Solace: Book Three (Strange in Skin Trilogy)

by Sara V. Zook

  Another few minutes passed. Cami was up on the board and being hauled into the ambulance.

  “Please, stay here so we can take a statement and get your information in case there are any more questions,” one of the medics said.

  The woman and man started whispering to each other as I saw Ben and Emry take a few steps backwards away from them. Emry motioned for me to do the same and held out his hand for me to take hold of.

  I took one more look at the two people standing in front of us, the back of their heads facing me so they couldn’t see what any of us were doing.

  I grabbed tightly onto Emry’s hand as if I could fall while being transported or something, and when I looked up again, we were back in Evadere.

  “Didn’t even miss lunch,” Emry joked, headed toward the main gate of the castle. “I’m starved.”

  “Not so fast.” I put my hands on my hips. “What’s going to happen to Cami?”

  Emry smiled as Ben walked into the castle, leaving us alone outside.

  “Merrick whipped up some sort of concoction that’ll keep her in a coma-like state for a few days,” Emry explained.

  “Coma?” I hissed. “Why?”

  He sighed and took both of my hands in his. “Listen, Anna, I know it sucks, but it was the best plan we could come up with.

  “Who’s we?”

  He paused. “Ben.”

  “Figures,” I said. “Any lousy plan would come from him right now.”

  Emry stared into my eyes with a forgive me kind of look. “She’s going to be okay. They took her to a hospital. She’ll wake up in a few days. Her memory will be a little hazy, and she’ll think she dreamt the whole thing. Maybe she’ll remember Treyu, that they ran off together, but he’ll be gone, and she won’t know what to think about him or why he left. She’ll tell the hospital her name, where her family is. They’ll contact them and they’ll come and be together again,” he explained.

  I frowned.

  “Not a great plan, I agree,” he added. “But what else was there to do?”

  “I guess,” I mumbled. “I feel so bad though.”

  “About the coma?”

  “More about the fact that she’ll never know why Treyu just up and left her.”

  “But he did.” Emry lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. “Are we good?”

  I pressed my head up against his chest and took a deep breath. “Yes, we’re definitely good.”

  “Good,” he said chuckling. He patted his stomach. “I’m starving.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, you look like you’re wasting away to nothing.”

  He grinned and pulled me into the castle.

  ELEVEN

  A few days passed. The weather turned dreary and rainy. I kept fishing for information on Cami, if she had woken up and was okay. Emry told me she was still sleeping--aka in a drug-induced coma. I was a little worried about her. What if Merrick had overdone it? What if that poor girl never woke up? This was all Treyu’s fault. I couldn’t stand him.

  While eating lunch with Jo in the garden, Emry found us. He came strutting over like he had some glorious news.

  “Well,” he said.

  I looked up at him as I shoved another bite of sandwich in my mouth. “Well what?”

  His faced twisted into a half smile. “You’ll be happy to know Cami is fine.”

  “Oh, good!” I shouted, relief washing over me.

  “She doesn’t remember much she claims, and her family is with her. She’s going to be released in a few days.”

  “That does make me happy,” I admitted.

  “Do you want to join us?” Jo asked.

  “That’s all right; I have some more work I need to get back to.”

  Emry just stood there, staring at me.

  I raised my eyebrows. “Something else I need to know?”

  He smiled.

  Jo looked at me and laughed. “You two are funny.”

  “What about two weeks?” he asked.

  “For what?”

  Jo looked from Emry to me.

  “I know, Jo, I’m just as confused,” I told her.

  He took a few steps closer to us, then put his hands on his hips. “Two weeks until the wedding.”

  “The one that’s going to be here?”

  He nodded.

  “The one where I’ll be wife and queen all in one day?” I questioned him, my voice rising a few octaves.

  “It’s soon, I know.”

  He had those puppy dog eyes on him. I was waiting for him to stick out his lip next.

  “Why the rush?” I finally asked.

  “Why the wait?” he asked back.

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “I don’t think you’re going to win this one,” Jo said, giggling.

  I shook my head and began to laugh. “Yeah, no kidding. He thinks he’s so witty with his counter questions.”

  “I am pretty witty,” Emry stated.

  I just stared at him, the news of him telling me this sending anxiety soaring through my body. I didn’t want to wait, I just didn’t want to be in front of all of those people knowing some of them wanted to curse me out and probably kill me too since I would be their human queen.

  “What did she say?” Trishelle walked out into the garden, her eyes lighting up at the first glance of all the beautiful plants illuminating their brilliant colors. “Now this is a great place for a wedding.”

  “I know,” Emry replied. “And she didn’t answer me yet.”

  “Oh, I came too early?” Trishelle asked, crossing her arms.

  “Yeah, you came too early.” Emry looked back at me, his eyes pleading. I couldn’t say no even though I wanted to puke from my stomach churning at the thought of the day approaching so quickly.

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  “Was that a yes?” Trishelle asked.

  Emry put his finger to his lips. “I believe that was a yes.”

  They both looked to me for confirmation.

  I threw my hands in the air as if giving up. “Yes, that’s a yes.”

  Trishelle clapped her hands together. “Are you done eating? We have a lot to do.” She put her arm around my neck.

  “I guess I’m done.” I glanced at Jo.

  “Let’s get going then,” Trishelle chirped leading me toward the door to go back in the castle.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  Trishelle removed her arm from me to go examine one of the flowers. “It’s time you tried on that dress.”

  Butterflies danced in my stomach, the anxiety turning into excitement at her words. “Really? The dress?”

  She nodded. “That’s right. The dress.”

  “Jo, are you coming, too?” I asked, running over to Emry to give him a quick kiss.

  Jo frowned. “I have a lot of work to do in the kitchen. I’m going to pass this time.” She stood up and headed for the door. “Have a great time.” She pressed her lips together for a moment before displaying a forced smile.

  I bit the end of my fingernail. “Okay.” I turned to Emry. “See you tonight?”

  He cupped my cheek in his hand. “We’ll have a nice dinner together. We have a lot of planning to do.”

  The adrenaline from the excitement surged through my veins. I wanted to jump up and down at the thought of seeing the finished product of my wedding dress.

  I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Emry. “Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  I walked outside with Trishelle and got into a carriage. The warm air skimmed through my hair as the vehicle moved forward.

  “I was hoping it’d be just us two,” Trishelle said, adjusting the huge turquoise stone she was wearing on her finger. “It’s not every day you get some alone time to get to know the new human queen.”

  I kept staring at the scenery outside, how the road turned into dust again, the lush land becoming distant behind us, but I could feel Trishelle’s eyes on me. An interrogation of some sort was coming, and I didn’t know if I
could trust her. It was a conversation I hadn’t had with Emry yet. How much should the contributors know about mine or Emry’s lives?

  Trishelle reached over and began combing her fingers through my hair. My stomach tightened. Maybe Jo should’ve come with me.

  “Such a pretty human you are, Anna.”

  “Do you think humans are ugly?” I asked, pulling my hair to one shoulder and away from Trishelle’s claws.

  She laughed. “Oh, I suppose not all of them are. It’s just their nature that makes them unattractive creatures.”

  I had forgotten for a moment that on Evadere I was an exhibit. Now with Trishelle touching me, I felt like a petting zoo. The mundane, dense stereotype of the entire human race was being questioned by the contributors as I associated with their kind. They were curious, yet skeptical about how capable I was to be their queen. I understood it, to a certain degree, but the knowledge of what they thought about me didn’t make me comfortable. The excitement of the dress began to dwindle. I should’ve asked Emry to send guards with me. Could I even trust the guards? I should’ve had Emry come with me. It felt like my stomach flip flopped inside of me. I hoped Trishelle’s father wouldn’t be there today. I should’ve thought this through more before just hopping into the carriage with this bizarre contributor. The wedding dress had blinded me from being rational.

  “So tell me, if you will, how this whole thing happened between you and the prince.”

  I took a deep breath and folded my hands together on my lap. I couldn’t show my nervousness. Trishelle had told me to grow a backbone. I tried to collect myself.

  “What do contributors know about Emry?” I asked.

  Trishelle cocked her head to the side and grinned. “Well done, Miss Anna. You’re changing the wind of conversation to redirect a question you’re not sure you should answer.” She drummed her fingers on the edge of the carriage. “Intelligence is a most admirable virtue, in my opinion, that is.”

  Had she been testing me, or was she genuinely interested in conning information out of me?

  “We all know he was hidden on Earth for safety reasons away from the Scaves,” she continued.

  “But was that something you learned recently or have known all along?”

  Trishelle pressed her lips together. “Of course no one knew that when he was there. We often wondered what would happen to the royal family when Atavia was gone without there being an heir. Now it all makes perfect sense. The Scaves have been hunting them forever.”

  “How does anyone know the Scaves are hunting them when no one associates with them?”

  “They attacked the castle and killed the king,” Trishelle explained as if the answer were as easy as that. “They’re not just going to let things be. They’re not happy with the lives they’re living. They’ll be back to attack again.” She paused for a moment. “It’s not a fact of knowing with absolute certainty that they’re coming. If that was the case, we’d know the day, the time and royalty would be prepared. You see, it’s just plain logic. They’re regrouping, revamping, attempting to gain strength and plan carefully so they can hit royalty just at the right time. A group that’s dissatisfied, such as the Scaves, their dissatisfaction consumes them, makes them who they are. It’s all they think about. The negativity has made them into the beasts they are today. The only relief they would have from their misery is to get rid of the ones who have made them miserable.”

  I thought about what she was saying. It was logical, all of it.

  “It’s part of our history here, Scaves versus royalty. It must be chilling to you to be so uncertain of a fatal attack knowing you are to be a part of the royal group.” Trishelle now drummed her fingers along her cheek.

  I narrowed my eyes at her for a moment. It was like I had to think of every little thing I was going to say before I said it with her to make sure it was coming out right. “I feel safe with Emry.”

  “Feeling safe and knowing you’re safe are two very different things,” she stated.

  Trishelle’s attempt to be condescending irritated me. She probably thought I didn’t even realize she was looking down her nose at me because I was a human.

  “I am safe with Emry.” I tightened my hands into fists, squeezed and released them. “His powers are strong.”

  “Yet he was defeated by his cousin’s powers, Treyu, or so the rumor goes.”

  I sucked my bottom lip in and chewed on it. So this was the way things were going to be. Me and Emry were supposed to have this glorified wedding of both marriage and entering into the highest royal positions in front of an audience of contributors who didn’t even believe we should be king and queen. Instead of supporting us while we were standing up there, they’d be mocking us behind our backs. My assumptions had just been confirmed.

  “If you’re trying to scare me about staying here in Evadere, Trishelle, you’re too late,” I told her. “I’m already scared, but it doesn’t matter. I will go through with it. It’s not because I want to be queen. I don’t want to have a higher authority than anyone here. That’s not my intention at all. It’s because I believe in love, something you contributors deny in your lives.”

  Trishelle’s mouth dropped open as if she hadn’t expected me to snap like that.

  “You said you wanted to know about me and Emry, well, let me just sum it up for you.” The carriage pulled into the tent that contained my dress. “The only thing the contributors need to know about us is that nothing, and I do mean nothing, can ever tear us apart from each other.” I shoved the vehicle door open and jumped out, my back facing Trishelle as I made my way to the entrance of the tent. She was probably still sitting in the carriage with that dumbfounded look on her face wondering how a human could throw words back at her. None of the contributors knew the tribulations Emry and I had been through both together and separately. They had no idea of how strong we had become, how I had grown immensely as a person myself. They could look down on me all they wanted. I didn’t think I’d ever be comfortable with being labeled as the human here, but I wasn’t going to let them deter my attention from the one thing I would always want in my life, Emry Logan.

  Once inside the tent, the contributors gawked at my presence. I stood there for a few moments, unsure of exactly what it was I was supposed to do. Trishelle hadn’t caught up to me yet. I could feel my cheeks burn red with the unwanted attention.

  “Your majesty,” a young male contributor said, stumbling over his own feet to get to me.

  “Please, call me Anna.”

  He nodded, the brown curl on top of his head bobbing with the movement. He offered me his arm. “Come with me.”

  I put my arm through his, still looking around and making eye contact with everyone else. He led me to the back and pulled the entranceway closed. He turned to look at me, his forehead dotted in beads of sweat.

  “Are you feeling okay?” I asked. “What’s your name?”

  “Am I feeling okay?” He raised his eyebrows and then reached for a towel to dab his face with. “Yes, I’m fine, fine. Just a little nervous. And Henry … my name’s Henry.”

  I smiled. He was one of the first contributors I had come into contact with that didn’t seem to be threatened by me. “Nervous about what, Henry?”

  He tossed the towel back down and rubbed his palms into his thighs. “The dress. Your dress. I’m nervous about you seeing your dress.”

  “Let’s get her into the dress,” Trishelle stated, coming up from behind.

  I turned to look at her. She was carrying drinks. She handed one to me and smiled.

  Taking the drink, I held it up to my lips and drank, the strong juice burning my throat on the way down.

  “Undress,” Trishelle instructed. “This is the moment we have been waiting for. This dress has brought much excitement to our group, especially since we’re the first to see you in it.”

  When I stepped into the middle of the white clump on the floor, I held my breath and closed my eyes. Trishelle and Henry reached for the en
ds of the fabric and began to pull it up over my legs and hips and finally over my chest. They began working on tying it in the back.

  “What is she doing?” I heard Henry whisper.

  Trishelle paused for a moment before replying, “She shut her eyes so it’ll be a surprise.”

  “Oh,” he said.

  There was one final pull and then the sound of something scraping against the floor.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Henry’s bringing over a mirror,” Trishelle answered. “Go on and take a look.”

  I stared at the girl in the mirror. It was just my face on a body of fabric so white it seemed to be glowing like one of the stars in Evadere’s night sky. My fingers ran over the diamonds sewn into the fabric on the top. This dress was stunning. It made me look stunning as well, and it fit me like a glove.

  “See, we added some gold here and here,” Henry told me, pointing with his fingers. “We accented the gold waist by adding this here.”

  I was memorized by the sight of myself.

  “Anna,” Trishelle finally said after letting it sink in for a moment. “What do you think?”

  “Are there any changes you’d like us to do?” Henry asked.

  I turned slightly to see the back. It looked so heavy yet felt as if it weighed nothing. “Wow,” I finally managed to get out. “This dress is amazing. And no, Henry, there are no changes that I can think of. It’s perfect, absolutely perfect.”

  Henry beamed as a grin spread out over his face. “Oh, I’m so thrilled to hear you say that.”

  My fingertips returned to the smooth diamonds. “Are these real?”

  “Real? What kind of question is that?” Trishelle said, messing with the end of the train.

  I didn’t know what she meant. Did she mean are you insane? Of course those aren’t real. Or did she mean only real diamonds for the future queen?

  “Let’s go show everyone out front,” Trishelle suggested, walking over to the door.

  I attempted to peel my eyes away from the mirror.

  “Anna?” Henry whispered, taking hold of the back of my arm to lead me toward the door.