What business does Landon have with the jewelry box? Does Aiden have him trying to figure out whose soul is in the pearl? I decide that I don’t care and turn to Mason. “Mason and I were wondering if you’d like to come along and babysit me while I pick out a soul.”
Landon springs up as if he’s a servant assigned to my every need and nods. “Of course. I forgot to take you earlier. I’m sorry. I’m a terrible supervisor.”
Instead of heading towards the kitchen which is for some reason where I thought the souls were kept, we head to a wing of the castle that I’ve never visited before. Inside there are windowless rooms with pictures on each door. Each picture is of a different human. My stomach rolls in illness as what this place is sinks in. Demons come and go from the rooms. The act of consuming a soul itself isn't considered a private practice, but many demons tend to mesh pleasure and feeding together. Hense why each room here is private. The thought of what's going on in each room to each of these humans is sickening. This whole room is enough to sicken me. I feel the blood leave my face.
Mason takes in my expression, realizing that it’s the first time I’ve been down here. “Landon, I don’t think Megan should see anymore.”
Landon stops and turns back to us, a grimace on his face. “Megan? Are you alright?”
I shake my head and back up a step.
“Aiden always brings them up to her,” Mason explains and realization then hits Landon.
“He’s going to kill us, isn’t he?” Landon frets.
Mason nods. “Probably.”
“Well, she’s already down here, so we may as well get this over with,” Landon decides.
“Landon? Is that you?” a voice calls and a man struts towards him. “It’s been nearly a decade, old friend.”
I realize that the man I’m looking at with the brown hair and laugh lines is a pure. A pure. What is he doing in this part of the castle? I’m really not supposed to be here I realize just as the man’s eyes settle on me. A disgusting, creepy smile sets in on his face as he looks me over. I cringe away, getting closer to Mason. Mason wraps his arms around me protectively and begins to direct me from the room quickly. I’m almost surprised when the creepy man doesn’t stop us. Landon doesn’t follow.
Mason leads me back to my bedroom, stopping outside the door when an all too familiar figure steps out in front of us. Aiden. He’s back already.
Chapter 6
“Why are you two in such a hurry?” he asks, glancing between the two of us. “What trouble have you gotten into?”
Mason, having to obey Aiden, begins to blurt out what just happened.
I interrupt him. “I got a little curious and snuck over to the place where the souls are. I started having a mental breakdown but Mason came and pulled me out.”
Aiden’s look turns from amusement to utter shock. To my relief, he doesn’t ask Mason if I’m telling the truth because he has no reason not to trust me, not really at least.
“Mason, you may go,” Aiden instructs and Mason turns and walks away.
“Megan, are you alright?” Aiden asks once he’s gone. He pulls me into a tight hug and rests his chin on top of my head.
“I think so. I just need to calm down. It’s been a rough day,” I murmur into his chest. “Why are you back so early?”
I feel him shrug. “Everything went well. I left Forrest there to finish up with things. I needed to get back to you. I was worried about you and rightfully so apparently.”
Ready to get my mind off of what I just seen in the soul room, I ask, “What do you have Landon doing with the jewelry box?”
Aiden chuckles. “He’s doing some research on it for me. It’s an alchemist thing.”
I don’t question this because, in all honesty, I’m not sure I want to know any more.
“I have a surprise for you,” he whispers in my ear gruffly.
I perk up a little. He knows how much I love surprises. He leads me into my room and we both take seats on the end of the bed. He hands me a cardboard box. I open it to find a photo of Aiden and I while I was still a halfling. A photo Terry took as Aiden trained me one morning. We’re both smiling as I look at the camera and he gazes at me with affection. I’ve never seen the photo before and it warms my heart.
“Do you like it?” he asks.
I love it. I nod. I can’t help but let my smile falter when I look at my eyes in the picture. They’re not black like they are now. Aiden senses this drop in my emotion and grips my hand in his. “I think your eyes were beautiful then, and I think they’re just as beautiful now,” he mutters, his lips grazing my forehead lightly.
I close my eyes, savoring the moment of closeness. I don’t see enough of him lately, and I need him more than ever. I lean into him and he pulls me down to lay beside him on the bed.
I open my eyes slightly to see that he’s staring at me smiling. Instead of finding it creepy, my heart begins to race erratically. “You make my days so much better,” he muses and kisses my forehead again. I can’t help but think that I’d really him rather kiss my lips.
“I should go,” he says through a sigh. “I have work that needs to get done.”
I pull my eyebrows together and shake my head. “No,” I groan. “Don’t go.”
He sighs. “I really don’t want to go,” he admits, using his hand to brush some of my hair out of my face and behind my ear. I love it when he does this.
“You’re the boss around here, aren’t you?” I ask. “Just stay.”
He chuckles and plants one more kiss to my forehead before sitting up. “I am the boss which is why I have to go.”
“I miss you,” I plead.
“I miss you too,” he says through a smile, but I know the smile is fake by the way he says his words. He’s trying to make me feel better somehow by smiling. I don’t buy it. I see right through it.
I sit and cross my arms. “Don’t you ever get a break?”
He debates this. “Not really. Not until I get all this under control. After that I can put someone in charge while I take a break for a while I suppose.”
“How long until then?”
He scratches his chin. “Probably a few years I’m afraid.”
“Years?!” I want to scream.
He looks to me apologetically. “Megan, you know I’m here for you no matter what. You’re young. I wouldn’t blame you if you went and lived your life, you know. You don’t deserve to be cooped up in this castle like a pet. You should go explore the world. You being here, being around me, being close to me, puts you in danger. You’re so breakable and right now, with rocks flying at you, I have no doubt in my mind that eventually one won’t miss you, it’ll hit you and shatter you. I don’t want that to happen. I can protect you only so much.”
“What are you saying?” I ask worriedly. Is he breaking up with me? Are we even dating? What are we? I suddenly don’t know. I’m suddenly questioning everything.
“Calm down, love,” he murmurs in a purr. “I’m not saying that we can’t be together. I’m just saying that we shouldn’t, not right now. One day when it’s not so dangerous, sure, but today? I don’t know if I can continue to be the reason you’re put in the line of fire. I want you to go live with Landon wherever you want. I’ll buy house for you wherever you want, and when it’s safe, I’ll come for you and bring you back here if you still want to be with me. I won’t be angry if you don’t though.”
I swallow hard and notice that I’m shaking my head back and forth like a crazy person. He is not doing this. Nope. “I’m staying. I don’t care if I’m in danger.”
He cocks his head at me, knowing that I’m lying. I’m kind of a chicken and I do care if I’m in danger. I don’t want to die. Call me selfish, but I don’t. Call me a coward, but I don’t want to die. I’m not ready to die, not yet.
Aiden rolls his eyes as if I’m being dramatic. “At least think about it, alright?”
I agree to this only because I know he won’t give in until I do. He gets up and lea
ves me alone in my room again. I’m really starting to hate this stupid room. It makes me feel claustrophobic. I find myself actually debating the choice he’s given me. Either I can stay here with Aiden, my life on the line or I can leave, be away from Aiden indefinitely, explore the world, live life, while I wait for him. I can sit around here and put my life in danger while I wait for him or I can live life, explore, while I wait for him. I feel guilty for seriously considering his offer. I’m startled when Tamzen comes out from the bathroom. I didn’t realize she was in here.
“Ma’am, are you alright?” she asks.
I nod. “Did you hear?” I wonder.
She nods apologetically and begins for the door.
“What do you think I should do?” I ask her honestly. I need another opinion.
“Well, ma’am, I’ve never been in love, but he is right. You are in danger here; we all can feel the tension in Tartarus. There are people, rebels, who want Aiden dead. You’re not safe here. Also, know that he loves you. I see it in his expressions and movements. I’m sure he’d rather have you alive than dead. How is he to do his job when he’s constantly worrying about you? How, when he’s constantly coming to check on you? And ma’am, don’t you want a life out of these walls? I know you get lonely. You read many books and sigh often in boredom. You’ll be no use to him dead, no use to yourself. Plus, if everyone thinks that you have no connection to Aiden any longer, they won’t use you against him, they’ll forget about you. You’re more a danger to Aiden than you are a help, I’m afraid. I apologize if my opinion is unwarranted.”
I take in everything she says carefully and realize that she is completely right. “Do you think he’ll wait for me?” I ask. “Even if it’s years before I can come back here?”
She nods. “That man is in love with you, Megan. Deeply so. When a demon falls, they fall hard.” She says this teasingly, but I don’t think she’s joking.
“Thank you, Tamzen,” I acknowledge. Now I need to think. Alone.
Chapter 7
“Ready?” Aiden asks, a grim expression on his face. He looks torn, like he’s not sure whether to be happy or sad. I also have these mixed feelings about leaving. How long until I’ll get to see him again?
I nod and pick up my suitcase, which he takes from me. God forbid I have to carry something. A servant runs to him to take it, and to my surprise, Aiden lets him.
“You have to walk out of here crying so people think I actually broke your heart. You can’t walk out of here joking around with Mason, got it?” he asks. We’re staging a break up so no one comes after me to use me as a hostage again, so people forget I exist. I wonder how things get around when there are no TVs or cell phones but Aiden promises me that the rumor will spread like wildfire and it’ll be the juiciest gossip in the demon realm and before long everyone will be talking about it. “I’m going to miss you,” he purrs into my ear and plants a kiss square on my lips. Butterflies flutter in my stomach.
Mason and Landon wait outside for the big show. The rest of the in-castle guards know to follow Aiden and will keep him safe as he strolls out into the courtyard with me.
I don’t have to pretend to cry. My life has been nothing but shit lately and I need a good cry, especially now that I’m leaving Aiden and who knows when I’ll get to see him again.
Terry lands a hand on Aiden’s shoulder and gives us a reassuring smile. “You guys are doing the right thing for each other and for the demons. This needs to be done as hard as it is.”
The tears come naturally and begin rolling down my cheeks. That’s how Aiden knows it’s go time. We’ve gone over the plan multiple times and we have no doubt that it’ll work. We need to do this outside so the townspeople hear and those in the castle. We need witnesses.
We stroll towards the doors that lead outside and Terry opens them for us. I storm out first, Aiden after me.
“Get out of my sight! Go!” Aiden begins yelling. “Get out of hell and don’t come back. You’re banished!” Aiden’s face turns red and he throws a dagger at me. I dodge it like we practiced and begin running through the courtyard.
I stop to shout, “Oh, trust me, I won’t be coming back here. I won’t be going anywhere near you again, asshole!” I cry loudly, the words paining me.
Aiden tries his hardest not to wince when he shouts back. “You’re lucky that I don’t kill you right now for insulting me! Have you forgotten who you’re speaking to? Next time I see you—if I ever see you again—I will kill you! That’s a promise!”
“Your majesty.” I mock, throwing in a bow. “I’m a royal. By law aren’t you to assign me at least one guard?”
Aiden pretends to debate this. He then turns and looks around as if trying to choose one. He points to Mason. “Take this one. He’s no good to me, nothing but a waste of skin ex-hunter. Take him, get him out of my hair!”
Mason, following direct orders, follows me to the edge of the courtyard.
Mason and I both storm off through the gates towards the train that will take us to the nearest portal. A few demons leer at us and Mason jumps in front of me to protect me. We pissed off their leader and they’re ticked.
“Let them go. I feel merciful today,” Aiden scoffs harshly. The demons back off, obeying his every order. When we get on the train, I finally relax a little. Aiden needs Landon’s help with whatever it is they’ve been working on so he’s not going to be joining us for a few days. It’s just Mason and I for a while. I trust Mason and so does Aiden.
We are both silent until we get to the portal where I say the words Aiden taught me to say and drop my blood onto the marker rock. This portal doesn’t take us to Toronto. It takes us to a beach in Florida, USA. The sun is bright here. It takes a moment for our eyes to adjust to the light. How I miss the sun while in hell.
Aiden has bought us a condo two hours north of here to stay in while we wait for things to become safer in hell so I can return. “Tell me again why it’s safer for you here with only me to protect you, rather than in hell at the castle where there are dozens of guards?”
I’ve already explained this to him so I shrug.
Right on time, Forrest pulls up in a red Ferrari and waves us over. We jump in and begin the two-hour drive north to our temporary home.
“I drop you off, you two blend in like humans. Don’t call attention to yourselves. Jacksonville has one of the lowest demon populations in the world so it shouldn’t be hard. Aiden will be in contact through me and Landon only for both your safety. When it’s safe he’ll come himself. He’ll write letters through an alias and you may write letters back with an alias. Landon and I will deliver those letters. Also, Landon will teach you how to get ahold of him through your mind once he arrives. You should have far enough money to buy the essentials. Lastly, soul arrangements, Aiden has arranged for you to be registered to the Jacksonville area. Since you are a royal, you have the privilege to have souls delivered right to your door on call-in basis. The number is on your fridge disguised as a delivery pizza joint business card,” Forrest explains quickly, like he’s in some sort of hurry even though we have a two-hour drive ahead of us.
Mason and I both nod as we listen to him. When he finally stops talking, he grins. “So, now that you’re single, does that mean I have a chance?” Forrest asks with a smirk.
Mason rolls his eyes and I glare at him. Forrest is one of Aiden’s biggest allies at the moment which makes him one of mine as well, even after what he did to me. I don’t blame him for what he did anymore, because, in his shoes, I may have done the same exact thing. I have forgiven him, especially after he helped me escape the rebels, going against his own brother. By doing that, he proved himself and his loyalty to both Aiden and I.
“I’m not actually single, remember?” I ask him.
He shrugs. “Not what Aiden said. He said you are free to do as you please while he sorts things out. Whether that be a year from now or fifty. You can’t just sit around and wait, Megan, you have to live. He won’t blame you, in fact, you
can’t deny that he encouraged you to.”
He’s right but I don’t give in. “Do you think he’ll do the same?” Both Mason and Forrest go quiet. “What?” I ask. Do they know something that I don’t?
Forrest shrugs. “I hate to be the Debby downer here, but Aiden is probably the most powerful person on earth, and at the same time he’s also just a man.”
What does that mean?
“How long have you known Aiden?” Forrest asks.
A few months. I don’t answer because I know the question is rhetorical.
“Who’s to say he won’t find another women during the possible years you’re apart? He’s bound to at least sleep with women. Aiden’s always been a bit of a player.”
Mason reaches over from the back seat and punches Forrest’s shoulder. “Don’t be a dick,” he warns. “You’re not doing any good. You’re just worrying her.”
Forrest chuckles. “You can’t tell me you’re thinking other thoughts, Mason.”
Mason doesn’t deny it. He actually looks out the window as if trying not to look at me. Worry skyrockets through my body. Are they serious? Do they really think Aiden would just move on so quickly? Who’re they to know? I remind myself that they’ve both known Aiden far, far longer than I have. This frightens me. Aiden wouldn’t move on, not without warning at least. If I sense him pulling away, if I sense his letters becoming distant, then I’ll go back. I don’t care if it risks my life, I’ll chase him to the end of the earth.
“How do you even know you love him? You’re only what, twenty something years old? How do you know what love is?” Forrest asks next.
Masons gaze snaps forward. “Enough, Forrest. Seriously.”
The rest of the car ride is silent and I am more than relieved to reach our destination. I pick the smaller room because it has a better view of the city and Mason gets the large one with no windows.
Changeling (Black Petals Book 2) Page 9