by A. J. Rosen
I felt Adrian’s hand on the small of my back, the pressure was slow but inexorable, and suddenly it was all I could think about. I grew hot as our bodies inched even closer. I felt his soft breathing in my hair. His lips were inches away from my skin.
I stood perfectly still and didn’t dare look up into his emerald eyes. I knew if I did, I would drown in them and there would be no turning back. I would keep drowning and drowning. Even with the closeness of Adrian clouding my judgment, I knew our purpose here was more important than satisfying this burning desire rising from the pit of my stomach.
“Montgomery.” He whispered my name ever so slightly, as if he was scared of ruining whatever moment we were currently having. “If this works out, do you think we could—”
“I think they’re gone.” I cut him off from asking something that I knew he would ask. I was not so clueless as to think he did not feel the electricity between us. I pushed the door again, but it wouldn’t budge. “Oh no. I think we’re locked here.”
“It’s not the worst thing ever to be locked here.” He added, “I mean, you’re here, so it’s not that bad.”
“Oh, it’s bad if we’re locked here for days and one of us has to eat the other to survive.”
“I’d probably let you devour my body,” he answered in a low whisper. He laughed. “Not in a gory way, Montgomery.”
I leaned my head back against the wall behind me and felt it press against a knob of some kind. As if by magic, the door opened. “They seriously need to work on the keys to this secret door,” I complained to myself as Adrian stuck his head out to double-check if the guards were still around. Satisfied that the coast was clear, he held out one arm and said, “Ladies first.”
We cautiously retraced our steps back to the entrance and stopped behind the door. The guards were nowhere to be seen inside the library, but it was possible that they were waiting for us outside. “How do we get out now?”
Before Adrian had a chance to answer, the girl from earlier walked through the door—not just walked in, but through—like a ghost. Still immersed in the same book, she pointed with her free hand to a statue. “You can go through there. There’s a tunnel.”
“Go through where, exactly?” I dared to ask. All that was in front of us was a white-bricked wall, and unlike her, we couldn’t go through solid objects.
The girl sighed, as if answering my question drew too much energy out of her. “Grip Charon’s staff; the path will be opened.” She turned the page, murmuring just above whispering level, “How can you be his kid and be this foolish?”
I would have inquired further if Adrian hadn’t been waving his hand and pointing at a dark tunnel that had somehow emerged behind the statue. The guards outside reported to their leader that they couldn’t find the intruders and that it was highly likely they’d still be inside the library. I rushed toward Adrian, and right before the brick wall swung closed, I heard the girl say under her breath, “kalí týchi” Growing up with a mom who insisted we were the descendants of Tyche, I knew what that meant: good luck. But it was the way she said it that made me wonder why on earth I would need luck.
I followed close behind Adrian as he held up his phone to light the path ahead of us. The cold, damp air wrapped around us as we descended the tight spiral staircase to only the gods knew where.
The path led us down a long dingy tunnel to a wooden door at the end. Once through the door, we found ourselves at the back of the Royal High Court Academy. Safely standing outside the building, with no scratches and no handcuffs around my wrists, I let the crisp December breeze fill my nostrils. I glanced back at the skyward-bound walls of the library. I didn’t know if I would ever have the opportunity to feel this close to history again, and I wanted to savor the moment. Adrian tapped my shoulder, returning my attention to him, and I fell in step beside him as he effortlessly navigated the way back to the Hyped. Every few steps I checked over my shoulder to ensure nobody was following us.
Once we were back in the safety of the Court, blending into the crowd of people outside the Hyped, Adrian stretched out his arm and took my hand. He caught me off guard, and before I could even retract my hand from his grasp, our fingers entwined. My skin tingled. There was something about the way his skin pressed against mine that spread warmth throughout my whole body. It was a cold December day, yet I somehow felt warm.
I indulged the feeling for a second longer before untangling my hand from his. I found it frustrating not to be able to control my body’s response to him. Perhaps the emotion showed on my face.
“Hey, are you okay?” Adrian asked.
“Yeah.” There was no way I was going to tell him what had actually been in my head. Under his scrutinizing gaze, I found myself struggling to change the topic. Nothing came to mind except our mission. “What did it say?” I blurted. There must have been something that caught his attention when he had been reading those pages.
“It kept mentioning the Great Massacre, Zeus, and Hades.”
“Okay . . . but what else is in there?”
Adrian shook his head, then his face changed and he looked slightly embarrassed. “Actually, I am not that good in Greek.” His cheeks turned a darker shade of pink. “Okay, I suck at it,” he admitted. “I only understood bits and pieces. And I think—” he halted, seemingly unsure about something.
“What?” I encouraged. “You think, what?”
“I think we should ask Vlad.”
“I think it’ll be easier for me to learn Greek from scratch than to convince him to help us.”
Adrian went quiet. He simply stood there, unmoving. “What is it, Adrian?”
Without looking at me, he lifted his hand and pointed at the spot between two tall pine trees. From the scared look on his face, I expected to see a zombie or something sinister, but when I turned, I didn’t see anything. I turned back to Adrian. “What’s the problem?”
His voice was somewhat shaky. “I thought I saw a bald man standing there, watching us.”
“Now you’re just being narcissistic. Not everyone’s looking at you, Adrian.”
My joke seemed to shake his concern. He threw up his hands, palms facing forward in resignation. “Look, Montgomery. I’m a good sight. How can you blame them?”
“Whatever. Come on.” I grabbed Adrian’s arm and dragged him forward. “Our mission isn’t over yet! Also, we haven’t eaten yet today and it’s already two thirty! I need food to function!”
Although I could see a hint of worry lingering in his expression, he nodded. “We can try the diner on the corner.”
Across the table from each other, Adrian and I only talked about things that could be safely discussed in public—as in, anything but breaking the soul-mate bond. When our conversation ebbed for a moment, I decided to turn the tables on him. “Let’s talk about you for a minute.”
Adrian laughed, full and throaty. “Why? Are we at the stage where you want to get to know me better, Montgomery?”
“How was your date?”
“Date?” Adrian quirked a brow.
“With Renata. Have you fallen in love with her yet?”
He looked over at me with a strange expression, clearly taken aback that I had asked such a question. “Nah, it was nothing like that.” Adrian shook his head, his jaw clenched. “You know me. I don’t easily fall in love.”
“Everyone says that before they fall.”
“I’m not just everyone.”
“Oh yeah!” I tapped my forehead lightly with my palm. “That’s right, I also forgot that you have a gigantic ego while the rest of us have normal-sized ones.”
Adrian’s phone dinged. Concern crossed his face as he looked down at the screen. “Caitlin is sick,” he explained to me. “She claims it’s the flu, but she has these small red bumps all over her body; I’ve told her the flu doesn’t cause that. Althea has been sending me updates.”
<
br /> I gasped. “Maybe she has chicken pox!”
“Yeah.” Adrian gave a nod. “That’s what I think too. Anyway, I’ve called a doctor to stop by our place later.”
“Wait, have you told your parents?”
“Why would I tell them?” Disdain danced on his face as he answered me. “They wouldn’t want to be bothered with something like this.”
Truthfully, I didn’t know which surprised me more: Adrian acting like a responsible adult or the fact that he hadn’t informed his parents.
That was when it hit me. Adrian and Caitlin were not like Vladimir and Kristen. They were like me. They also had to put up with crappy parents. I didn’t know why it had taken me so long to notice. Perhaps because Adrian never showed any discomfort, and Caitlin, well, I had only met her once years ago.
“You know, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me.” I squeezed his hand.
“Now that you’ve said it, I do get a little bit chilly at night, so if you don’t mind maybe you could—”
“Not that kind of need!” I cut him off, letting his hand go and giving it a good smack.
“Can’t say I didn’t try.”
My body relaxed for a moment before both of his hands caught mine. He kept his eyes locked with mine as he leaned in and brought my hands to his lips. I was transfixed by the severe edge to his voice as he whispered softly so that only I could hear, “Thank you.”
The smell of the food being delivered to our table was enough to break the melancholic moment. I basically stuffed everything in my mouth, acting like someone who had not eaten for forty days. Adrian, on the other hand, ate gracefully. Once we finished our meal, the desserts arrived; I went for a slice of New York cheesecake while Adrian just had a cappuccino—which was a pitiful choice for dessert, in my opinion.
“Hail Zeus! This is to die for!” I licked some leftover cream cheese off of the small fork then set it down on the now empty plate. Adrian laughed.
“Hey! Cut me some slack. I’m technically on vacation here. Everyone indulges while on vacation. I’m a Regular, remember? I don’t get to go on lavish vacations like you, so my sweet tooth and I have to take advantage.”
“You Montgomerys seem to all have good metabolisms. I mean, your dad is still jacked at his age!” Adrian shook his head in slow disbelief. “Isn’t he, like, fifty?”
“Forty-five,” I corrected. “Yeah, I don’t know what his secret is.”
Adrian gave it a thought. “Maybe he secretly hired a trainer and goes to the gym all the time.”
“Pfft!” I choked a laugh. “No way. He’s too damn stingy.”
Adrian bobbed his head then took a sip of his cappuccino. “I haven’t seen him around the Court. I suppose he’s been busy, huh?”
“Busy pretending he doesn’t have a daughter, that’s for sure,” I replied. It was rather odd how I had gotten so used to it that I could even joke about it. Sure, at first it had been a pain to grow up feeling alone most of the time, but slowly I became numb to it. I buried myself in books, reading crime novels to escape real life and pretending that I was the characters in the stories, whether it was Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot or even Dr. Watson.
“You know, Montgomery,” he said, placing his now half-empty cup back on the table, “I’m here, too, if you need anything.”
The moment passed and he delicately shifted to a lighter subject. “Kris told me she was staying at Domenico’s. I was out partying last night . . . if I knew you were feeling lonely, I would have asked you to go with me.” He leaned forward. “Whenever there is a damsel in distress, Lord Ambrosia to the rescue.”
“I don’t do damsel in distress. I look after myself, thanks.”
Adrian shrugged and lifted his cup to his lips and emptied the remaining contents. “What did you do? Pull a movie night?”
“I went to dinner with Vlad.” I reached for my drink and looked at the children at the next table. Adrian’s silence made me channel my attention back to him. He was frowning.
“How was that? Where did you two go?”
“It was nice. We went to No. 5, and I got to meet Lilly and Jake. They’re lovely people, and the food there was great.”
His eyes lit up. “Jake!” There were affection and fondness in the way he said the boy’s name. “How is he? Is he still reluctant to help out his mom?”
“No. He seemed to enjoy it.”
“Then it must’ve grown on him. He used to complain about helping out at the restaurant.” Adrian paused. “Vlad told him that a real man helps his mother, especially since his dad has passed away.”
“His talk seemed to have done the trick then.” I turned the spotlight back on him. “What about you? How was your night of partying?”
Adrian gave me a sheepish smile. “I wasn’t really partying. I spent the night playing poker with Jet, the bartender at Royal Bar. Instead of winning five glasses of whiskey, apparently I now owe him two hundred bucks.”
“We all know you suck at poker, Adrian.”
“Damn, Montgomery. I’ve told you—I let you win that time so you could experience beginner’s luck.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” It felt like such a long time ago even though it was really only four years ago.
We reminisced like this for a while longer, until the bill came. No matter how much I insisted on paying, Adrian took care of it. We sat there chatting until around four o’clock when Adrian’s cell phone rang. “Hello. Yep. Okay. Tell her I’ll be there soon.” He hung up as quickly as he had answered. “Sorry, Montgomery. I’ve got to go. It’s the doctor—he’s arrived at the suite. I better go see what’s up.” He stood up and slid his phone into his front pocket.
“Of course. I hope everything turns out okay.” I put my coat on in preparation once again for the chill of the Alaskan winter air.
“Thanks, Montgomery.” We crossed the diner and he held the door open for me before following me outside, the bell on the door ringing as we left. “Listen, I’m sorry I can’t walk you back to the Hyped.”
“I’m pretty sure I can manage on my own, thanks. I don’t even need a map anymore. Besides, you bought me lunch so you’re forgiven. I guess next time it’s my turn to pay.”
“You’re promising a next time, huh?”
“Get over yourself already. Go see your sister, she needs you.” As I said this, a wave of sadness flooded over me. I wished I knew what it felt like to have a family member who cared about me. Someone who checked up on me when I was unwell. Adrian might’ve regularly referred to his sister as the brat, but when it really mattered, he was there for her.
He must have seen my thoughts on my face because his expression softened and he placed his hand on my shoulder. “Hey, try to relax, okay?”
“The only thing that’ll make me relax is finding a way to break free of all this.”
“Yeah,” he whispered as he pulled me into a hug. “That’s all I want too.” He kissed the top of my head.
Adrian held me for a little while longer before finally letting me go. “Catch you later, Montgomery.” He bid his farewell and then walked away while I headed in the direction of the Hyped. I could still feel the spot on the top of my head where he had kissed me. It was like his touch had released all of the tension I had been feeling.
How did he know just what to do to make me feel lighter? I stuffed my hand inside my pocket to grab the paper I had tucked inside earlier, making sure that it was still there. This piece of paper could be the key.
I suddenly felt a tinge of excitement. I couldn’t wait to get to my room and find a way to translate this. One of the beauties of the internet was that it provided a free translator.
Chapter Nineteen
The lobby of the Hyped was busy as usual. A few more people had arrived and were waiting to be checked in. As I made my way through the crowd, I noticed a refreshment table had be
en set up in the corner of the room. Might as well make a pit stop. I was only a few steps away when I heard a familiar voice.
“Yeah, I know. We have to inform the queen immediately, before it’s too late. No, we can’t risk that.” I could see a large man in a blue shirt and black pants; he didn’t have a single hair on his head. “Okay. All right. You’re right.”
As I got closer to him and was able to hear his voice more clearly, a realization hit me. It was him! It was the man who had called my dad’s phone. I needed to get a better look at him. I walked past him—not too slow, but not too fast either—and waited until I was a few feet in front of him before I “accidentally” dropped my wallet and pretended not to notice. It worked. He picked up my wallet and I soon felt a tap on my shoulder.
He moved his phone away from his ear and said, “I think you dropped this, miss.”
I turned to him, quickly scribbling a mental note of his overall appearance in my head: long oval face, square jaw, tan skin, thick eyebrows, very muscular. Most importantly, I noticed an odd-looking tattoo on his wrist. It looked like someone wearing a helmet that had a mohawk. I quickly thanked him and walked off. I tried my best to keep my pace steady to avoid looking suspicious.
As soon as there was some distance between us, and it was clear he had no interest in following me, I let out a relieved sigh, only to follow up with a gasp as I recalled what Adrian had said a few hours ago.
I thought I saw a bald man standing there, watching us.
No. No. It couldn’t be. No matter how hard I tried to deny it, it did not erase the fact that this could be the same guy. Had he been following me? I realized the hand that was holding my wallet was shaking. I had to go. I couldn’t stay here.
I tightened my grip to cease the shaking as I turned around and headed through the front doors. I needed to get out of the Hyped. To get away from this strange bald man. There was only one person I needed to see right now: my best friend. She was the only person I could count on for advice. With each step I took toward the Royal Quarters, I felt determination rush through my whole body. Kris would know what to do.