“I’m not going anywhere until I know Ruby’s fine.” Darius looked down to see her wounds gone and Jaylyn moved her hand over Ruby’s heart.
Her eyes glowed for just a moment longer and Ruby woke fully.
Chapter 46
Ruby
Awe. My head. I was feeling a bit dizzy and tried sitting up. “What’s happening?”
“You need to get dressed quickly.” Muscles said. “Come on. We’re getting you out of here or they are.”
“Kathryn?” I looked over and saw her in the room, this strange room that didn’t look like it was even in the palace.
“Everything will be explained.” Muscles put me on my feet and took a hold of my clothes and weapons. “Come on. We need to get you ready.” He walked with me into a side room so I could get dressed and I was told the plan.
“Muscles—I don’t like this.” I was handed my weapons last and put them on while worry started to overcome me. I didn’t want us to be separated.
“Neither do I but I think Kathryn is right. Zayden can’t do this himself. The only thing I want you to worry about is getting out of here. Don’t wait for us. Just run. We will come.”
“But—”
Muscles brought up his hand to my mouth so I couldn’t protest it anymore. “I know. I don’t like it either but you have to trust me now. Everything will be fine. I’ll make sure of it.”
Okay. He was right. It was about time that I trusted him and I lightly nodded, succeeding in holding in all of my tears. He pulled me close and we shared our last kiss to start our unwilling separation. It felt awful.
Chapter 47
Jaylyn
“Troy, be ready when he comes out.” Kathryn said.
Troy nodded and turned his head to me. The moment our eyes met, I rushed into his arms, never wanting to let go. “I don’t want you to go!”
He wrapped his arms around me and held my head close into his chest. “And I don’t want to but we must. We’ll be all right. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you.”
I pulled away and my tears were visible on my cheeks. “Not whatever it takes. I need you alive. I wouldn’t be able to live if—”
“That won’t happen.” He held my head in his hand and wiped my tears away with his thumbs. “We’ll meet again. I promise.” He was looking right into my sad brown eyes and lifted his off me only for a second. “Adele?”
I didn’t know what he was asking until I saw my hair turn blonde around my face. She changed me back and Troy seemed to really miss seeing it.
He smiled and leaned into me quickly, kissing me with a deep passion and three little words that I would never forget. “I love you.”
Another tear fell down my face and I kissed him again, speaking with low words. “I love you too.”
He quickly pulled me into him for a hug; our feelings for each other were out in the open now and all I wanted to do was have him just stay with me but that couldn’t be.
“Okay. We’re ready.” Darius came out of the room with Ruby.
My eyes shifted to them for a moment and Adele held up her hand towards Ruby. The brown locks of her hair faded away and was replaced by its natural rose red shine. She saw it happening and looked up at Darius with a smile.
He smiled back and touched it lightly with his fingertips. “I promise it won’t be long before I see it again.”
Ruby kissed him. “Okay.”
He walked to the door, reaching for the locks to unlock them. “Come on, Troy.”
Troy looked over and nodded then turned back to me. “Just remember what I promised and you’ll know I’ll come.”
I nodded and we kissed again. I didn’t want to let go either but knew I had no choice.
“It’s all right.” Julianna said, slowly pulling me back away from Troy. “He has to go.”
Troy’s eyes narrowed when he met hers and his mood changed to obvious anger and I didn’t know why. “If anything happens to her, I swear to you—I will just—you’ll regret it. Do you understand?”
“Of course, my son.”
Son! I looked to him and Troy gripped his fists at his side like he was stopping himself from striking her.
“Okay, that’s enough.” Darius took Troy’s shoulders and started pulling him to the door. “We have to go. They catch Zayden and Lamar will have him killed.”
Troy looked at me one last time before he went out the door and was gone. I understood that protecting Zayden was important but I still couldn’t get passed what just happened.
“You’re Troy’s mother?” Ruby asked openly.
Julianna looked at Kathryn and she only looked back but didn’t say anything.
“Yes. I am.”
I was in shock. “But how could that be? I thought their parents were dead.”
“To him I am. I’ve made some mistakes in the past and I don’t deserve his forgiveness.”
All my thoughts were pointing to go over and hug her but Kathryn spoke before I even took a step. “We’re running out of time. They’ll be fine. What’s important right now, is getting you out of here.” She walked to the door and we followed behind her. “We’ll take to the roofs to prevent any distractions from the soldiers.”
“That’s how Zayden wanted them to take us.” Adele said.
“Because he’s smart. He knows the safest ways. Now let’s move.”
We followed Kathryn down narrow alleys and back roads with Julianna behind us until we reached the spot where we would ascent to the roofs.
“I hope your skills are as good as they should be for ones so great because you’re going to need them.” Kathryn climbed up on a couple of barrels at the end of the alley and ran up the wall on the right then jumped to the wall on the left, climbing up on the roof.
I stood impressed yet surprised and looked at Ruby and Adele in amazement. Who was she again? Just Izin’s attendant? I didn’t think so.
Kathryn paused and looked around for any kind of movement. All the sounds were coming from the ground and she looked down to us, waving her hand for us to follow. We came up after her and reached the rooftop in the same manor she did, one right after the other as quietly as we could.
“Good. Go.” Julianna whispered. “And good luck.”
Kathryn nodded and turned.
“Is she not coming with us?” I asked.
“No. She’ll be okay. She’ll give us ground cover. Let’s go.”
We ran along the roof, acting as shadows and jumped the eight foot gap to the next one where Kathryn started to pick up the pace. We jumped to the next two roof tops but had to get higher to reach the next one. Kathryn stepped up on a six inch ledge as we followed and slowly made our way to the other side where we lifted ourselves up to the next roof.
We climbed up to the peak and could look across the city from here.
“There’s the southern wall.” Kathryn said, pointing straight ahead.
“It’s a long way.” I muttered.
“Yeah, but we don’t have a choice.” Ruby replied.
“What about the outer wall?” Adele asked.
“There’s no soldiers there. That’s just at the western gates. It will be clear.”
“Good.”
“And the doors aren’t as complex as they are at the western gate. We’ll be able to slip through without help from above. Come on.”
Kathryn led us over several more rooftops and across various gaps. The commotion on the ground started to rise and everyone was being informed to keep their eyes open. We had to do things carefully now.
“All right, it’s right there.” Kathryn said. “We have to get down and casually walk to it like we’re not trying to get away. Got it? There’s four of us. Their looking for three. Ruby keep your hood up.”
She nodded and we started to climb down off of the low roof to the ground.
We made it to the first set of gates undisturbed and walked normally to the second gate, a mile out.
“Why are you helping us, Kathryn?” Adele aske
d.
“Izin didn’t want this. He was giving you freedom and requested that I stay back this time to make sure you get it.”
“Well, we thank you.”
That was all that was said during the walk until we made it out the outer gates and moved swiftly to the west corner where we could see the path home.
“This is where we part.” Kathryn said. “Use the cover of darkness to head west. I’ll make the distraction so no one sees you.”
“Thank you, Kathryn or whoever you really are.” Adele replied.
Kathryn smiled. “You may hear about that one day when we meet again. Now, go. Safety is that way. You will see them again.”
I wanted to believe. No. I wanted to go back and see Troy now but Adele wouldn’t have it. She took my hand and led me up the hill a distance away.
This was it. I turned back one last time. The full city was in view. It looked beautiful but I didn’t enjoy any of it. “I can’t leave him here.”
“We’ll have to.” Adele said.
Tears formed in my eyes when I heard Troy’s voice in my mind. “We’ll meet again. I promise—I love you.”
“I love you too.” I muttered it as if he were really standing here with me. It may have been childish but pretending was all I had.
“Come on, Jaylyn.” Adele took my arm and finally broke my stare. “Home awaits.”
She was right. We couldn’t stay here. I knew that and I had no choice but to let her pull me west, farther away from the city and into the darkness towards freedom but I wasn’t free. Not without Troy.
Coming Soon . . .
The Third Installment
Of The Fate’s Intent Series
Endless Night
Deciding Skies (Fate's Intent Book 2) Page 23
