Solace: Book Three (Strange in Skin Trilogy)

by Sara V. Zook

  My time with Emry had been a whirlwind, but every moment had taken my breath away. He had found his rightful place on Evadere. His temper was his greatest downfall, but his heart an immense asset. Atavia had sent him to Earth for protection so that the Scaves wouldn’t be able to get to him, but what she didn’t realize was that no matter how pathetic she thought Earth was, her son had grown up thinking he was human. He could sympathize with them, with me, with the Scaves. Although power was a means of survival for him, it wasn’t what he centered his life off of like his mother had. No matter how much of a façade my life had been from being adopted, to finding out my aunt is my real mother or how dangerous living on Evadere had been recently, down to the fact that I was left alone to die in this abandoned building, I would never regret meeting Emry Logan.

  The numbness and pain engulfed me. I didn’t have the energy to fight anymore. I was so very tired. I was able to move the fingers on my left hand a little. I was able to confirm that my engagement ring was still in place. It helped knowing a piece of him was with me. I closed my eyes and waited for death to find me.

  ***

  The sound of glass shattering startled me awake. My eyes opened to the pitch blackness. It was nighttime, and I was laying in the very same position on the hard cement still.

  There was another loud bang.

  I was able to move my head a few inches to get a better look at the window against the wall. The floor underneath me trembled. It was as if buildings next to me were coming down one by one. An explosion of smoke and dust filtered around the window. Particles flew into the room and into my nostrils, gagging me. I felt the need to cough but couldn’t, knowing my body didn’t have enough strength to even do something as mundane as cough.

  My eyes grew large as lights outside burst to life and then exploded, shards of glass from the light bulbs falling down like rain. Then the poles that the lights had been hanging from collapsed to the ground.

  Another large explosion sounded, another building crumbling to the ground and more dust flittering around the abandoned room. I tried to hold my breath until after the particles settled. It sounded like a war zone outside.

  The pillars above my own head began to creak as they shook. The building was going to collapse under me. I was going to be buried alive within a matter of seconds. There was nothing I could do. There was no way I could protect myself.

  Part of the metal roof broke away. I could now see outside. It was dark and raining. It didn’t look like Evadere. It looked like a city on Earth.

  In the distance, the buildings fell as if bombs had gone off beneath them in demolition. The lights lining the sides of the streets would come to life and be burning bright one moment and then burst the next, their poles withering away underneath them. It was as if some invisible force was destroying everything in its path, and it was headed straight for me.

  The building in front of me collapsed, a gray powder filling the air making it impossible to see, impossible to breathe. My entire body tensed. I was getting ready for the inevitable doom that awaited me.

  The dusty fog began to clear. There were no more noises, no glass shattering. I stared out into the openness. A form made its way through the particles. I shivered again from the cold as the rain blew in on me.

  The shadow came over to me. I tried to blink again and again, but I couldn’t get the dust out of my eyes to see. They bent over and picked me up. Pain jolted through me from the sudden movement. I was cradled in their arms.

  “Anna.”

  It was Emry. He had come to rescue me.

  THIRTEEN

  I felt a cool cloth being pressed down on my forehead. My eyes fluttered open. I stared up at the ceiling trying to remember where I was. Was I in danger anymore?

  “Emry, she’s awake!” someone whispered excitedly.

  I turned my head to the side. Some sort of IV was in my arm and taped down. There were monitors all around. I licked my lips. They were no longer cracked, and my saliva had returned. My body wasn’t as sore, and my hunger and thirst were gone.

  Emry’s face came into view. He looked terrible as if he weren’t sleeping. Even his hair was sticking out in different directions like he had combed it repeatedly with his fingers.

  I smiled. If this was Heaven, I’d be all right with it.

  He came closer and knelt beside the bed. He put his hand to my cheek, his eyes searching mine for answers.

  “I’m okay,” I whispered, my throat still tender when I spoke.

  He pressed his lips to mine and buried his head in my neck. He started to weep. I rested my free arm on his back.

  I looked up and saw Ben’s face appear in the doorway. He gestured for the others in the room to leave and let Emry and I have a moment alone.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he cried. “I thought I had lost you last night. Your blood pressure dropped, but they brought you back to life, got your heart going again.”

  I ran my fingers through the back of his hair and released it. “I’m here. I’m okay. I feel so much better.”

  He looked up at me then, his eyes wet and gleaming. He sat up and wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

  “Where am I?” I asked.

  He took my hand in his. “You’re at the medical facility here on Evadere. I wanted them to come to the castle, but they insisted they could treat you better here.”

  My thoughts raced back to what had happened in that building. “You … found me. Is that right?”

  Emry nodded.

  I lowered my eyebrows. “Emry, what happened to me?”

  He looked to the floor and then back up to my face. He sighed. “You don’t remember any of it?”

  I searched my memory for a moment. “I was on my way back from the dress fitting.”

  He nodded.

  “Trishelle said she couldn’t come with me. I was in the carriage on my way back and something was put over my head so I couldn’t see.”

  A fierceness entered his eyes. “I found the carriage turned on its side halfway between here and where the fashion contributors live.” He exhaled. “She’s in the dungeon right now for what she did.”

  “Who?”

  “Trishelle.”

  “What?” I touched the wrinkles forming in Emry’s forehead. “It’s not her fault.”

  “Doesn’t matter. She left you alone.” It was all he could do to contain his anger and not scream and yell.

  “Emry,” I whispered. “You have to let her go.”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “Promise me you’ll let her go.”

  After a moment, he said, “I’ll think about it. Tell me what else you remember.”

  “How thirsty I was. How he would ask me questions and if I’d answer, then I’d get a drink of water.”

  “Who’s he?” Emry questioned.

  I looked up at his sad face, wondering the reasons for all that had happened, how tormented he must have been. “It was you.”

  His eyes grew large, his mouth dropping open. “Me?”

  I nodded.

  “What do you mean it was me?” he asked.

  “I couldn’t see clearly, but I remember seeing your blue eyes staring back at me.”

  Pausing for a moment, Emry closed his eyes. “It was the minx.”

  “Minx?” I repeated the word.

  He began making circles on the skin of my hand with his finger. “It’s the drug you were injected with. It dehydrates you to the point where you hallucinate.” A tear fell from his eye and rolled the whole way to the base of his jaw. “Oh, Anna, I’m so sorry you thought it was me.”

  I squeezed his hand to reassure him. “It was strange. I wasn’t frightened. I thought Scaves were in the room, too, but all I could focus on was how tormented I was physically.”

  His eyebrows lowered. He was tremendously bothered by learning this information. “Minx is a very powerful drug. You were in an abandoned building in a section of New York City.”

  “What?”r />
  “Someone took you to New York City,” he repeated. “You were gone a whole week. I thought I was going to lose my mind. I pretty much did lose my mind. I went berserk on just about anybody who crossed paths with me.”

  “So how did you find me?”

  “Someone left me a note,” he explained. “It said I’d find you at this address in New York City, which led me to that old, abandoned building where you were.”

  “I remember buildings falling and lights breaking. What a hallucination that was.”

  Emry looked deep into my eyes. “That wasn’t a hallucination. The effects of the minx were wearing off at that point. That was me being destructive, tearing up that part of the city until I found you.” He paused again. “Don’t worry. No one was hurt. That section has been abandoned for a long time. Everything had been in the process of falling down on its own already.”

  I took a deep breath.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” he whispered. “Please tell me what you need.”

  “I feel a million times better than what I did in that building.”

  He pressed his lips together as he ran his fingers through his hair. No wonder it was so disheveled. “You don’t remember seeing anyone to give me a clue as to who this was?”

  I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I don’t.”

  “Don’t be sorry.”

  “I don’t understand why they’d leave you a note. And no one saw them?”

  He shrugged. “The only thing I can think of is they had left you for dead and probably assumed you would be dead by the time I found you, but you’re so much stronger than what they thought. You’ve got a fighter’s heart. Someone wanted to shake me up.” He began crying again and buried his head in my chest. “Oh, Anna, I’m so, so sorry.”

  “Emry, please don’t be so sad,” I pleaded. “I’m here. We’re together now.”

  “Every time I turn around I’ve put in you in danger. I don’t know why I didn’t think to send someone with you that day to protect you. Please tell me what to do. I’ll take you anywhere you want. I just need to know you’re safe.”

  “I’m safe with you, Emry. I’m safe with you,” I whispered.

  He shook his head, not content with that response. “I just can’t figure out who’s playing games with me. I’m on the verge of exploding. I feel so stupid, so helpless.”

  “Emry,” I said. “If I’ve been gone a week, that means the wedding is coming up at the end of this week.”

  He sat up again. “Don’t worry about the wedding. We’ll postpone it …”

  “No!” I cried out.

  He looked surprised by my outburst. “You still want to have it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Anna, you’ve been through so much. You need to rest,” Emry protested.

  “We’re still having the wedding,” I told him.

  He narrowed his eyes at me for a moment. “Okay.”

  “Yeah?” I grinned.

  “Whatever you want, I’ll do,” he replied.

  I pressed my lips together and listened to the hum of the machines surrounding me. I sighed.

  Emry searched my eyes.

  “We’re under attack, you know. A lot of people don’t want us to be together. It could be anyone really,” I stated.

  “I don’t care what other people think or want. It’s my birthright to be king.”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “You know more than you let on,” he whispered.

  I gave him a little smile. “It’s not that hard to figure out. Contributors stare at me like I’m …”

  “An alien?” he said with a small chuckle.

  “Even worse,” I continued. “I’m a human. This entire world is based off of power, and I have none. It’s like blasphemy to have a human for a queen.”

  “Do you have any particular contributors in mind that you were bothered by?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “Some are weird, I’ll admit, but none directly threatened me or anything.”

  “The contributors have been nice to my face, but I know behind my back it’s a different story,” Emry said. “I can’t let them know I know though. I have to gain their respect. But then …”

  I watched him lower his head. “Why did you stop talking? What were you going to say?”

  He rested his head on top of his hand. “Everyone knows I got overpowered by Treyu. Now I look like a fool.”

  I wished I knew the right thing to say to make him feel better about everything that was happening around us.

  “On the other hand, what if it’s not the contributors that are out to ruin you and me?” I suggested.

  “What do you mean?”

  I reached for the cup of water sitting beside me on a small table. Emry hurried to retrieve it for me. “Thank you,” I said, taking a drink. “Karn’s still after the royal family, right?”

  “So everyone thinks.” Emry shrugged. “But the Scaves couldn’t have done this to you, taken you to Earth.”

  “Unless someone else is working with them.”

  “I doubt it,” Emry said.

  “Don’t underestimate him, Emry,” I warned him. “The minute you let your guard down about the Scaves, they’ll be all over this place.”

  He took a deep breath.

  “Do you … still want to be king?” I asked. “Please don’t get mad by my asking that.”

  “I’m not mad, Anna, not at you. I’m just frustrated with … it all. Being king is my rightful place. It’s where I belong. If not king, then what?”

  “We could always go back to Earth,” I reminded him. “If not Earth, maybe find some other deserted planet where we wouldn’t be bothered.” I winked at him.

  He laughed but not wholeheartedly. “My powers will get me into trouble on Earth. I just don’t see it working out there.” Emry hesitated. “If you don’t want to be queen, I completely understand.”

  “I want to marry you,” I snapped. “I just told you I want the wedding to still be on. I’m not going to let someone bully me from doing what I want to do.”

  Emry’s lip curled into a half smile.

  “What?” I asked, slightly annoyed that he was secretly making fun of me behind that face of his but also amused at how gorgeous he looked when he smiled that way.

  “Oh, nothing,” he replied. “It’s just … you sound like the perfect queen already, all attitude and nothing’s going to hold you back.”

  “I’ve tried to work at not showing my human weaknesses here. I want them to think I’m a strong queen, even if powerless. More than anything,” I added. “I want the contributors to realize that not having powers doesn’t make you a freak of nature. I hope that through me they can see that the Scaves can’t help that they were born that way, but they can contribute to society if given the chance. It would be remarkable to see them all live together as one community.”

  “That’s asking a lot, Anna,” Emry stated. “These two groups of people hate, and I mean hate each other.”

  “Peace, Emry,” I said. “I just want peace to break up their walls of hatred.”

  “I don’t even know if Karn would be interested in actually having a sit down. Isn’t he almost beast-like?”

  I pictured Karn’s face in my mind. It was devious, dirty and wrinkled with the hard times he had gone through in order to survive.

  “It’s not his fault,” I said. “The animal in him is from a lifetime of scavenging, from living with constant starvation on a planet where you couldn’t just go out and start growing food in the soil because everything out of a contributor’s zone is more or less dust. He’s been forced to live like a beast really.”

  “Oh, Anna,” Emry said, blinking his eyes softly. “You’re amazing. I just love you so much.”

  I squeezed his hand again. “I love you, too. If you want to stay in Evadere and be king, I’m with you. We’ll get through these obstacles together.”

  “Even if we have knives aimed at our backs the entire time?” he asked.
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  I nodded. “Someone around here knows what’s going on. It’s only a matter of time before someone slips up or someone comes forward with information.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  There was a soft knock on the door. Ben opened it a little, then came in with a nurse behind him.

  “I need to check your vitals,” the contributor said, walking over to the side of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

  “Not too bad actually,” I told her.

  “Good.”

  I watched her move toward the monitors and began examining each one.

  “Did she remember anything?” Ben asked.

  “Nothing substantial,” Emry answered.

  It sounded like Ben cursed. “That minx is some bad stuff. We’re lucky she wasn’t brain damaged.”

  “How much longer do I have to be in here?” I asked her.

  She turned to me for a moment and smiled, her lips covered in a dark lip gloss. “You’ve stabilized. Your pressure is excellent now. You’re basically just resting.”

  “Emry,” I hollered out.

  He turned to look my way.

  “As soon as I’m rested up, I want to go somewhere,” I announced.

  “Where?” he asked.

  “I want to go see Carlin. I want to go wedding dress shopping with her.”

  “I can make that happen with one condition,” he replied.

  I raised my eyebrows. “What’s the condition?”

  “You let me go with you. I’m not letting you out of my sight for a very long time.”

  Ben shot Emry a glare. “Emry,” he said. “You can’t just leave now. We have too much work going on here.”

  Emry put his hands on his hips. “I don’t really care right now. Anna is my number one priority. I almost lost her, and I’m not going to let that happen again.”

  “Emry,” Ben said in a chastising tone.

  “Ben, let it be. Work will be here when I get back.”

  “How long will you be?” Ben asked.

  “As long as Anna wants.”

  Ben glanced my way one more time before storming out of the room.