Rafe sat back in the chair and enjoyed the look of shock on their faces. For a while, no one moved. Then, Valerie stood and walked over to where he sat. She knelt before him and reached up to touch his face. He began to pull away but stopped himself. If he wanted them to trust him, he had to behave appropriately.
The moment her fingers touched his face, tears streamed down her cheeks. “I feel it.” She looked over at Nolan. “This is why I never felt a connection with Sofia and why I felt it when he came to take her away.”
Nolan nodded. “He has a resemblance to you.”
Valerie smiled and nodded. She looked down to his hands. “Why is he still in chains?”
“He is our enemy,” Ar’ch said matter-of-factly.
Valerie stood. “He is your brother!” She turned to the guard and said, “Take them off now.” The guard immediately removed them.
“Mother, I do not think that is wise,” Ar’ch said.
Nolan sighed and rubbed his temple. “It’s been a stressful day for us all. We need time to process this. I will post guards outside of his room, and he will be sequestered there until we decide how to handle this. Understood?”
Ar’ch tightened his jaw and nodded.
Nolan looked at his wife. “My love, let us speak privately about this.”
Valerie nodded. “No chains.”
“Of course,” Nolan said. He turned to Rafe. “I am sure you will understand our hesitation and caution.”
“I do.”
“Very well then. Ar’ch and Angel will escort you to a room. There will be guards posted outside. Your meals will be brought to you, but I must request that you not leave the room. Any sign of malice will not bode well for you.”
“Got it.”
Ar’ch stood. “Shall I take him to the dungeon?”
Rafe knew that Ar’ch had seen the cell that held Sofia when he entered his mind. He envisioned that Ar’ch would stick him somewhere just as deplorable.
“A room, son,” Nolan said.
“Fine. He will have a room between Angel and me so that we can keep an eye on him.” He turned to Rafe. “Let’s go.”
Rafe stood and turned to Nolan. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”
Without waiting for a reply, he followed Ar’ch and the guard out of the room. He felt someone walking behind him and assumed correctly that it was Angel. No one said a word, and he preferred it that way.
At the end of the hallway, Rafe paused to admire the beautiful glass dome above them and the staircase below them. The contrast to the darkness that he had always felt inside of Damiana’s house, where no light ever entered, did not escape him. This house had so much natural light coming in that he almost felt the need to squint.
Ar’ch turned left down another hallway, so Rafe kept moving. When they reached the last door on the right, Ar’ch opened it and pointed inside. “In you go.”
Rafe clenched his jaw to prevent himself from saying something that would cause problems. He took three steps in and turned to face them.
“You might be my mother’s son, but that does not make you family. You do anything to hurt her, and I will kill you. Do you understand?”
“Yep.”
“Good. Sarah will bring you your meals. Stay put.” Ar’ch slammed the door, and Rafe heard him begin to walk away. “Angel, let’s go. Father and Mother will want to discuss this.”
Once they were gone, Rafe relaxed his shoulders. The room was spacious enough. He had a queen size bed and a dresser to put the clothes that he did not bring. A sitting area with a table next to a window with its curtains closed invited him to relax and read a book, but he ignored it. He had his own private bathroom as well. Both the walls and his comforter were white, but he could deal with that. He sat on the bed and found it to be quite comfortable.
He sighed in relief that he did not have to stay in a dungeon. His thoughts went to Sofia. He debated how long it would take them to decide whether to trust him. For her sake, he hoped that they reached that conclusion sooner rather than later. He did not want to imagine what Damiana would do to Sofia in his absence. He lay back on the bed. Now, he just had to wait and hope that they made the right decision.
Chapter Two
Drake exited the elevator and peered down the dark and dreary corridor of the dungeon. He took a deep breath to steady himself. It pained him that his daughter was being held in such a dingy cell when she should have been upstairs being treated like a princess, and it angered him that he had allowed Damiana to supersede his authority. He did not want his servants to see a rift between them, so he bit his tongue and decided to try to find a better way to handle the situation. In the meantime, he hoped that a visit with his daughter might smooth things over. He walked down the hallway to her cell, hoping that she would listen to him.
Liana sat on her cot, but she quickly looked away from him. Liana’s long, thick, curly, blonde hair looked matted and in desperate need of care, but that was not his concern. Looking across the way, he saw Sofia lying on her cot in her cell. She sat up when he approached her. “How are you feeling?” he asked and regretted it immediately.
Sofia glared back. “How do you think we are feeling?”
“I am sorry. Your mother is not herself right now. She’s under a lot of stress.”
Sofia laughed. “She is under a lot of stress!” She rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall. She pushed her brown hair with its red undertones out of her face, allowing Drake to see the anger in her red-speckled, brown eyes.
He sighed. “This is not how I wanted things to be.”
“Then, let me out.”
“It isn’t that easy. You tried to escape.”
“Do you blame me? Look at where I am right now.”
He pressed his lips together. “I am trying to reason with Damiana, but it isn’t easy. Liana can attest to that.”
“So, Damiana is in charge, then? I thought you were king.”
He chuckled, ignoring the sting of pain that came with the truth behind his daughter’s insult. “I do wish that I could have been around when you were growing up.”
“I’m glad you weren’t because then I would have turned out to be as evil as Damiana. I much prefer to be like Liana.”
Drake looked over at Liana, who took a deep breath and smiled with pride. He felt a tinge of jealousy toward her; she had earned the love of his daughter, something he had been prevented from attaining. “Yes, Liana did well raising you. I, too, am grateful that you are not like your mother, though Rafe doesn’t seem to take after her either.”
“Rafe is not Damiana’s child,” Liana said. Her midnight blue eyes showed defiance, which impressed him. He did not think she had the courage to speak against him.
Drake nodded and sighed. “Everything has been messed up for far too long.” He shook his head. “Still, I truly would have wanted to be a part of your life.”
“Like you were a part of Rafe’s life? Spare me the fake sentiments,” Sofia glared at him.
He sighed. “I speak the truth, daughter.”
“Do not call me that! When you start acting like a father, we will consider titles.”
“Like it or not, you are my daughter, and I do love you.”
She sat up straighter. “Prove it. Release me.”
He shook his head. “It isn’t that easy.”
“It would be if you had even an ounce of understanding of what love is.”
Drake knew he was getting nowhere with the conversation. “I hope one day to prove to you that I love you and your brother very much. I don’t expect you to believe me right away, but I hope that you will give me a chance one day.”
Sofia crossed her arms and pressed her lips together, making it clear to him that she had no intention of playing along. Drake sighed, turned around and left. He would try again later. He did not want Damiana to see their daughter as their enemy.
As he entered the elevator, he reflected on how he had always wanted a son to carry on his legacy, but h
is daughter would be the one to save them. He had to laugh. The Goddess sure knew how to dish out cruel jokes. Lucifer wanted men to rule the world, but the Goddess made it so that only a female could save them. Now, he just had to make sure the other female in his life didn’t destroy them all before he could convince his daughter to fight for them.
-o-
Rafe heard a knock at the door. He had been there two days, and their servant Sarah, who brought him his meals, had been his only visitor. She was nice enough to him, but she left when she took the food tray. He understood, though. He would be just as wary if the tables were turned. So, Rafe could not hide his surprise when he opened the door and found Mel standing there. It had been so long since he had seen her. He was both relieved and upset that she had been with the Diasodz since she had gone missing.
“Hi,” he said, unsure of what else to say.
“Can I come in?” Mel asked.
Rafe moved to the side to allow her to enter. She walked in and surveyed the room. In typical Mel form, she moved as if she owned the room. Rafe closed the door and waited for her to speak. She looked at him and then sat in one of the chairs by his table. Her long, thick, wavy, black hair slapped against her rich, mocha skin as she flipped it behind her. She motioned for him to take the other chair, so he did.
“Why are you here?” Mel asked. “And where’s Sofia?”
“It’s good to see you, too,” Rafe said, with all the bitterness that he felt.
“Cut the crap, Rafe. What is going on?” Her light brown eyes with their yellow specks narrowed, and she readied for a fight.
“Did they send you here to interrogate me?” Rafe laughed and then got angry. “Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been about you? The last time I saw you was when you helped me sneak into the dungeon, and then you disappeared. I was so afraid that Damiana had caught you.”
Mel’s tension drained, and she relaxed into her chair. “I’m sorry. I was captured but not by Damiana. After I left you, I went to Angel’s Anarchy. Kai showed up, and then Ar’ch showed up. The bouncer that works there can temporarily paralyze people, and I couldn’t escape that. So, they brought me here, and I’ve been here ever since.”
“Have they hurt you?”
“Of course not. They are good people, Rafe.” He looked away. “Why are you here?” she repeated.
“After you left, Damiana found out that Sofia is the savior.”
“Oh, no!”
“It gets worse. Damiana told Sofia the truth about being her mother. She told Sofia that we could all rule the world together, except Sofia pretty much told her to go to hell.”
“That’s my girl!”
Rafe smiled for a moment before turning serious again. “With Damiana knowing the truth about me not being the savior, I had to find another way to be of value to her. So, when Sofia said she wouldn’t help her, I volunteered to come here as the long-lost son and do her dirty work from here to help her destroy Valerie and her family.”
“You did what?”
“Relax. I’m not actually going to do it. I knew that Damiana would kill me once she knew that I wasn’t the savior, so what choice did I have? Damiana almost did a happy dance when I took her side over Drake’s.”
“What do you mean?”
“Drake didn’t want me to come here.”
She pressed her lips together. “Really?”
“Really, Mel. Believe it or not, he does love me. Anyway, Damiana bought my story, and so here I am.”
“Where is Sofia?”
Rafe looked away, unable to meet her eyes. “She’s in the dungeon across from Liana. Damiana thinks that she can get Sofia to change her mind.”
“That will never happen. She would die first.” Mel stood up and began pacing. “We need to find a way to save her.”
“Why do you think I’m here?” he said. She stopped and looked at him. When she didn’t respond, Rafe rolled his eyes. “I can’t save her alone, Mel. Damiana has lost it, like seriously gone crazy. I’m worried about Sofia’s safety, and I’m worried about my father.”
She laughed. “Your father can take care of himself.”
“Probably, but you haven’t seen Damiana when she’s angry. I have, and it’s scary.”
“What about Khameel?”
“What about him?”
“Isn’t he your new best bud? Couldn’t you have asked him to help you?”
He shook his head. “He’s too loyal to Damiana. He would never betray her, and you know that.”
“I do. I just wanted to make sure that you know it.”
“I know it, alright?”
Mel sat back in her chair and studied him. She pursed her lips together and shook her head. “I hope that you are telling me the truth, Rafe, because these people are good people, and I will not stand by and let you hurt them. They are as perfect as Sofia said they were. Ar’ch and Angel have been very nice to me, even though I blew up their portal on Earth. Valerie and Nolan have welcomed me into their home when they could have easily treated me like an enemy.”
“Spare me the adoration report, Mel. I am not here to destroy them, but I have no intention of becoming one big, happy family with them, either. I need them to help me save Sofia, and then we can go our separate ways.”
“Why can’t you give them a chance? They haven’t done anything to hurt you.”
Rafe stood up. “Are you kidding me? Valerie abandoned me!”
“She did not abandon you, Rafe. You gave Drake a chance. You should at least hear her side. You deserve a chance to have a relationship with your seed mother.”
“Right. Like you gave Martin a chance?”
She looked away. “That’s different. He abandoned us. He chose evil over a lifetime with my mom and me.”
“He’s a good man, Mel. I’ve gotten to know him, and he loves you.”
“He still chose Damiana over us, and that is unforgivable in my book.” She looked around the room. “Are you planning to leave your walls so white?”
He knew that she just wanted to change the subject, so he looked at his walls. “Well, it’s not like I’ve been asked what my décor preferences are.”
Mel laughed. “Do you remember Sofia complaining about how she couldn’t change the walls in Damiana’s house?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Your mom – I mean, Damiana is a control freak and wouldn’t let anyone over there have any options. The walls here change to show your desired look. We each have control over how we want our room to look, but we can’t change the other rooms.”
Rafe looked at his white walls. Being cooped up in the room had started to make him feel as if he were in an asylum cell. Changing the walls may help to keep him sane. “So, how does it work?”
“Just close your eyes and visualize the walls and what image you would like for them to have.”
Rafe closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Mel mumbled her disapproval. He opened his eyes, and for the first time since he had arrived, his whole body relaxed. His walls were covered with the trees that surrounded his house. Their black trunks and their red leaves were scattered all over the walls, and it felt like home to him.
“It figures that you’d choose those hideous things.”
He smiled. Not even Mel could ruin this moment. He hugged her and said, “Thank you, my friend. You have given me a great gift.”
“I didn’t come here to give you a gift.”
He laughed. “You can try to play tough with me, but I know you love me.”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t put any attitude behind it. “You’re impossible,” she said and laughed. “I’ll try to see what I can do to get you out of this room. Goddess knows with those on your walls, you are going to need to get out of here soon.”
Rafe hugged her again. “Thank you.”
“It’s good to have you here, Rafe. Now, just don’t do anything stupid to screw it up.”
“I’ll try not to.”
-o-
Khameel en
tered Angel’s Anarchy and headed straight for Z’s bar. It had been two weeks since he had heard from Mel. She had never returned to his friend’s house and had left her few belongings there. He knew something must have happened to her, but he could not solve the mystery on his own. Surely, Damiana would have mentioned something to him had she eliminated her. Khameel knew that Mel, with her ability to change forms, could be hiding anywhere in disguise. She could be standing right next to him and he would not know it.
“Mel, if you are here, I’m worried about you,” he whispered as he lifted his glass to his lips so that he didn’t look like a fool talking to himself. With her ability to go invisible, he quietly prayed that she was next to him and listening. When he didn’t get a response or feel a change in energy around him, he accepted that she was not there.
He scanned the room. Kai sat alone at the other end of the bar. Mel had the hots for Kai, so if anyone had seen her, he would have. Khameel finished his drink and approached the dark and mysterious guy.
Khameel didn’t understand exactly what she saw in him. Sure, he was different and intriguing with the whole black trench coat and dark shades thing going on, but he was more on the creepy and dangerous side for Khameel, not that he would ever admit that to anyone. He knew the shades were to keep everyone from staring at Kai’s silver eyes, which stood out like a set of high beams in the darkest of night, especially since his skin could probably be categorized as darker than the darkest of nights. The fact that Mel chose him should have warned Khameel that her need to flirt with danger would eventually end badly.
He sat next to Kai, who didn’t even acknowledge that the seat was now occupied. Clearing his throat, he asked, “It’s Kai, right?”
Kai slowly turned toward him and nodded. With his face set in an almost frown and his eyes hidden behind his black shades, he said, “That’s right.”
The One Awakened (Chronicles of the Diasodz Book 5) Page 2
