I waited for his next attack only to dodge it. I embraced my speed, moving as quickly as I could to sidle right up to him. I grabbed his shirt and pulled his tall body into me, his face millimeters away from mine.
“Don’t hurt me.” I said softly as I placed my hand gently against the skin of his neck. I let my hand grow warm with power for a moment to signal to him that I had won. His eyes changed from soft and concerned to a smoldering pride so fast I might have missed the change had I not been looking directly at him.
“I win.”
“Now, that is dirty, Joclyn.” I stepped away from him, laughing victoriously. “I am not sure if I can accept that as a win.”
“You better!” I snapped, “It had all the elements of a successful attack plus surprise and a play on emotions, just like you said. Although why it worked on you, I will never know.”
“I’m your protector, Silnỳ. I am hard-wired not to hurt you.” He released the barrier and put the room back together with one swipe of his hand, but I stayed still, my brain clicking together.
“My protector?” I asked. “What do you mean, my protector?”
Ilyan stopped and turned to face me, his hand dragging heavily through his hair again. “I protect everyone, Joclyn. You included.”
I just stared at him in disbelief. He had said that before and I had taken it to mean just that, but this time his inflection had been different. Something had been off in the way he said it, as though it was a job he took pride in. It didn’t just mean wandering around and saving people to him. He was still dragging his hand through his hair, making it obvious he was keeping something from me.
“Get a better poker face, Ilyan. What aren’t you telling me?” Ilyan smiled at me before returning from the kitchen, a small box in his hands.
“Až jednou pochopíš všechno a přijmeš, kdo jsi, poté, a teprve poté, ti povím všechno, má lásko. Ale ani o vteřinu dřívě.” I glared at him. He knew my Czech consisted of ‘pass the leaves’ and ‘where is the bathroom’.
“Understand? Accept what? Love what? What did you say, Ilyan? You know I don’t understand most of what you said. My Czech is not very good.” He smiled at me and placed the small box in my hands.
“Exactly.”
I jerked the box away from him. I hated cryptic answers, and Ilyan was full of them.
“I made those for you, for Prague, but wear them tonight. They will look nice in the city. I am going to go get you something besides pajama pants to wear. Stay inside.” He smiled at me once before leaving, the door locking behind him.
I looked down to the box, a small pink ribbon tied around the top. It never ended well when a man made anything for a woman to wear, and the thought of what could be inside this package worried me.
I slipped the bow from the box and tipped it, letting the contents fall out into my hands.
The most intricate red leather shoes rolled onto my palms. I could tell right away they would fit perfectly. The toes of the shoes were folded into a fan shape that gave the impression of a blossoming rose. A tiny pearl was nestled in the middle of each one. Surrounding the sole of the shoe was a five part leather braid that circled seamlessly around. I couldn’t find the beginning or the end. The stitching around the sole and around the top was small and intricate, each one done with precision. I stared at the shoes in awe. That these could be made by a person, let alone Ilyan, was impossible. I lay the sturdy shoes on the floor and slipped my bare feet into them. They were beautiful.
Of course, I recognized them as what he had been working on while I had lain dying months before. While he had been nursing me, healing me, he had also been working on these shoes. Even then, he hadn’t thought I was going to die.
I hadn’t considered it in three months, but now I couldn’t help wondering what Ilyan’s backup plan could have been. I had known he had something else in mind if joining Ryland in the Tȍuha hadn’t cured me. Something deep inside told me these shoes were meant for that, not for a night on the town.
Sixty-Six
Ilyan
I was torturing myself.
Talon had warned me of this for years, and now it was here.
She was here.
All of her stubborn, fiery, beautiful self.
As much as I tried to distance myself, to create a firm line between us, I was failing. I would fail every time she woke up afraid. I would fail anytime that she was in danger.
I would fail again and again.
No where was that more evident than this morning. I was so used to my father destroying my siblings, so ready to take my place by her side, that I had already assumed Ryland a lost cause.
But he wasn’t. To her he would never be. So, to me he would never be. And not just because he was my brother.
But because of the role he was playing in all of this.
I would never cross that line. I knew what she was to me, and what she would always be.
I just hadn’t expected the heartache that came along with it.
Torture, Talon had warned. Talon was right.
“A non-committal night out to dinner,” I grumbled the words to myself in Czech and opened the door to the apartment complex with a bang, scaring the old lady who had been on the other side.
“My apologies,” I bowed and opened the door for her before stalking away, hair swinging around my face as I raced across the street to the lines of stores there.
I needed to get her clothes and get back. I hated being away for too long.
Thankfully, most of the stores featured mannequins covered in preconceived outfits for women of nearly Joclyn’s height and build. It was perfect. One store in and I already had an outfit for her, perfectly selected from the mannequins and the magazine they had thankfully been selling at the checkout. The bright colors of the top would stand out nicely against her hair, blend with those eyes that were always so full of determination.
I hoped she liked it.
Of course, I knew her well enough now to know that wearing such small amounts of fabric was not something she took pleasure in. She needed a hoodie. Santa Fe was too hot to wear one outside, but I wanted to do something nice.
I had only taken one step into the store when my phone buzzed, ‘Hall of the Mountain King’ playing loud enough that a few heads turned.
“Ahoj, Talon,” I said, slipping right into Czech. There were already too many people staring at me and I didn’t want to be overheard.
“Wyn’s magic slipped.”
I froze. My fingers curling around the flimsy plastic hanger I had just picked up. It snapped in two.
“No. That’s not possible,” I said as I put the now broken hanger back on the rack. “That bind hasn’t shifted, I would know. I would have felt something.”
“I know, Ilyan, but there is no mistaking it.” His voice was low, strained. I hadn’t heard Talon so worried. Not since the day we had all gone after Edmund and we had lost Wyn.
I stood up straighter, my magic pulsing. “What did she do?”
“You know that trick she used to love? The one with the waving rocks?”
A smile twitched on the corner of my mouth. Yes, I knew that one. Anyone who had been around Wyn knew that one. “Did she do it on purpose?”
“No. Just when her hand made contact with the ground. She didn’t know what happened.”
So, the bind hadn’t slipped. Not that it made the situation any better. If the bind slipped and Wyn’s magic was freed, there was no way she could control it without her memories. It had taken her hundreds of years to master it the first time around.
“Did you tell her?” My voice was a rumble as I moved to another rack, this one full of sweaters emblazoned with different logos referring to Santa Fe. As I moved, a group of women in the back watched me. Eyes wide. Smiles a little too plastered on.
My magic flared. I couldn’t feel anything from them, but that didn’t mean they weren’t connected to Edmund in some way.
Edmund couldn't be here already could he
?
“How can I? You bound me against it.”
“She bound you, Talon. I just completed the spell.” I moved to another rack, two of the girls full on following me now. Giggling, daring each other to ask me out.
So, not Edmund’s men, but perhaps just as bad.
“I know.”
“So chances are the bind is still there. But something is releasing—”
“Could it be the curse?” Talon interrupted me, and I put down the sweater I was holding, my heart rate picking back up again.
“That is bound to Cail,” I held the phone closer, watching the still prowling girls out of the corner of my eye. “If it’s that then Edmund has done something to him. Or is doing something to him powerful enough that it weakens him.” Like controlling Ryland. Like weaponizing the boy. Neither of those were wanted. “How are her marks?”
“Strong.”
“That’s good. Watch her Talon, if it happens again, or the marks start to fade, let me know.”
“And what if they do?” That question was not the question he was truly asking. He knew what Wyn had demanded as much as we did. No memory or death.
Unfortunately for her, I was the King, and I get to choose what sacrifices to make.
“I don’t care what promises I made her in the past, keeping her alive is vital. I care for her too, Talon. If it happens again, I will break the bind, I will tell her everything.”
“She asked us—”
“A woman from nearly a hundred years ago asked us to bind her memories, Talon. The woman of today has asked to know.” I knew I was grasping at straws. He knew it too.
“She won’t like what she finds.”
“I know.” There was a reason she had made the demands she had. “Just watch her Talon.”
“I will. How is everything going with Joclyn?”
I had been busying myself with digging through a bin of clearance t-shirts in an attempt to avoid the still prowling women, but at Talon’s question I stood up. Heart going into overdrive.
“Torture.” I repeated his word choice back to him and he chuckled.
“I told you it would be.”
“You warned me for a thousand years, and I walked into the trap anyway.” We both laughed at that, the sound pulling every head back over to me again. It was only then I noticed I had at least three women skirting the edges of my vision.
I needed to get out of here.
“We are moving tonight. There is someone I need to see.” I said as I paid for the hoodie, a green one with Santa Fe written in orange and green. It seemed warm, she would need warm for where we were going. I had gotten a size bigger than I knew she needed.
“Do you need an escort?”
“No,” I shook my head and took my bag with a nod to the cashier who was also batting her eyes at me. I was beginning to wonder if this part of Santa Fe was somehow devoid of men. “But keep your phone on.”
“I will, My Lord.”
“And Talon.” I stopped, letting my magic flare outside of the building. If I was about to be attacked, I would like to know. Thankfully, I couldn’t sense anything from here to Joclyn. It was safe. She was safe. “Go easy on my sister. I’ve gotten five calls from her today.”
“That is not on me. That would be Wyn.”
I sighed, of course it was.
“Perhaps we should unbind Wyn’s memories; if only so those two can finally have it out with each other.” I had said it as a joke, but Talon was dead serious.
“If you want a home to come home to, I would highly suggest against that.”
I laughed as I hung up the phone, the girl that had been eyeing me through the whole conversation stepping ever closer.
She was pretty, a slight little thing with a nice smile.
I knew what she wanted.
She couldn’t have it.
I gave her a curt nod and turned, striding out of the store and back home. Toward the girl that would always be out of reach.
Sixty-Seven
Joclyn
It took a minute after Ilyan had left our tiny apartment for reality to click in. Ilyan was getting me clothes, and I was going to leave. Of course, this would mean being around people again—something I really wasn’t fond of—but I would be outside my current prison and that was all that mattered.
I bounced on my toes and took the few steps to retrieve the cell phone Ilyan left for me from the kitchen counter. I flipped the phone open and speed dialed to call Wyn. As the phone rang, I paced the floor in anticipation. It was surprising how soft the shoes were. The leather clung to my feet with the few steps I took. I could tell I was going to love them.
“Hello?” She sounded groggy. Odd, it was only nine at night in Prague right now.
“Wyn!” I almost screamed, my excitement exploding out of me. “I get to leave!”
It didn’t even take her a moment for what I had said to sink in. She squealed and repeated it, presumably to Talon who was always nearby.
“When are you leaving? Are you coming home? Please tell me you are coming right home,” she rattled on, Talon chuckling in the background.
“I’m not sure yet. Ilyan is taking me out for dinner tonight. Then we get to leave soon.”
“But you don’t know where to yet?” Her voice had dropped, and my heart sunk with it. I was so excited to be leaving the apartment, I hadn’t thought about where we would end up, yet the thought of not getting to see Wyn again soon was depressing. As much as I was getting used to Ilyan’s company and beginning to enjoy being around him, I would like to see Wyn too.
“Don’t rain on my parade, Wyn.” I grumbled.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just that I miss you. It’s been months, and with everything that’s happening, I worry.”
“What do you mean with everything that’s happening?” I asked.
I plopped down on the bed, curling my toes in the beautiful shoes, and waited. There was a much longer pause than I was used to as Talon whispered something in the background. It wasn’t like Wyn to hesitate. She usually said what was on her mind whether it would offend someone or not.
“Wyn,” I prompted. “What’s going on?” My stomach tightened a bit in anticipation.
“Just with everyone looking for you, people being able to track your magic, and all that.”
I knew Ryland could track my magic, and would presumably be looking for me, however Wyn made it sound like something more active.
“Everyone’s looking for me?” I said quietly. “Everyone like Ryland everyone, or everyone-everyone? I don’t suppose you and Talon were planning a rescue mission to get me out of my studio-sized prison?”
“Ryland everyone, Jos.” She paused, and my shoulders knit together in frustration.
Twice in one day I wasn’t being told exactly what was going on. Worst of all, people were keeping things from me that directly pertained to me. ‘People’ being Wyn and Ilyan, even though I knew Wyn was probably just following orders. I knew that Ilyan had a right not to tell me everything, it was still frustrating. I trusted him with my life, my secrets. He had become more than a friend. Hearing that he was keeping something from me for the second time in under an hour made my head hurt.
“He can’t track my magic behind Ilyan’s shield, Wyn,” I said, a little perturbed that my good news had been smashed.
“I think it’s a little bit more than that. I think it’s more of an active searching.” Active searching? Wyn made it sound like someone was hovering on the balcony waiting for me to absent-mindedly walk out.
“Why wouldn’t Ilyan tell me?”
“I am not sure Ilyan knows, Jos.” Her voice was quiet.
“What?” I asked, my back straightening in alarm. “What do you mean he doesn’t know?”
There was a scuffling and more whispering on the other end of the line. I held the phone to my ear tightly, desperate to hear anything.
Ilyan always knew what was going on. He had spies and contacts everywhere who reported bac
k to him. His phone rang off the hook most of the day with reports on Edmund and Ryland, Prague, and who knew what else. The fact that he could possibly not be aware of something was worrisome.
“Wyn?” I asked when I couldn’t wait anymore. There was a bit more of a whispered fight and then Talon took the line, his deep voice booming through the long distance connection.
“Hey, Jos. It’s Talon, how’re you doin’, little girl?”
“I’m fine, Talon. Can you please tell me what’s going on?” I was practically begging, but I needed someone to pull me back from the edge of my growing fear.
“Sure kid,” he exhaled deeply, and for a moment I was worried he was going to lead me on, too. “Last week I was harvesting in the orchard when I overheard someone crying and whimpering, though I’m not sure who. They were begging for help and pleading with someone. We’ve heard your name mentioned a few times. I ran to find out what was going on, but nothing was there. No one was in the trees.”
“A few other people have heard it, too,” Wyn broke in, having obviously put me on speaker phone, “someone whimpering and crying. But no one can figure out who.”
“What are you saying; that there is a spy in our midst?” I said, purposefully making my words sound like a spy movie in an attempt to break the tension. It didn’t work.
“That’s exactly what we are saying, Jos,” Talon said.
I threw myself back on my bed. I should be happy. I was finally getting out of the house, we had decided Ryland might still be able to be saved, and soon I was going to leave this prison forever, yet at that moment, I was stressed and uncomfortable.
“And Ilyan doesn’t know?”
“Ovailia is looking into it, but I don’t know if she has told him yet. I would assume not if he is planning on taking you out to dinner tonight,” Wyn replied. Afterward, I could hear Talon whisper something behind her again.
“Why didn’t you call and tell me or Ilyan?”
More whispering, I waited for a minute, my impatience growing.
Imdalind Ruby Collection One: Kiss of Fire | Eyes of Ember | Scorched Treachery Page 46