He seemed content enough with the change of subject, with the course my mind wandered towards. He smiled radiantly as he pressed himself against me, leaning over me to press a kiss against my lips. I opened my mouth in his, my tongue pushing past locked lips to tangle with his.
The kiss was different from the others he'd given me. It wasn't desperate, erratic. It was almost as if he were saying goodbye. And the sadness of that cracked my chest in two.
I pulled away from him quickly and he pressed his forehead to mine, breathing out a breath. "We must be insane," he whispered. "We're going straight into the hybrid den." There was a silence as we let those words sink in. The gravity of them weighed my heart to my toes like an anchor. This was a dangerous mission. It would be like nothing we'd ever faced before. The hybrids weren't just wild boars. They were massive. Violent. Thirsty for blood. "Stay safe, Keanna." His grip tightened on me, hand going to the back of my neck to pull me closer. He would probably pull me straight into his body like a phantom if he could and keep me safe within him. "I can't lose you. I won't lose you, Keanna."
"Ssh," I wrapped my arms around his waist. "We can't think that way. We have to go into battle as if victory is certain."
River chuckled. "You sound like your mom."
My heart clenched at that, as I realized that I did sound like her. For so long, she'd drilled lesson after lesson on royalty, on behavior, politics and battles. Lessons I swallowed both eagerly and bitterly. Lessons I needed as heir but that I also wished I could throw away at the same time.
And now I'd have to apply everything I'd ever learned if I wanted to get her back.
Chapter Seven
"Ready to go?" Akir asked, interrupting us. We pulled away from each other slowly before I turned to nod at Akir. "Good." He gestured to a parked black van. The back of it had no doors, as if they'd been ripped off to expose the seatless inside. There were two seats in the front and a window to separate it from the back. "Get in," he commanded.
Already, his two brothers were hopping into the back, weapons in hand, and getting into a comfortable position.
River tightened his hand against my lower back at the sight of them, at the sight of people he didn't trust. He paused too long, his face hard unreadable lines. Akir was staring at him as if he could read every word and feeling etched onto my guard's face.
I sighed and went forward, hopping into the back with his siblings. I trusted Braxtyn about as much as River did, but it was wise not to make it known. I'd pretend to like him and spy on him, try and catch him in some sort of malicious act. Maybe he'd been the one to sell his own father out. But why? To be king? It's not as if he could have been king anyway. Akir was next in line. I only hoped he wouldn't try and remove his own brother from the throne. I'd come to like my fiancée, despite myself. And if Braxtyn had planned anything that would put him in harm's way, well…
I pulled the gun from my waist holster and cocked it.
Braxtyn and Cole looked at me warily, their own fingers skimming along their waists to their own weapons. River jumped into the back of the van and sat beside me. I didn't need to look at him to see. I knew he was shooting mutinous glares in Braxtyn's direction, his hand tightening near his own weapon, ready to spring and protect me at any moment.
"Is there a problem?" Braxtyn asked, his tone hard and annoyed.
"One can never be too careful," River replied smoothly.
I chuckled.
Cole threw his head back and laughed. "If you wanted to measure dicks, Stream, all you had to do was say so." He started unbuttoning the tops of his extremely tight leather pants. Braxtyn rolled his eyes and placed a hand over his younger brother's wrist to stop him from foolishness.
"My name is River," my guard said from between clenched teeth.
Cole laughed again. The sound broke the tension and I found myself joining in. It eased the tightness in my chest, and had me putting my gun back into my holster. The brothers eyed the movement and moved their own hands far away from their weapons.
Good.
We could at least fake civility.
The front door to the van opened and Akir hopped into the driver's seat. Helga hopped in to the passenger's side and immediately put her feet up onto the dashboard. She appeared calm and cool on the outside, but I had no doubt that she was alert to any and every threat around Akir.
Akir started the van. Just as he did, Kael appeared in the back and jumped in, taking a seat beside River in a cross-legged position. His face was grave and a little sad. I leaned over River to whisper, "Did you talk to Lex?"
Kael looked at me and offered up a tight smile. "I tried. He didn't want to even see to me."
The van started forward at a slow pace. I felt my heart lurch with it. Both at the fear of the technology and hurt for Kael and Lex. "There's still time, you know," I said sadly. I didn't want to let him go. I didn't want to let any of them go. But I would not hold them here if they did not want it. "You can go catch up to Lex."
Kael gripped my hand tightly and then let go. "Lex made his choice. I'm making mine, princess."
I swallowed the lump in my throat but nodded and sat back against the wall of the van. It started to pick up the pace, going faster and faster on the streets of the Ruined City. There were two other vans following at the sides and one large truck leading the front. One filled with ammo and provisions and one filled with guards and soldiers. There weren't many, but they were the amount that Akir thought we'd need for this mission.
I closed my eyes and listened as those around me fell into whispered chatter. I tried not to think about what loomed ahead, about what could possibly be waiting for us at the Hybrid Laboratory. Hybrids, for sure. But why had the royals been taken there, of all places? Whoever was running that whole operation had brought the hybrids back, had used them as bodyguards or protection as they went kidnapping royals from the outskirts of their homes.
To what end?
My mind turned the questions over and over through invisible hands.
A shout brought me out of my head.
I turned to look out of the back of the van to see Lex.
Running towards us as fast as he could.
My eyebrows shot up to my hairline as took him in. River exclaimed loudly, and Kael had crawled to the edge of the back to yell out to his friend. "Run faster!"
Lex was breathing heavy, his arms pumping at his sides as he fought to catch up. I turned, ready to tell Akir to slow the car down but stopped when I realized that he was going faster, watching in the mirror as Lex fell behind.
It was a test.
I'd been tested so often that I knew when someone was facing one. And Akir was the teacher, watching Lex fail. I turned back to stare with wide eyes. We were all watching as his long legs moved beneath him. As he struggled to catch up. I held my breath, worry and the hope that he'd make it flooded into my chest. Had this been what they'd felt when they'd watched me jump onto a moving train?
The feeling was slightly terrifying.
I was losing hope fast, watching him fall behind. He wouldn't make it. He wouldn't make the jump. But with a fierce cry, Lex ran harder and gave a powerful jump…
His body flew into the van. His arms were splayed out onto the floor, the bottoms of his legs dangling out of the side. Kael let out a whoop of joy and helped his friend in. Lex leaned against the wall beside Braxtyn, his breathing erratic and heavy.
Joy threatened to overwhelm me, but I kept my face into a hard mask as I looked him over. "Decided to join us, then?" I asked, my voice steady, almost emotionless.
Lex looked at me then, his brown eyes shining and the side of his lip quirking into a sly sort of smile. His chest heaved up and down and still he answered, a little breathlessly. "You need your guide, don't you?"
I hid my smile behind a snort. "The only thing you'll guide us into is a trap."
Lex laughed. "Probably," he agreed. "But you'd still be lost without me."
I scoffed and turned my head away to look into the mirror. Akir's bright eyes were on me. He winked before focusing them on the road again.
I smiled and leaned my head back to close my eyes once more. I felt less muddled now. Now that I had them all with me. Together, I felt a surge of power through us, like an invisible chain linking us.
With all of them here, I felt complete.
We made camp a while later, deep in the woods after driving for hours. It was already nightfall and we needed rest before we continued the next morning to the lab.
The vans were parked close together and provisions had been taken out. Tents, sleeping bags and whatever food they'd packed were brought out. Akir's men were pitching up the temporary resting places while River and I gathered up wood to build a fire. It was a chilly night, and it would do no good for us to freeze to death without having ever making it to our destination.
We built the fire with ease from scratch. Akir watched me the entire time with an expression I couldn't quite read. I wondered if it was fascination at the medieval way in which we accomplished things. We had no use for lighters or matches or even their electric heating. We were used to harsh winters. We were used to things taking longer to get done.
After everything was done and ready, I sat beside the fire. Akir began posting guards around the dark woods, ordering shift turns and other things before he joined me, taking a seat on my right. River, ever my faithful guard, took a seat to my left.
"The Ruined City isn't what I thought it would be." I confessed quietly to Akir. River pretended he hadn't heard. He was quite good at blending into the background. He always had been. He feigned he wasn't there but kept a close eye on me while I chatted. He used to do that back at home as well. If I'd been in meetings or in class, River would be behind me or at my side.
"What did you expect?" Akir asked, stretching his long legs out before him.
I shrugged, poking a long stick into the embers to keep the fire going. The flames flicked and danced. Kael and Lex were across from us. Kael staring at the flames, the yellow and orange light casting tones and shadows against his dark skin. Lex openly eavesdropped on our conversation.
"I expected you all to be...different."
"Different…" Akir mused.
I shoved my shoulder against his. "I mean, violent. Crazy. Savages."
He chuckled, the sound low. "We are all of those things, lass." His fingers casually trailed down my bare arm, leaving hot desire in his wake. I fought back a shiver. I must have failed because Akir smirked at me and asked, "Cold?" I shook my head, but he still scooted closer to me. "Shall I warm you?"
His words rang more of a threat, and the fingers suddenly pushing the hair away to expose my neck were a promise. And then his lips were against my flesh there and it brought my blood to life. Indeed, it warmed me.
"Is that better, lass?" His breath and tongue were there now to send shivers down the length of my spine.
I groaned, closing my eyes against the feel of him. But then River's hands were on me as well, fingers going up the length of my arms, lips pressing against my shoulder. The feel of them was bliss. Pure, satisfying bliss.
I peeked my eyes opened to glimpse at the flickering yellow tendrils of the fire. My gaze roamed up, eyes settling on Kael. He was watching me, his dark eyes dancing, a smile on his lips. I turned to Lex beside him and froze. Lex glanced at me once and his cheeks flushed. His expression was all awkward lines and discomfort. When he caught me looking, he bit his bottom lip and stood up abruptly.
"I'm gonna-uh-look for traps," he stammered and turned to walk away.
I sighed and pushed River and Akir away with reluctant slowness. "I should go talk to him."
Akir snorted. Not unkindly but sort of mockingly. "By all means," he said, gesturing with his hand towards the direction Lex wandered off to. "Follow the young pup."
I glowered at him and rammed my elbow into his side before standing up. "Be nice," I ordered.
"I can't be nice. I'm a savage, remember?"
I gave him a pointed look before walking away and going to catch up with Lex. He'd gone away from the campsite and through the treeline. It was dark around me but not too dark to where I couldn't see a thing. Besides, I'd hunted animals in the dark before. Hunting down Lex would be easy.
And then I heard him cry out.
My feet were suddenly moving on their own, pumping beneath me and rushing to find him. To save him. I had no weapons on me except the gun holstered on my hip. I'd left my bow and arrows back at camp to settle in for the night. I cursed my stupidity.
I heard the cries of Lex's cursing. I knew I was close. I ran faster until I burst through a line of trees to find Lex…
Swinging from a trap.
His ankle was caught on a rope that was swung over a high branch. He was letting out a rapid string of creative curses, his jostling movements causing him to swing rapidly back and forth. "Son of a hybrid mother lover!" He groaned and tried reaching his hand up to untie the rope from his foot himself.
I sighed loudly, causing him to suddenly still and drop his arms to dangle over his head. His body turned slowly and then he was facing me. "Hey, little red," he gave a small wave. I crossed my arms against my chest to wait for an explanation. "I found a trap." I raised an eyebrow. His face flushed deeper at my silence. "Who knew they'd be out here?" He let out a trill of nervous laughter. "I mean, we're so far from civilization, right?" He swung his body lightly and then groaned. "I mean, who puts random trapsin the middle of nowhere?"
"Do you need help getting down, nomad?" I asked seriously.
"If you wouldn't mind…"
I walked forward until we were face to face. He was still going around in slow circles. I grabbed his cheeks between my hands to still him and look him in the eyes. "I should leave you dangling here," I said tightly. "I should let the hybrids have you."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
Our gazes locked in a staring match and neither one of us seemed to want to break it. He was infuriatingly stubborn. It made me want to slap him. Instead, I pressed his cheeks together so that his lips puffed like a fish.
"You need to be more careful around traps, Lex," I lectured. "Why did you even leave the campsite?" I eased my grip on his face so he could answer. His face just flushed in response. I saw his usual open expression begin to shutter, as if he meant to lock me out. "Does it disgust you that much to see me with them? To see me so free?"
His eyes widened. "Disgust?" he asked incredulously. "Why would that disgust me?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. You tell me! You've been acting like what I do-what we do-is so repulsive to you."
Lex snorted. "Trust me, red. Nothing you did was repulsive. It was…" His whole face went red, and I wasn't sure if it was because he'd been too long upside down or because of embarrassment. "It was actually pretty rad."
I blinked at the unfamiliar terminology. "Rad?"
He nodded. "Yeah, rad. You know, awesome, amazing, cool. You country folk seriously need to expand your slang."
I waved off his babble with my fingers and a frown. "Then why did you leave?"
He sobered up a little then loosed a sigh. "Because," he said, "you have these successful, beautiful men at your beck and call. Kael is a very good healer, sculpted like a damn god. River is your oldest friend, your protector who will always be there for you. Hell, Murtaugh is a goddamn king. What am I? I have nothing to offer you, red. Except this..." He gestured at his tied foot. "Nothing but a lifetime of falling into traps."
I blinked at his words. At the raw emotion in which he spoke them. He really believed that. Really believed that he wasn't good enough for me andthat's why he'd been acting so weird. Why he'd walked away.
"You really are an idiot."
&nbs
p; My words must have shocked him. He let out an indignant huff and cried out, "Excuse me?"
I laughed. "Gods, Lex. You are the biggest idiot I know. You thought you weren't good enough so you acted like an ass? That was your solution?"
He looked at me with indignation. "But-"
I interrupted, taking a step forward until the tips of our noses were touching. The laughter died down from my throat and in its place there was anger. "Who are you to decide what or who is good enough for me? I am old enough to make my own decisions and to decide that for myself, thank you very much."
Lex looked nervous at my sudden burst of anger. As he well should be. His tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip nervously. "Is that all?" he asked in a shaking voice.
"No. That is not all, Alexander O'Riley. Next time, don't just assume all of that nonsense without asking me my opinion on it first." Then, in a frustratingly impulsive move, I pressed my mouth to his in a breathtaking, angry kiss. He opened his mouth to me. The kiss was slightly awkward with him in his upside down position but that didn't matter. None of that mattered. His lips were soft, his tongue warm and willing against mine. And he let me take control. He let me vent out my frustrations at his foolishness in the kiss. But it wasn't just anger showing through my lips. It was desire. It was a secret between us. It was me telling him that despite what he thought, he was good enough for me. Finally, I tore my lips from his to take a breath. "I do want you, nomad. Maybe if you got your head out of your ass you would have realized it sooner and joined in on the fun."
"Well then…" He swallowed and looked me over. "That's nice to know. Uh, red, could you please cut me down now? I'd like to kiss you properly."
I rolled my eyes. "This is the last damn time I help you out of a trap, Lex. I mean it." I went over to the tree trunk, to the thick rope tied around it. Making quick work with the knots, I untied it and Lex fell to the ground with a series of yelps. I turned to see him standing up and dusting his clothes off.
Escaping the Beasts (The Hybrid Trilogy Book 2) Page 6