by T. K. Perry
Lexi wanted very much to laugh and Beck’s expectant expression said the same. Taking a deep breath, Lexi allowed herself a smile.
“She has to keep her information to herself or the Governor said he’ll put her in the lifer section of the dungeon with the murderers and rapists,” Beck informed her. “I think she’s scared enough to behave, but I’m to wait until you decide for yourself.”
This time Lexi did laugh. “Poor Beck; did you even get dinner?”
“No, but one of the cooks likes me; I’ll get something.”
Lexi patted his shoulder and entered the room. Psyche was lying with her head at the foot of the bed, her expression blank as she rested her pointed chin against her folded arms.
“You win,” Psyche began. “I’m sorry for trying to blackmail you, and as big-mouth Beck just told you, I get dungeon time with the lifers if I talk. So,” Psyche drawled, pushing herself up to her elbows, “you can accept me as an ally or send me away as an enemy.”
Lexi squelched the urge to laugh, and mirrored Psyche’s blank expression. “And why would you want to be my ally?”
One corner of Psyche’s mouth curved into a smile. “He didn’t revoke any of the privileges I negotiated. If I stay here, I’ll be well fed and get to sleep through the pregnancy tests. For that, I’d befriend even Wes,” Psyche said, her smile turning smug, “or Van.”
“Find a new room, Psyche,” Lexi sighed wearily.
Psyche’s face hardened as she crawled off the bed. “You’re making a mistake.”
“Surely you’re done threatening me by now?” Lexi made little effort to hide her yawn as she opened the door behind her. “Beck, Psyche needs a new room. Sorry,” she added when she heard him groan.
“It’s okay; I expected it,” he said, glancing in to where Psyche was gathering up her things to a steady stream of muttered profanity. “I only ever saw her get along with two people, and they married each other a couple of days ago.”
Lexi let out a sigh. “I’d pity her if she would stop threatening me every two minutes.”
Beck’s rusty eyebrows rose high in his freckled forehead. “A room in the dungeon, perhaps?”
Lexi waved the idea away. “I think I’ve incarcerated enough people for one day.”
Beck smirked. “Yes, you have.”
Erid turned from his post to give Beck a shocked look.
“What? We’re old friends. Grew up in the same town,” Beck chortled.
Lexi smiled at him, then stiffened as Psyche hoisted her bag and came marching towards her.
“What? Did you change your mind? Get out of my way,” Psyche grumbled.
Lexi exchanged a look with Beck and mouthed the words “no pity” as she moved aside.
“I can get my own room,” Psyche snapped at Beck. “I don’t need you following me.”
Giving her a martyred eye-roll, Beck followed her anyway. Lexi offered him a sympathetic smile, then shut the door, looking happily around her empty room. The table was cluttered with three dinner plates: one empty, two covered in cold stew. Lexi prodded a chunk of meat and wondered if it was indeed rat, before she opened the door again and handed Erid and Charis the plates.
“It’s gone cold, but maybe you’re hungry enough not to care?”
“Thank you,” they answered simultaneously, and Lexi smiled as she shut the door.
With a sudden burst of energy, she shoved the three center beds together, creating one nearly the size of her own back home. With a nod of satisfaction, she hung up Tiger’s old clothes to wear tomorrow, tossed her black pants and her mother’s frilly red shirt under the bed, then slipped into her nightgown. The clinging scent of Talan both pleased and annoyed her as she snuggled into a deflated pillow and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Nine
“That is my room, and you’re going to let me in it,” Clodi insisted from the hall.
Lexi tried to open her eyes, groaning with the effort.
“Raven! Psyche! They won’t let me in!” Clodi hollered amidst a slight scuffle, then Erid murmured something too low to hear.
“Where did she go, then?” Clodi demanded.
Sighing, Lexi kicked her scratchy blanket away and crawled backwards off her large, makeshift bed. “It’s all right,” she called sleepily, stumbling to the door. By the time she pulled it open, Charis had Clodi restrained and Erid was whispering to her urgently, casting side glances down the hall at a gathering curious crowd.
“It’s all right,” Lexi repeated, pulling Clodi away from Charis and into the room. “She’s my roommate.”
The triumph beaming from Clodi’s doll-like face was unmistakable. “I told you!” she crowed at the guards before Lexi shut the door behind her.
“They wouldn’t let me in,” Clodi announced unnecessarily. “And he said Psyche moved out. Did she get married?”
Lexi crawled back onto the giant bed before answering. “We weren’t getting along, so she moved to a different room.”
“Instead of you? I mean, I’m glad you didn’t, but wasn’t she here first? And why are there guards out there? Damus—that’s Psyche’s brother—thought it was best if we waited for them to leave, but they’ve been out there for hours, and I was too tired to wait any more. Are you in some kind of trouble?” Clodi finally paused for an answer.
Lexi laid her head down on her arms and let her wings cover her face. “Wes makes me pheromone drunk. The guards are trying to protect me from him.”
“Oooohh, that makes sense,” Clodi nodded, sitting on a delicate stool with a heavy thump. “Wait, is pheromone drunk what it sounds like?”
“Yes,” Lexi yawned, distorting the word.
“Wow! So when you smell him, can you even say no?”
“Not really,” Lexi answered, letting her voice fade sleepily, hoping Clodi would get the hint.
“No wonder you need guards! Damus told me all about the seducers I need to watch out for, and he says Wes is the very worst.” Clodi paused thoughtfully. “Damus is nice but he smells like radishes. He went on the tour with me since Psyche said you were going to be too busy, and then because the guards were out there, he took me to dinner, too. And then the guards were still there, so he took me dancing. Damus is nice. He makes me laugh, but I don’t like radishes. My mom grows them in the garden, but I don’t even like to weed around them, even the greens have a sharp smell that makes my nose tingle.” Clodi rubbed at her nose absently. “His brother Everes is nice, too, but he smells too much like him, and he doesn’t talk much. They had another brother that got married this morning, and one of their sisters got married and left a couple of days ago. They have a really big family because their dad was a big seducer...” Clodi continued on, but her loud voice weaved itself into Lexi’s dream, and she fell fast asleep.
Lexi awoke with a panicked jolt to Clodi’s rumbling snores. Rising up on her knees, she wiped perspiration from her forehead, then shook her head, trying to erase the image seared inside. When she shut her eyes, Wes was there choking the life out of Tiger while she watched, unable to move. She blinked repeatedly, then climbed out of bed to pace, vainly hoping to calm herself.
“You should have at least warned him you released Wes,” she scolded herself in a whisper. “And after he threatened Tiger, too! What were you thinking?” Lexi slipped a manicured nail between her teeth, then drew it back out again automatically, flicking her nails with sharp little clacks as she continued to pace, distraught. More than once she moved to the door, then drew back again. Finally, she forced her face to a careful blank, and opened the door. A guard with big white wings turned an inquiring face to her.
“Miss Fritillary?”
Lexi glanced quickly at his companion with the shredded brown wings, recognizing neither of them. “Do you know the time?” she asked politely, swallowing down her request to find Tiger and make sure he was okay.
“Just after three in the morning.”
“Thank you.” Lexi quietly shut the door. The nightmare images kept playi
ng through her mind with startling clarity, snatches of detail returning with each waking moment. She kept straining for any noise from the room above her, but Clodi’s loud snores seemed to block out everything else. She couldn’t even tell if it was still raining. Thoroughly vexed, she yanked out one of the rugs and swung open a balcony door. The frigid air bit at her skin. Lexi started to shut the door again, then stopped. Despite the puddle at her feet, it was no longer raining, and she peered up at the silent balcony above her, inhaling deeply. The pleasant scent of the wet forest caught her nose, but nothing more. Eyes straining at the cloudy night sky, Lexi tiptoed around the puddle and shut the balcony door behind her.
“Stupid,” she condemned herself quietly. Her flowing nightgown flared out in the gentle breeze as she flew the short distance to Tiger’s balcony. Landing silently, she leaned in to the wet door and inhaled deeply. The faintest scent of musk tickled her nose and brought an involuntary smile to her face. Her feet began to ache in their icy puddle, and she shifted her weight back and forth to warm them with movement. Rolling her eyes at her own behavior, she started to leave as the nightmare images danced back through her mind, this time with Tiger’s room as the background. Grimacing, and promising herself that she would only peek in, she leaned against the heavy door, willing it to move despite the rug tangled beneath it. The door gave slightly with a muffled lurch, and Lexi jumped at the sound. Holding her breath and placing one hand over her thundering heart, she strained to hear inside the room. A measured, even breathing filled the room. Lexi waited impatiently for her eyes to adjust to the darker interior. Peering at the closest bed, she stared at it until she could make out the tangled empty blanket. Lexi released her held breath and pulled in the next thoughtlessly. She gasped as the heady musk made her knees go weak. She stumbled back, sucking in the night air and clearing her head. Tiger had taken Wes’ pillow from the bed nearest the balcony, so the sleeper she couldn’t see had to be Tiger, she reasoned. He was fine, of course. And now she could go. Pulling in a deep preparatory breath, she held it and moved forward to clutch the icy, wet handle. She checked for the sound of deep, measured breaths one last time, then gently pulled the door to close it. But it didn’t move. Doubling her efforts, she gave the door a solid yank, but it still wouldn't give. Bemused, she released the door and it swung further open. Lexi stared at it a moment, then looked down at the rug, doubled over and peeping out beneath it. Poking at it with a numb toe, she tried to pull it flat, but it remained stubbornly stuck beneath the door. Folding her wings tightly, she tried to squat down and tug it with her hands, but she couldn’t reach it without bending her wings against the door, the balcony railing, or the puddled stone beneath her feet. Lexi stood up straight with a frustrated sigh, then yanked the door again. This time it moved a fraction of an inch, punctuated by a noise of stifled mirth. Startled, Lexi leapt into the air and flew several feet before realization narrowed her eyes and tightened her mouth.
“Tiger! That was a rotten trick,” she hissed, flying back to give the door a hard shove that resulted in a thump and a grunt of pain. “You scared me,” she accused, pushing the other door open and stepping through it, expecting to see him behind the suspiciously unmoving door. But the muted light spilling in through the door revealed an empty corner. “Tiger?” Lexi’s strained gaze swept the dark room. “This isn’t funny.” The musky scent made her feel unnaturally calm as she walked over to stare at the three empty beds. An uncomfortable laugh escaped her. “Unless of course I’m really the only one here.”
“You’re not,” Wes replied, dropping down from the ceiling to land next to her in a veritable cloud of musk.
Lexi let out a strangled shriek and leapt for the door, but Wes caught her by the hair and pulled her back.
“You sneak into my room in the middle of the night, hit me with the door, scream, and run out again? I don’t think so,” he chuckled coldly. Taking her hand, her released her hair and spun her around to face him, his large hands settling heavily on her waist.
Lexi’s eyes watered with pain, and she rubbed her tender scalp.“Let go of me or you’re going back to the dungeon.”
“Such a tease,” Wes said, looking down at her nightgown. Lexi immediately crossed her arms over her chest. He laughed, then leaned in to whisper just above her ear. “What charge will you bring against me? I haven’t done anything.”
Lexi fought the urge to tip her head into his and forced her wandering thoughts to make words. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Really?” he asked, sliding one hand up her side and running the other along her jaw and neck. “Why’s that?”
Lexi turned her head towards the balcony, trying to breathe in the fresh air to clear her mind, but Wes only signaled again and drew her face back towards him.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he reminded her.
“Oh.” Lexi's mind was beginning to float along with her body. “What did you ask?”
Wes chuckled softly while he used his rough thumb to play with her bottom lip. “You were telling me why you could have me thrown in the dungeon.”
“Oh,” Lexi said again, trying to concentrate as he ran a finger down her neck, then wound it in the ribbon on her nightgown. “That’s a secret,” she finally managed, frowning at her own silly answer.
“Tell me,” he coaxed, pulling on the ribbon to draw her closer.
Lexi stared at his beautiful mouth, so like Tiger’s, then a jolt ran through her as another fragment of her dream came back. Before Wes strangled Tiger, Wes had been kissing her. The realization sunk to her belly like a stone as the dream sensation of kissing him tingled on her lips.
“Tell me,” he repeated, his mouth just inches from hers as he wet his lips in anticipation.
“No,” Lexi murmured weakly, cringing. “You’ll hurt Tiger.”
Wes drew back, his dark brows knit together. “If you tell me your secret, I’ll hurt Tiger?”
Lexi shook her head in confusion. “Please just let me go. If he caught you with me, he would fight you. You’ll hurt him.”
Wes snorted a laugh. “Sounds about right. But you’re free to go anytime; the door is open.” He nodded at the balcony door with a mocking grin.
“You’re...holding me,” Lexi said haltingly.
Wes abruptly released her, then caught her again as she began to fall. “I have to hold you; your legs don’t seem to be working,” he noted with mock concern.
A little flicker of anger burned through her drunken haze for a moment. “Then carry me to the balcony,” she said, her voice coming out more complaint than command.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he laughed, not noticing when Lexi started at the title. “Threaten me with the dungeon, boss me around...I’ll bet you’re an only child.” Wes lifted her by the waist and carried her out to the balcony, lifted her wings up over the rail, then carefully sat her atop it, his thumbs pressing into her hips. "This is as good a place as any."
"For what?" Lexi leaned away from him to escape the cloud of scent that surrounded him, her hindwings bending uncomfortably against the rail. As she sucked in the clean night air, alarm began to streak through the fuzzy sensation of pleasure in her mind, and she gasped when she felt his face against her throat.
“Better hold on,” Wes advised, trying to wrap her legs around him, “you might fall and break a wing against the railing.”
Kicking and pushing away from him, she flew backwards off the rail. “You’ll get dungeon time for that.” Her voice shook with fury now that her head had cleared.
Wes smirked. “I didn’t even kiss you. And if you want to complain about me, you’ll have to explain why you came to my bedroom in the middle of the night...in your nightgown.”
Lexi could feel the iron core within her as she landed on her own balcony and glared up at him. He was leaning over the rail, laughing. “No need,” she retorted, her face a blank mask. “You kidnaped me from my bed and dragged me to your room. It’s lucky I escaped.”
Wes leapt down fr
om his balcony to hers before she finished speaking. “If you’re going to have me punished for that," he menaced, clutching her to him roughly. "Then I might as well enjoy myself.”
“Clodi!” Lexi screamed and managed to kick her balcony door with a heavy thud that made her numb foot sting.
Wes freed her and flew to his own balcony with a string of expletives as Clodi ripped open the doors.
“What happened? Are you okay?” she demanded just as Wes shut the doors above.
“Wes tried to kidnap me,” Lexi asserted, her guilt assuaged by the nasty names he had just called her.
“That was him?” Clodi demanded, pointing up. At Lexi’s weary nod, her face galvanized. “I’ll get him,” she promised, starting to fly just as the guards belatedly entered the room.
“No,” Lexi said emphatically, pulling on the bigger girl’s wrist to bring her back to the floor.
The two guards halted midway into the room, their clubs drawn and faces tight as they made a quick visual search of the room. The guard with the big white wings flushed. “Did you scream?”
Lexi nodded, beginning to shiver. “Wes Swallowtail jumped down to my balcony and grabbed me. Put him back in the dungeon,” Lexi commanded, her hand tightening around Clodi’s wrist as she felt the girl move to join them.
“Yes, Miss Fritillary!” Both guards hurried from the room.
Clodi looked at her wide-eyed and bemused. “Why don’t you want me to go? And why did he bow to you? And why are they obeying you? What is going on?” Clodi asked, her voice high and childlike.
Lexi released Clodi’s wrist with a sigh and walked back into the room, pulling her nightgown, wet from the railing, away from her body.
Without taking her eyes from Lexi, Clodi shut the doors and kicked the rugs back underneath them.
“Raven, are you okay? I’m feeling like a lost piglet here.”
“I’m okay,” Lexi lied, frowning at the heavy scent of Wes emanating from her nightgown. Fumbling with the ribbons above her wings, she quickly removed her nightgown and kicked it under her bed.
