by Lucy Rains
Roman shook his head, “Bathroom.”
“I’ll take Roman to the bathroom,” Kyson volunteered.
“I’m still hungry,” Gavin said, stepping over with Alex.
“I think I’ll come too,” Merrick said to Kyson.
Everyone went their separate ways as Pierce began tapping on the ATM keys.
“So that’s it,” I wondered aloud. “We did it. We’re done.”
Pierce paused to look at me. “I think we did well.”
I nodded. “Do you think Nara will find us?”
The ATM beeped at Pierce as he entered in various passcodes to the system.
Pierce’s mouth twitched, “She would be a fool to try.” He pulled out his phone and tapped on it.
“If Matteo is working with her, can we really hide?” I asked. “He can find anyone. He has demonstrated that ability.”
“We are not just anyone,” Pierce said with confidence. “We will go somewhere so remote, not even satellites can find us.”
I smiled at his confidence and watched Gavin and Alex pay for their food.
My mouth opened to joke about living in the middle of nowhere when Pierce’s mood turned dark with distress. His eyes widened and a curse slipped under his breath.
“What?” I asked.
He ignored me, tapped on several keys and looked back to his phone. Alarm continued to fill his mind as the seconds ticked by. When his fingers stilled, his jaw went slack and dread washed over me.
Before I could ask what was wrong Gavin and Alex walked up, holding food but not eating. Their eyes studied me, trying to understand my own emotions.
“What is it?” Gavin asked in a low voice.
I shook my head, looking back to Pierce.
He growled and swore again. “It’s gone.”
“The hell do you mean, ‘its gone?’” Alex barked.
“The money in our account,” Pierce began pushing keys again, “it’s gone. There’s nothing there.”
“That’s impossible.” Gavin said.
“No its not,” Alex corrected him. “Anyone smart enough with the right equipment, hacker skills, and time can infiltrate a bank account.”
“So, all of the money's gone?” I asked.
“We still have our offshores account,” Pierce said. “But our current accessible cash has been withdrawn,” he squinted at the screen, “two days ago.”
Curses slipped from both Gavin’s and Alex’s mouths.
I turned to see Kyson with Roman and Merrick walking up to us. Roman’s and Kyson’s eyes focused in on me.
“What do we do?” I whispered. “How much money do we have with us?”
Alex sighed, “Not enough to buy train tickets for seven people and then last second international flights.”
Pierce’s eyes focused on Kyson as he approached. As Kyson’s body stiffened with tension I knew Pierce was updating him on our situation.
“When can we get money transferred over from our offshore accounts?” Kyson asked.
Alex shrugged, “It’s Monday?” He looked to the ceiling and moved his mouth. “We’re in Russia, so about eight hours ahead of the caribbean…” He continued thinking, “We can’t get ahold of them until 5:00 tomorrow.”
“A.M.?” I asked.
Alex shook his head.
“You can’t pull up the account on your phone or laptop?” I nodded towards his backpack.
He shakes his head and takes a sip from his styrofoam cup filled with some sort of chocolate liquid that I could smell. “Not secure.”
“How do we know the money hasn’t been removed from that account also?” I asked.
Pierce frowned, “We don’t. The account is set up under a different identity, and the bank can not legally share that information to anyone. But there’s no way to know if that money has been tracked down and also withdrawn.”
Gavin began swearing a slew of words strung together as he pinched his eyes closed.
“That leaves us no choice.” Pierce said.
“We have to use the tickets from Matteo,” Gavin said through locked teeth.
“No,” Alex shook his head.
Pierce held up a hand, “At least to get us to Yakutsk. We need to get to an airport, those tickets will get us there. We wait there until the bank opens and we can transfer funds.”
“What about Merrick?” I asked. “He needs a train ticket.”
“I’ll get him one,” Alex mumbled and turned towards the ticket counter.
My teeth chewed into the flesh on the side of my cheek and I shifted on my feet. “We’re so close,” I whimpered.
Pierce peered down at me, feeling anxiety weave through my mind.
Merrick sighed from behind me. “It will never be easy.”
I frowned, not liking his pessimistic words.
He looked down at me, his eyes filled with regret. “When you’re a threat, you will always be a target.”
“I just want to be left alone,” I said, looking from him to Roman, to Pierce. “I want to feel safe again.”
Pierce trailed his fingers along the back of my wrist before enclosing my hand in his. “You will your highness.”
Chapter 38
Roman and I held each other’s gazes as the train bounced along the tracks. Our movements synchronized with each jerk of the train car.
His mood tasted apprehensive, nervous like normal. But also tinged with that underlying curiosity.
His eyes darted quickly to the table across from us where the other four guys sat. Gavin and Alex had laid their heads down on the table, their arms being used as substitute pillows. Pierce tapped on his phone while Roman stared out the window. Merrick was in the seat behind me, and his calm mind waves told me he was also sleeping.
My heart was beating faster than I wanted it to as I allowed myself to study him. His dark hair still framed his face, and the stubble that had lined his chin yesterday was now gone. His lips were still dry, but still held a subtle thickness to them. His green eyes were the most prominent, threatening to pull me in every time I looked at them for too long.
So many questions, so many things I wanted to say.
I was desperate to know his thoughts, his needs.
His hand lifted slowly, his long fingers touching at the middle of his chest. I swallowed at the sight.
“My chest feels funny all the time,” he muttered.
“You’ll get used to it,” I smiled. “It will be a comfort to you, if you will allow it.”
His hand dropped back into his lap. “What do you feel around me?”
My head turned slightly, “I don’t have a simple answer for that.”
His eyebrows pinched together.
I sighed, not wanting to leave him without an answer but also not wanting to share the multitude of emotions and thoughts running through my mind. I figured he could feel the most prominent ones. “Better. I feel much better.”
“How did you feel before?” he asked, his eyebrows still pushed together. His words were said carefully, and were thought out before spoken.
My own forehead pinched as my mouth dropped. Did he not know? “I was dying.”
Roman turned his head to look at the guys and then back to me. “You can’t die.”
I rolled my eyes, “I realize that. But it everything inside of me was dying. I had no energy, no appetite, no motivation to do anything but sleep. If I tried to use my energy, or the krin, I would pass out for hours.”
There was no response from him for several seconds. It was satisfying to feel his sadness, knowing he disliked the idea of me being unwell.
“Did you read while you were there?” I asked. “Watch TV? Movies?”
Roman leaned back in his seat, his eyes looking over the table in front of us. He gave a small nod.
“So, you know what laptops are? Buses? Lipstick? Christmas trees?”
He nodded again but did not look at me. A tension began lining his shoulders and neck. I noticed his breathing had quickened and his knee b
egan bouncing.
“You don’t have to talk about it,” I whispered.
The knee kept bouncing but his eyes came to mine.
“I know I can’t understand,” I added. “But the guys might. They went through a lot.” I thought about his memory ability, and how easy it would be for him to see what the guys had experienced. “Just...maybe don’t ask Gavin.”
Roman still avoided my eyes, choosing to look out the window now. An unsettled tension had spread to his mind and I sighed in frustration. It was like everything I said was wrong. He didn’t want to try to connect with me. Probably because he thought I would never understand.
“I was alone too,” I said abruptly. “Well,” I shrugged. “In my own way.”
This brought his eyes back to me as well as his focus.
“You saw some of it, right? My mother?”
“That woman is not your mother,” Roman corrected.
His comment gave me pause and I tilted my head. “I know.”
“She was a scientist. A doctor.”
“How do you…”
“I have seen it through Merrick,” Roman clarified.
I nodded in understanding, “She raised me. But did not love me. I was so confused, scared…” I trailed off as regret and sadness filled me. I allowed it, knowing Roman would feel it as well. “The guys had each other. You had Merrick.”
“I didn’t see him much,” Roman stated.
“But you still had someone that could explain things to you, help you understand. Even if you only saw him once a month.”
A dark cloud settled over Roman’s mind and I sighed in defeat.
I was about to leave my seat when Roman’s eyes pinched closed and his face drained of color. His mind filled with misery.
“Oh shoot,” I said, looking over to Pierce.
Pierce’s head turned towards me, his eyes alert.
I think he’s going to lose it again.
Get him to the bathroom! Pierce ordered.
Roman raised a fist to his mouth, his eyes still closed. I turned back to Pierce. He doesn’t trust me, you should do it.
Pierce studied Roman for a second. He has to learn sometime.
“Now?” I said aloud. “Not the best timing!”
Roman’s eyes opened and he scowled at me. “Not you,” I explained. “Come on,” I stood up, “let's go find a bathroom.”
The look in Roman’s eyes screamed hesitation but I could tell his stomach was rolling in that second because his mouth clamped shut and he stood up.
I began walking quickly down the aisle to the end of the train car where I knew the bathrooms would be. A short cough burst from behind me and I looked at Roman in alarm. Grabbing his wrist to hurry his pace, I pushed passed an elderly couple and shoved Roman to the single stall bathroom door.
Unable to hold it back any longer, Roman fell to the floor and wretched into the porcelain toilet. I held my breath and reached over to flush the toilet as he panted above it. The water was still swirling when he heaved over it again.
He waited on the ground for a few minutes after the last bout. I pulled out a few paper towels and handed them to him as I flushed again. My back leaned against the closed door and I waited for him to be able to stand again.
I felt a lightness return to his mind and a few seconds later he pulled himself up and to the sink. I watched his slim arms move as he ran the sink water over his hands and splashed at his mouth. His frame was thin, but not weak. There were lines of of muscles running along his forearms and I noticed the way his shirt pulled across his shoulders. My mouth turned up into a smile, knowing his body would continue to fill out as he spent time with me.
When Roman finished and turned to me, his eyes widened and alarm pulsed through his mind. He stepped back, attempting to put as much room as he could between us. My smile vanished and I sighed.
“You don’t have to stay with us, you know.” The words flew out of my mouth before I knew what I was really saying. “Once we get somewhere safe, you and Merrick can go your own way.”
What was I saying? It was like a death sentence for myself. But as I stood in that tiny room and felt the anxiety and discomfort filling Roman’s mind and body, I knew I couldn’t force him into my life. I couldn’t force him to want to be with me.
My eyes began darting around the small, poorly lit bathroom with decades old wallpaper. I blinked quickly, trying to fight off the tears.
His fear turned to curiosity, and I knew he wanted an explanation.
“You have a choice,” I said softly, lifting my eyes. “I wasn’t given a choice.” I cleared my throat and swallowed the rising emotions. “But I was around others, the guys, they um...” I stumbled, “helped me. Since I didn’t know what the hell I was doing or what I wanted, I’m glad I had them.”
I offered one last nod and backed out of the room. I shut the door behind me, in case Roman needed a moment more in the restroom.
When I walked back down the aisle Pierce caught my eyes, raising an eyebrow. I shook my head and found an empty row of seats across from Merrick where I could lay down and close my eyes.
As I looked at his grey hair and long thin nose, questions began popping into my mind- keeping me from being able to fully relax. There was a whole world that he knew about, a whole life on another planet that he had experienced. An endless list of ‘who', ‘why' and ‘how’s rolled through my mind that I wanted to ask.
But there was one that ate at me. The one I was afraid to ask, afraid of the answer, was the one that kept me awake.
“How did my mother die?”
Merrick turned to look at me, I had pulled him out of his own thoughts. His mood turned glum and I knew he didn’t like discussing this. “The waters on our world had been poisoned. She and her victri were the first to learn this.”
“She was poisoned?” I asked.
Merrick nodded. “Many people were dying. First from the wars, and then starvation. When the waters were overtaken it was too late. It was not safe for you and your victri. As soon as the krin had chosen your victri, I took you and fled.”
“But I thought Nara killed her?”
“Who do you think poisoned the water?” Merrick asked.
I propped my head up and squinted at him. “Nara poisoned all of the water on the planet? How is that possible?”
Merrick scratched his chin, then rubbed it as he looked at me. “Everything has its opposite your highness. The power inside of you is pure, light. It’s counterpart was buried deep within our world. To this day I do not know how, but Nara found it.”
“An evil energy?” I wondered aloud.
Merrick nodded, confirming my thoughts. “She, and others who followed her, harvested the energy in secret. She released this energy on a day when it would hurt our people the most. The hottest and driest day we had ever experienced. When the power had grown in strength, she released it into our only source of water left on our planet.”
“But why?” I gasped. “Why would she kill her?”
Merrick dipped his head, looking at his hands. “Because your mother had something she wanted.”
I waited, holding my breath. When Merrick didn’t continue I said, “What was it?”
Merrick looked up and me and offered a small smile. “You should rest Empress Jade. I would prefer to share these things when we are in a safer location.”
I bit back the pout that threatened to pull my lips down, not wanting to wait. My head lowered to my curled arm and I stared at Merrick. He looked back out the window and became lost in his thoughts again.
********************
A pulse of fear beat through my mind and jerked me awake. The heaviness in my body and ache in my head told me I had not been asleep very long.
My eyes blinked open. Merrick’s seat was empty.
“Do not wake her,” Pierce growled.
“She needs to know,” Merrick insisted.
“Keep looking,” Gavin said. “Let’s not wake her until we’ve looked
everywhere.”
“She will find him faster than all of you,” Merrick said confidently.
A sharp hiss and wave of irritation from Pierce told me he didn’t like Merrick’s words.
“How long has it been?” Gavin asked.
“About 30 minutes,” Alex answered.
I sat up quickly in my seat, my body on full alert. My senses picked up on everyone’s presence.
Except one.
I stepped into the aisle and eyed the guys. Kyson was missing, but he was not who they were looking for.
Gavin’s hands rested on his hips, and a storm raged in his eyes.
I turned to Pierce, opening my mouth to ask something. But both the question and words disappeared when a bolt of emotional pain pierced into my head. I closed my eyes for a second, tilting my head back slightly to feel the exact location of where the emotion came from.
Roman was hurting. His mind was in a dark place and he was desperate to be free from it. My eyes snapped open. My body turned and began moving quickly down the aisle. I allowed the magnetic sensations in my chest to pull me towards where Roman was. People inexplicably moved out of my way, sitting in their seats before even seeing me coming.
Gavin.
Doors slid open, and I moved between train cars. Back farther and farther. Until not another passenger was around and I was finally at the back of the last train car. A worker stood in front of me, blocking the way I needed to go. I waited until his eyes glazed over and he marched out of the train car and sat down in a nearby seat.
I grabbed the handle and pushed the door open to step out onto the back balcony of the train. Where Roman stood on the opposite side of the bars, preparing to jump off. Hair whipped around my cheeks and my mouth opened. Roman turned away from me and my hand flew up automatically but I held back my energy.
“Roman!” I bellowed. The rushing wind from the moving train created an automatic noise barrier that I had to rise above.
His own dark hair flew around his face as his green eyes looked back at me. Dark as night and pained with torture. I gasped at the emotions coming from him, a new sensation I had never felt. Harrowing grief. Despair and disgust. The blend was immensely powerful and heavy.
His eyes flicked behind me to look at Gavin and Pierce. Only three of us would fit out on the deck, leaving the others inside.