a deep breath. “Yes,” I confessed. “Maybe the paranoia is getting to him, too,” I suggested. Doubt filled me though. “Emry,” I whispered.

  He peered down at me.

  “Something has been off with Ben since the burning of his sister.”

  “Mrs. Anderson?”

  I nodded.

  “But he said he didn’t care about her,” Emry told me.

  “Doesn’t mean it was true.” I looked to the floor. “I think he’s trying to hide his emotions about that situation.”

  Emry shrugged. “Can’t help him there.”

  “I know he doesn’t want to talk about it. I tried. Just try to give him a break and not be so hard on him.” I looked up. “Please. He needs to grieve. It was still his sister.”

  Emry gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “I guess you’re probably right. I don’t think of Ben as emotional.”

  “It’s like no one here can show emotions or they get ridiculed.”

  “Well,” Emry said. “They think it’s a weakness. On Earth, it’s a natural part of life.”

  “Yeah, well, weakness or not, Ben has a whole lot of something building up inside of him.”

  “Okay. I’ll give him a break and let him alone for awhile,” Emry told me.

  “Let’s go get something to eat before my stomach eats itself. I hope that food tastes as good as it smells.” I grabbed his arm and headed toward the dining area. Little did I know who we would have to face there.

  EIGHT

  “Well, well, well, if it’s not the king and queen coming to grace us with their presence.”

  Treyu stood up and pushed in his chair.

  “Come on, everyone, stand up at his majesty’s entrance,” Treyu commanded.

  I looked around. There were guards maintaining their position at the door. Treyu and Cami were the only other ones in the room.r />
  Cami met my stare with a shy smile. She was seated just left of Treyu.

  “Didn’t you hear what I said?” Treyu yelled at her. “Get up!” He grabbed Cami by the back of her head and forced her to stand. She winced in pain and then smiled again once she had steadied herself.

  Emry’s nostrils flared as he let out his breath beside me.

  “This was supposed to be a private dinner, Treyu,” Emry snapped. “And you weren’t invited.”

  “Oh, come on, cousin,” Treyu mocked. “I’m family. I can crash your party.”

  What is Treyu trying to do? I wondered. Get himself killed?

  “Leave,” Emry commanded.

  “Hey, it was Cami’s suggestion.” Treyu reached for his drink, slurped it down and then slammed it back down on the table. “She wanted to come see Anna.”

  Treyu’s eyes burned into mine. He was up to no good. He reached down and squeezed Cami’s shoulder. Her face proclaimed pain once again.

  What does she see in this jerk?

  “Let’s just eat with them,” I whispered to Emry. “And try to keep the peace.”

  Emry reluctantly took a seat across from Treyu, his eyes never moving from his face. I sat down beside him, across from Cami, who tossed another smile my way. Treyu filled his glass to the rim.

  “How much have you had to drink today, Treyu?” Emry questioned him.

  Treyu grinned. “Oh, don’t you worry about my tolerance. I’m a big boy.”

  The cook came out of the kitchen followed by waiters with trays of food. He hesitated when he saw Treyu and Cami sitting there. Emry motioned for them to come forward.

  “Two more place settings. Hurry,” the cook instructed someone behind him who dashed back off to the kitchen with his orders.

  I took a deep breath. Private dinner? Emry had planned a special meal just for us and now Treyu had to go and ruin everything like he always did. I tried to focus on the bowls being set before me and would enjoy this one way or another. Here’s to hoping Treyu keeps his mouth shut for the entire meal.

  “This food looks awesome,” Cami exclaimed.

  “Dig in,” I encouraged her.

  She smiled and reached for one of the bowls, its steam rising in the air.

  Treyu reached for his glass again instead of the food. “So, what you been up to, cousin, now that the castle is all yours?”

  “Just shut up and eat,” Emry snapped, his mood ruined for the evening. “You’re lucky you’re even here. You have Anna to thank for the meal.”

  “Thank?” Treyu laughed, that annoying, cocky sound projecting from his throat as he threw back his head. “You want me to thank a human?”

  Emry’s grip on his fork tightened. I was sure he was about to throw it at Treyu.

  “This … whatever it is, sure is good,” Cami said all bubbly and happy.

  Emry’s gaze shifted to Cami for a moment. He decided to ignore Treyu and let it be, but Treyu just kept going and pushing.

  “Do you want to take dinner to the room?” I whispered to Emry, knowing how bad this was going to end.

  “Tell me how it was, cousin, to grow up in a big safety net of Earth, pampered and spoiled by those emotional imbeciles while I was here with Atavia, my loving aunt in this very castle and now you, an intruder, get to come in and bark orders at me in my home.” Treyu slammed his cup down, the crimson liquid spilling onto the white table cloth. “Don’t come in here with your chest all puffed out, cousin, and tell me that I’m not invited in my own home,” he said raising his already boisterous voice.

  “You have no idea what I went through on Earth, cousin,” Emry hollered back. “It wasn’t as pleasant as you assume, but I’m not going to sit here and discuss it with the likes of you.”

  “The likes of me? We are one in the same. We have the same blood coursing through our royal veins.” Treyu laughed again.

  Emry narrowed his eyes. He jumped up out of his chair. “Blood means nothing to me. You can go down and be in the dungeon with Atavia if you want and have a family reunion.”

  “Tisk, tisk.” Treyu waved a finger in the air. “Such a wicked temper on you, Emry. You should learn to control that.”

  “I’ll feel better if my fist collides with your skull,” Emry threatened.

  Here we go. I wonder if there will be a castle left after these two have it out.

  “Ah, yes, those emotions. You were raised as a human, so I’m sure it’s only natural.”

  Cami stood up beside Treyu. She dabbed her mouth with a napkin before saying, “Why can’t you just be nice for once, Treyu?”

  With one swift motion, Treyu threw his arm forward, the back of his hand making contact with Cami’s face. Blood squirted from her nose as she screamed and burst into tears, running from the room.

  “What the -?” I stammered, not believing that he had just done that.

  “Stupid, annoying creature she is,” Treyu mumbled.

  Emry closed his eyes for a moment.

  “Come on, Emry,” Treyu urged. “You’ve been wanting a piece of me for awhile now.”

  Before I had a chance to say anything to Emry to get him to calm down, he was over top of the table, tackling Treyu. Then Emry got back to his feet and kicked him in the side of the ribcage. Treyu cried out in pain.

  Horrified, my hand covered my mouth. All I could do is watch this event unfold, however inevitable it may be.

  Treyu managed to stand up. He wiped blood from his lip and spit more on the floor. He glared at Emry, his eyes fierce like a wild animal. He threw up his arms and the two of them began circling each other. Treyu dived at Emry and got a punch in, his fist colliding with Emry’s jaw.

  The guards rushed over.

  “Let them go,” I said. “If you break it up, they’ll just be at it again tomorrow.” They’ll have to finish it their way.

  “We’ll go make sure no one comes in,” one of them said as they both turned to leave.

  “Good idea,” I mumbled, walking backwards until my back was pressed up against the wall. I wanted to leave myself, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from what was happening.

  Emry swung at Treyu who moved to the side to avoid the blow.

  Come on, Emry, I chanted in my head.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw workers from the kitchen peering in to catch a peek at what was occurring.

  Crouching low, Emry took off, his shoulder landing in Treyu’s stomach as he pushed him backwards and into a chair. Treyu’s body broke the chair as he tumbled to the floor, the shards of wood surrounding him. He was slower to get back to his feet this time as his hand held onto his side. The chair had injured him. He gritted his teeth together, a hissing sound coming from his lips.

  “Why don’t you just go back to Earth,” Treyu shouted as his entire body tensed with use of his powers.

  Emry’s body was tossed backwards as his spine hit the far wall. As he crumbled to the floor, pieces of the wall fell off after him.

  Now Emry groaned as he attempted to get back up. His own eyes were illuminated with a mad flame. He looked at the chandelier above Treyu. The entire thing unhinged itself from the ceiling and fell down onto Treyu, bulbs bursting as they slammed into the floor pinning him underneath.

  I covered my eyes with my hands for a moment as a little squeal escaped from my throat. These two were going to kill each other and destroy the castle piece by piece with their hatred.

  Some contributors came through the doors. The guards followed. I thought they were keeping people out. I gave them a look. One of them gave me a helpless shrug.

  On the other side of the room, kitchen contributors gathered, one of them Jo.

  The glass had cut Treyu up pretty bad. More pieces crunched underneath him as he stood. He picked a piece out of his hand and tossed it on the floor. He gave one glare at Emry and then pinned him down on the floor with his powers.

  Emry struggled to get up. He couldn’t. Treyu was too angry, too strong.

  Treyu walked over to th
e table, all the while his eyes still focused on Emry. He reached for one of the knives and carried it over to Emry.

  “No!” I screamed, running toward Emry. Treyu raised his hand at me. It was as if I had hit a brick wall. I tumbled backwards onto the floor.

  Treyu returned his attention to Emry. He bent over and held the knife up to Emry’s throat.

  “Let this be a lesson to you, cousin,” Treyu hissed. “I can be in this castle any time I want. No one is going to stop me, not even you.”

  He pushed the tip of the knife against Emry’s skin. It was as if Emry was paralyzed and couldn’t even speak.

  Treyu looked up and saw he had an audience. He released his grip on the knife as it dropped with a clang to the floor, and he limped away out of the room.

  Emry sat up and gasped for air. He rubbed the spot on his neck where the knife had been with his hand. He, too, saw the crowd.

  “Everyone out!” he yelled, making his way to his feet.

  The contributors just stood there like statues gawking.

  “Out!” Emry hollered louder.

  This time, it was enough to make everyone scramble out of the room.

  I hurried over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He winced in pain, then took both of my arms and unraveled them and took a step away from me.

  “Emry?” I asked, shocked by his reaction. “You okay?”

  “No, I’m not okay,” he snapped.

  I lowered my eyebrows, the tone of his voice piercing through me. I didn’t know what I should say or do. The room was becoming empty as everyone still hurried to get out.

  “I just got overpowered by Treyu, but I don’t have to tell you that. You saw the whole thing, didn’t you?” He turned his head from me. The side of his face was beginning to swell.

  “Emry, please,” I said trying to move closer to him.

  He again moved away.

  “Just let me be,” he said before turning to leave.

  Tears filled my eyes. I stood in the middle of the messy room, blood and pieces of the castle scattered about the floor. I shook my head. I wanted to chase Emry, but my gut feeling was to let him alone this time. Treyu had won the fight and demolished Emry’s pride.

  I wiped some stray tears with my hands and tried to collect myself. I had to find Cami.