It had grown even darker out while they had been in the cell. Rain sat down at the dining table as soon as they entered the room. She was exhausted for some reason, and all she really wanted to do was go back to her room and wait for Elex to join her. She could feel him watching her from where he stood against the wall. He was always careful to not stand too close when Aziz was around.
“I don’t trust her,” Aziz stated, breaking the silence. He ran agitated hands through his dark hair, messing the locks from their usual perfect state.
“I can get rid of her,” Elex offered in a removed voice. Rain doubted killing bothered him. Why that didn’t scare her as much anymore was beyond her.
Aziz growled in frustration, slapping his hands on the table before dumping himself into his chair. Rain watched him with a controlled blank stare. She didn’t want to betray her surprise at seeing him so unnerved for the first time. There was something about the forest girl that set him on edge.
“What can she do if she is locked up?” Rain asked. “Even if you don’t trust her, she is being contained. She is no threat anymore.” She nearly jumped out of her seat as he shot forward, his hands braced on the arms of the chair, trapping her. She pressed back, trying to create as much room between them as possible.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Elex move forward from his spot, his body tense. Aziz slowly turned his head from Rain, and gave his son a slow, hard look. One eyebrow raised in question, while his hard eyes clearly said for Elex to step back. The fact that he had instantly moved in Rain’s defence would not go unnoticed. They stared at each other in tense silence for another minute before Aziz finally turned furious eyes back to her. She shrank back even more.
His voice was low as he spoke to her. “Do not underestimate someone, simply because you think you have them contained. You’d be surprised what some things are capable of. This girl,” he spat, “is much more than you think. She knows things, and sometimes knowledge is the greatest power there is.” He pushed himself away from her, walking toward the doorway stiffly. He stopped just inside, turning his head slightly so all she could see was his profile. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow we will start readying ourselves for battle. I want you to be able to fight with your body just as well as you can with your mind.” He left without waiting for a reply.
Rain let out the breath she had been holding with an audible huff. Aziz’s unpredictable mood kept her on edge. She hated being on the receiving end of his displeasure.
“You should go to your room now,” Elex said as he walked up to her. His voice sounded like his usual cold, disinterested self, but she could see the concern in his eyes as they looked over her.
Will you come with me? She asked.
I can’t now, he replied. He will become suspicious if we both disappear. He paused. I was stupid. I shouldn’t have moved when he approached you, but I could practically taste your fear and didn’t stop to think. We need to be careful.
She nodded her head, looking down at her clasped hands. They were gripping each other tightly, the colour paler than usual. She cleared her throat before answering his spoken command. “I will,” she agreed. “I’m actually quite tired. Goodnight, Elex.” She got up and walked away, making sure not to betray anything else. For all they knew, Aziz was listening to see how they spoke to each other when they were left alone. Whatever she had with Elex, she knew it was enough that she did not to want to jeopardize it in any way. She had put on a front for so long with the Riders that acting as though nothing had changed between Elex and her now would be easy.
I will come to you as soon as I think it is safe, he projected. Her blood instantly heated at the thought. Okay, maybe acting with him would be a bit harder, but she’d do it. There was no other choice.
Rain sat up for as long as she could, waiting for Elex to arrive. Eventually she could feel her eyelids dropping against her will. The next thing she knew she was floating. Something hard was nestled behind her neck and beneath knees. She could feel the cool air against her bare feet as they swung gently with the momentum. Her eyes fluttered open to the most amazing set of eyes she had ever known. She would never get used to the beauty of Elex. He was so otherworldly, like he didn’t belong with normal human beings. A God among men.
Eyes of pearl, ringed with a pale blue looked back at her with something that instantly made her breath quicken, like a hand had reached into her chest and gripped her.
“I’m sorry I’m so late,” he said a second before lowering her onto her bed. His body instantly followed, settling on top of her. She loved how they fit together like perfect pieces of a puzzle. She snuggled into the soft mattress while linking her arms around his neck to bring him even closer.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep,” she replied. “I tried to stay awake, but I must have dozed off.”
He smiled down at her, his eyes slowly washing over every inch of her face. “It’s okay. I like how you look when you’ve just woken up.” He grinned at her, tightening that feeling in her chest even more.
“And how is that?”
He chuckled, lowering his face into the crook of her neck, peppering her with small kisses. “All soft and content. Just the way I like you.”
She smiled, twisting a lock of his ebony hair around a finger. She didn’t want to ruin the moment, but she had to make sure everything was okay. “How did it go tonight?” she asked.
He raised his head, his face relaxed for once. It made him look younger than he normally did. “If he suspects anything, he didn’t let on. I stayed with him until he retired to bed, telling him I was going for a flight before heading to bed myself.”
Her head cocked to the side. “Where do you sleep?” She hadn’t thought about it before, but as far as she knew Elex was kept in that awful cage where she had first found him. It had never occurred to her that he had a room now. Not that she thought he was still kept in the cage. She supposed she just hadn’t thought about it at all.
“Here,” he answered plainly.
“But where did you sleep before? He doesn’t still keep you in a….” She didn’t even want to say it. The thought of Elex in a cage used to make her feel safer, especially after he bit her, but now the thought was repulsive. His lips twitched. “You’re reading my thoughts, aren’t you?”
“You don’t shield them as much around me anymore,” he confirmed. “And the answer is no, he doesn’t lock me up. He only did that, because I almost went mad when I smelled you after you first arrived.” He bent his head back down, running his nose softly along her collarbone. “You literally smell good enough to eat,” he whispered, looking up with a suggestive smile. Her cheeks heated at the look in his eyes.
Without a word, Rain tilted her head slightly to the side, keeping her eyes locked on his. The smile on his face diminished in an instant. A look of hunger took over, causing her breath to hitch at the intensity of it. She knew, for whatever reason, Elex’s desire for her ran deep, as did hers for him. When they were together, it was as if the entire world ceased to exist. She would do anything for him.
“And I you,” he said. His mouth latched onto her neck, sucking at her skin with playful pulls. He kissed it, ran his tongue over it, teasing her until she couldn’t help but squirm beneath him. Finally his fangs pierced her, painful for only a moment, before she was filled with a sense of pleasure she would never feel anywhere else. He only drank a little before pulling away, and slowly lowering down her body.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice breathless.
“I want to taste you everywhere.”
There were no windows in her bedroom, making it impossible to know the time of day, but somehow she knew that dawn was just around the corner. She had barely slept, but she didn’t care. Cuddled up to Elex, his wings beneath her, the soft feathers silky against her skin, filled her with enough peace and contentment to sooth her. She would catch up on her sleep later.
“There are still a few hours left. Try and get some rest,” Elex ordered, kissing the top of her hea
d lightly.
“I really wish you’d stop reading my every thought.”
He shrugged, jostling her head. “I can’t help it. I like knowing what you’re thinking.”
“I’m sure,” she replied dryly.
“We should both rest. Aziz went over battle plans for hours last night. He plans to work us both hard. Even though I doubt the High King’s army will be able to find us, he’s insisting we be ready for a war if the situation arises.”
“What is he so worked up about?” she asked. There was no need to explain what she meant by that, Elex understood. Both of them had seen the change in his demeanour after leaving Aiden’s friends. Rain felt as though she was missing something, because as far as she knew the forest girl was a non-issue.
Elex pulled her closer, burying his face in her hair. “Let’s just go to sleep,” he said, his voice muffled. “No more talking.” She wanted to argue. This was obviously a distraction maneuver, but just the mention of sleep again seemed to be making her eyes shut against their will. She mumbled some sort of response before being swallowed up by blackness.
“Is she still sleeping?” Melissa asked. Ethan turned to look over at Lily. Her small body lay perfectly still. If he didn’t know any better, he would have sworn she was dead.
“Yeah,” he answered. She had been out cold since the moment she lay down. He would have been worried, but something told him the strange girl knew what she was doing. He only hoped that what she said was true. They needed help, badly. And if his gut was right, so did Aiden.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps outside their door. He shifted his body so it sat in front of Melissa, bracing himself for whatever they were going to have to face next. His eyes flittered uneasily to Lily’s sleeping body, unprotected on the other side of their cell. He wasn’t sure who was coming in, but if it was Aziz, Ethan didn’t want to leave her body so vulnerable. It would mean leaving Melissa though, and he couldn’t bring himself to move. Since their time here, however long it had been, since days and hours blended into one, Melissa had become the most important thing to him. He felt responsible for her being here. If it weren’t for him, they would have never gone looking for Aiden when he ran off from the school fair.
The door to their cell swung open, eliminating any option to move now. Melissa’s hands grabbed a handful of his shirt as she ducked her head down behind him. God, he thought sadly, would she ever get over this experience? It’s not like he knew Melissa very well before, but he knew enough to see that she had become extremely skittish and easily frightened. He prayed she wouldn’t be like this forever. That she’d find whatever inner strength she had to get over everything when they got back home. If they got back home.
“Dinner,” a rough voice called out, letting three plates drop unceremoniously to the floor. Ethan could see some food fall off the plates, but for the most part whatever gunk they fed them stayed plastered to the surface. He shuddered a little while looking at them. What he wouldn’t give for a Big Mac right about then. Or any food with some taste to it, for that matter.
“What’s wrong with her?” the guard asked, nodding his head toward Lily.
“Nothing,” Ethan replied instantly. “She’s just sleeping.”
The man grunted but didn’t say anything else as he closed the door again, turning the keys to lock them in.
“Should we wake her up so she can eat?” Melissa whispered. Ethan listened carefully to make sure the man had left. When he heard the second door shut, he answered her.
“No,” he said. “Something tells me she doesn’t need it, and she seemed pretty insistent that no one disturb her while she does…whatever she’s doing.” He crawled across the rough stone floor to where their plates were, grabbing two and bringing them back to their corner. He gave one to Melissa who sniffled. He knew she was crying, even though he couldn’t see her. They both hated eating the crap they were given. It almost brought him to tears a couple of times, he admitted. Unfortunately they needed to keep up their strength, so he pushed her plate closer to her and told her to eat up.
“I don’t know how much longer I can handle this,” she confessed as she choked down a mouthful. “God that’s awful,” she moaned.
“Just eat it,” he urged. “It’s better than nothing.” They ate in silence for a moment before he spoke again. “I know this isn’t easy,” he began, “but I need you to be strong for just a while longer. My gut tells me things are about to change. I know it’s hard, but if we just stay positive it can make all the difference.”
She sighed, shifting her weight as she tried to get more comfortable. If you didn’t keep moving positions your ass was likely to fall off in this place. The stone floors were unforgiving.
“I don’t know how you’ve done it for so long,” she said, placing her now empty plate on the floor. He knew it was empty because he immediately picked it up and brought it close to make sure she had eaten every bite. The last thing he needed was for her to be too weak from malnourishment.
“Done what?”
“Stayed positive. Even before Lily came and told us everything, you seemed to have this spark inside you, like you knew we’d get out of here somehow.” She let out a heavy breath. “I think I lost hope the minute they locked us in here the first time. If you weren’t with me…” her voice cracked slightly as she trailed off into silence.
Ethan set his plate down, and moved so he sat right beside her. He snaked his arm around her shoulders, tugging her closer. She came easily, resting her head on his chest. He gave her forehead a quick kiss. “I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you,” he said softly. “We’re going to get out of here, I promise.” She snuggled in closer, one of her arms wrapping around his waist. They held each other like this until they both dozed off.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The whole palace was a flurry of activity. Aiden was having a hard time concentrating on much of anything. Outside he could see the sun slowly rising on the horizon, casting the sky in muted hues of pinks and purples. He hadn’t slept at all, and it was taking its toll. Turning away from the window, he walked over to the throne where Turk and Jameson were still speaking with a number of people. Elisa sat off to the side, her eyes rimmed red from crying. She stared off into nothing, her shoulders hunched wearily. Wolf hadn’t come back to the throne room with the rest of them. A number of people had gone out to look for the shooter, so Aiden assumed he had gone too.
Walking over to her, he slowly collapsed onto the ground where she sat. “How are you holding up?” he asked, wrapping his arm around her. She leaned into him, her movements stiff and robotic.
“I can’t even wrap my head around this all,” she admitted in a hoarse voice. “I just can imagine this place without him.” Her eyes brimmed with tears again, breaking his heart. Aiden gave her arm a quick squeeze, letting her know he understood.
Approaching footsteps grabbed his attention, interrupting any reply he might have given. He looked up at the tired face of the High King. Jameson gave Elisa a worried look before turning to Aiden.
“They found the shooter,” he informed them. “He’s being brought here now. It’s up to you two if you want to stay,” he continued, looking back at Elisa. “But I suggest you both go back to the dormitory and try and get some sleep. We’re not going to be able to leave until tomorrow now anyway.”
Aiden’s stomach dropped. It wasn’t like he didn’t know their travel plans would be put on hold, but hearing it still made him feel sick. The longer they took to get their act together, the longer Lily was alone. Every fiber of his being told him to get off the floor and go save her, but he didn’t have the first clue where to go. The King crouched down in front of him, running his hand through his hair. From the mess of it, Aiden would bet he had done that a hundred times already.
He seemed to struggle with something before speaking again. “You were the closet to him, so I have to ask,” he started, looking into Aiden’s eyes. “Did he say anything? Ma
ybe something that might help us figure out what he was even bringing us all together tonight for?”
Aiden closed his eyes, fighting back the images of the High Priest dying before his eyes. The image was sure to stick with him for the rest of his life. With a sigh, he opened his eyes again. “I couldn’t understand really what he was trying to say…he was struggling,” he replied, fighting back the bile rising at the back of his throat. “I think he said something about a painting.”
“A painting?” The King looked as confused as Aiden felt.
“Yeah. He just kept repeating, the painting, the painting,” Aiden told them. “Any idea what he was talking about?”
Jameson seemed to think about it, but shook his head in frustration. “I have no clue what he could be talking about. Are you sure that’s what he was saying?”
Aiden nodded. “I think so.”
Elisa suddenly sat up straight, causing Aiden’s arm to fall uselessly to his side. The colour had drained from her face, and her eyes were stretched wide.
“Elisa? Do you know what he meant?” the King asked. Her gaze had been off somewhere else. Aiden imagined she was lost inside her own head. At the King’s words she seemed to snap out of it, focusing on him with bleary eyes. She shook her head slowly.
“I think I’m going to go get some sleep,” she said, getting up slowly. Both Aiden and Jameson followed her, their eyes watching her closely. “I can’t think straight anymore, and I don’t want to be here to see his face.”
“Of course,” Jameson answered immediately. He smiled gently at her. “Go and rest. Try to get as much sleep as you can.” She nodded without a word, walking away from them. She looked so broken and fragile. “They were really close,” he said while they watched her leave.
“I know,” Aiden sighed. “She’ll get past this though.”
The King nodded. “We all will.”
Aiden wasn’t sure what they were talking about any more. It felt like they weren’t just referring to Alistair’s death, but to everything that had been happening. He didn’t know what to say to that. A part of him wondered if he truly would get past all he had seen in Eden, while another part simply knew he had no other choice. Nothing lately had been easy. There was a sudden commotion in the hall outside the throne room, breaking their companionable silence.
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