“You aren’t living in your van. It isn’t safe.”
“You told me before that the city is perfectly safe.”
“For Demalyn, not for a little Solviso who can’t even get herself from Calibrai to wherever it was you were going.”
She felt a stab of pain through her heart. Can’t even. That was how Antonio viewed her. Not as a potential mate, but as a helpless little Solviso who couldn’t do anything.
“Okay,” she conceded, speaking through the lump in her throat, hoping that her voice sounded stronger to Antonio than it did in her head. She removed her hand from his chest and placed it in her lap.
“Could I at least go to my van and get some more of my belongings?”
Antonio nodded. “Of course. Whenever you would like.”
*
Antonio and Matilda both accompanied her to the little garage just outside of the city walls. The wheelchair, pushed by Antonio, bumped uncomfortably over the cobbled stones and Vitoria held tightly onto the arm rests. The atmosphere was tense. Antonio and Matilda made polite conversation but it felt strained and unnatural. She got the sense that something was going on that she just didn’t know about. Which, of course, must be true. She was just a Solviso they had found on their land and they were a mated couple who co-ran a country. There were probably a dozen or more things going on that she had no idea about.
Despite the atmosphere, it was nice to travel through the town. They passed by the bustling market place and she wished that she was able to browse the stalls there. Antonio walked so fast that all she saw was a blur of colours and people. There was no point looking at things she couldn’t afford, anyway, she told herself.
Terraced houses, three-storeys high, lined the residential streets, each with flower-strewn lawns. It was nothing like Calibrai. At home, she’d only seen flowers through the gates that separated her own neighbourhood from the elite who ruled them. Where did people live if they couldn’t afford these lavish homes?
There were so many green spaces in the town. How wonderful it must be for the children who grew up there, with all that space to run and play in. So much freedom. As they walked through the town, people greeted their monarchs in a friendly, familiar manner, many giving her curious looks but none so impolite as to inquire about why the King and Queen were accompanying an injured Solviso.
They reached the city wall and walked alongside it until they reached the drawbridge. The bridge was already lowered and the guards stepped aside to allow them to pass. They made their way down the paved road until they reached the garage. The large sign that greeted them as they approached had faded so that only the letters H, R and L remained. Two self-service petrol pumps sat in front of a large wooden building that had seen better days.
The mechanic came out to greet them. He was a tall, slim man with pale white skin. When his gaze met hers, he smiled, and she thought how kind his blue eyes looked. Most people looked over her when she was in the chair.
“Your Majesties,” he said. “Your van is fixed. Have you come to collect it?”
Antonio put the brakes on her chair and came with Matilda to stand next to her.
“No, thank you Harold. Vitoria just needs to collect some belongings.”
“It’s a good van,” Harold said. “Should you ever wish to sell, I would be happy to buy it from you.”
That was news to her. Her van had got her far, but it was a second-hand thing that she had bought from a man who frequented the tavern. He had promised that he was giving it to her at a steal, that he had taken pity on her seeing how miserable she was living in the tavern, but she had never believed him. Everyone there was trying to rip someone off.
“It’s my home,” Vitoria told him. “I can’t sell it.”
Harold shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, should you find yourself in another home with no need of this van, I would still be happy to buy it. It’s still nice to have some financial independence, you know. At least that’s what my precious one tells me.”
She frowned. Confused by his words.
“Let’s just get Vitoria’s stuff, shall we?” Matilda said. She handed Vitoria her crutches and she stood. They followed the mechanic inside the building where her van was parked. The doors were unlocked and she climbed inside.
“I will leave the three of you to it,” Harold said. “I’ve a buyer coming by for a car out back.”
Vitoria climbed up into her van and lowered herself onto the mattress so she could begin looking through the boxes. The interior smelled musty and stale, and the breeze from the open door did little to relieve the stifling heat. She heard Matilda and Antonio step up into the vehicle, their silhouettes blocking the light. She looked up at them. It felt crowded with them taking up so much space.
“You’re blocking the light,” she said. “I can’t see what I’m looking for.”
Antonio and Matilda looked around the interior and scowled.
“This is where you live?” Antonio asked.
Vitoria crossed her arms over her chest as a surge of defensiveness went through her. It may not be a palace but it was everything she had.
“Yes. This is my home.”
“It’s just a mattress in a van.” Matilda sounded horrified.
“We can’t all be royalty,” she snapped.
“I’m sorry, kitten.” Matilda sat down next to her. “I’m not judging you. I just… How did you come to live in a van? Aren’t there buildings in Calibrai?”
“There are buildings, but I couldn’t afford to live in one. My father died and my wage wasn’t enough to cover the rent so I had to move out. I lived above a tavern for a while. It was cheap but it was noisy so I bought this van. It’s not as bad as you think.”
Antonio turned to look at the door. “Where is your security system?”
Vitoria snorted.
“There’s a lock on the door and I own a gun.”
Matilda visibly paled.
“That’s not a security system.”
“If I could afford a security system, I wouldn’t be living in a van.”
“Well,” Matilda said. “You live in a palace now with guards.”
Vitoria looked down at the box in front of her that contained her personal belongings. “I can’t afford that, either.”
When she looked up she caught the glare that Antonio shot at Matilda.
“I’ll wait outside for you,” Matilda said to Vitoria. “Call me if you need help with anything.”
Whatever was going on between the two of them, it was probably best she stayed out of it. After all, she was nothing more than a stranger they had sold refuge to, and she would be gone just as soon as she could figure out how to pay her debt.
*
The days rushed by. Antonio and Matilda continued to visit her daily, sometimes more. They took her out into the town to enjoy the parks or look around the market. They bought her gifts of flowers, expensive fabrics, pretty jewels. And while they never touched her or kissed her, or tried anything like what had happened between them before, she was beginning to think that just maybe she might be the mate they were looking for. They hadn’t mentioned her paying for her stay at the palace again. They’d assured her the day at her van that they wouldn’t expect immediate payment, that there was really no time limit on payment at all. Perhaps it had all been an excuse to get her to stay? They could have just asked.
On this particular morning, when she stepped out of bed, there was no pain in her ankle at all. It was amazing how quickly an injury could heal, when you had access to healers and pain relievers and the other things they’d given her to speed up recovery. She walked a few steps without her sticks and then grinned. She felt wonderful. Even the old aches and pains weren’t as bad as they usually were. Her ankle protested slightly when she sped up her pace, so she slowed down. She didn’t mind that she walked with a limp; she always had. She didn’t mind that she would always need a stick; she quite liked it. But she would get rid of the pain in a heartbeat if
she could, and right then, with the right pain management, she could barely feel it.
She remembered the pride she’d seen on Antonio’s face when she’d walked up the stairs, and she couldn’t wait to show him that she was healed. She wondered if Matilda would be proud too.
She made her way out of the hospital wing, giving the familiar guard a grin as she walked by. Lucy nodded stoically in response. As Vitoria approached the door to Matilda and Antonio’s office, she frowned. There were four guards instead of the usual two. Was something happening? Perhaps they wouldn’t let her in.
“I would like to go in and see Matilda and Antonio,” Vitoria said to the guard who stood directly in front of the closed door, blocking the way.
The guard exchanged a look with one of the others and then said: “Of course.”
He opened the door and Vitoria walked inside. She made her way through the empty outer office to the entrance of the inner room. She knocked on the door, pushed it open a crack, and poked her head around. Matilda and Antonio sat on one side of a large conference table with two guards behind them. A man sat across from them, and two unfamiliar guards in unfamiliar uniforms flanked him. She was obviously interrupting something. Why had the guards let her in? The man was talking in the Demalyn tongue, but he stopped and turned to look at her, and said something to her in Demalyn. Matilda and Antonio both rose and walked to the end of the table near the door, partially blocking her view of the stranger. They said something to him in the same tongue.
“If she cannot speak our language what kind of Demalyn is she?” He said in the common language. His accent was different to Matilda and Antonio’s.
“She isn’t a Demalyn.”
“Not a Demalyn? Well, she can’t be a Mazatch.”
Vitoria fiddled nervously with her hair and the man’s gaze settled on her ears. She quickly smoothed it back down but it was too late.
The man grinned.
“You’ve got yourself a little Solviso.”
“We don’t have ourselves anything,” Matilda said sharply. “We found her on the borderland, lost and injured. She is just a Solviso in need of help who will be on her way when she has repaid her debt to us. The guards should not have let her in here.”
The cocoon around her heart froze painfully. It felt like someone was squeezing her until she couldn’t breathe. She let go of the door and it swung shut, shielding her from the people inside the room. She limped as fast she could through the office and out of the door.
She’s just a Solviso in need of help who will be on her way when she’s repaid her debt to us.
She would be out of their hair before they knew it. Her time in Kiilasalia was done.
Chapter Six
Two miles from the Free Land, the space that belonged to no one, the dull ache in Vitoria’s ankle had turned into an unbearable throb. She’d sold her home to the mechanic and the little car she’d bought to replaced it didn’t drive as smoothly as her van. Even worse, the pain relievers had worn off.
She drove her car off the road and parked on the grass under a cluster of trees. It was safer to stop there, on the borderlands of Palici, than be forced to stop later on the Boundary Road. It was dark, and she was tired. Perhaps if she managed a couple of hours sleep her ankle wouldn’t hurt as much and she could continue her journey. By now, Harold, the mechanic, would have passed the money onto Matilda and Antonio. She hoped they wouldn’t begrudge her another night on their land.
She slid out of the car, yawned, and stretched her arms high and then out to her side. She rolled her head, wincing at the clicking noise her neck made. She took a deep breath. The fresh air carried a woody scent that was distinctly Kiilasalia. Although the illumination from her headlights had faded, the moon was bright, and she could easily make out her surroundings. The small pool of water beyond the little grove sparkled with moonlight. She wondered if Malita would be as beautiful as Palici.
There was no point dwelling on Palici. She would be gone in the morning, and the longer she stood staring at her surroundings the more her ankle throbbed, and the less sleep she would be getting. There would be trees and lakes in Malita just as there had been in Calibrai.
She pulled her seat forward and climbed awkwardly into the back, grimacing as her ankle protested with pain. She closed the door behind her, locked it, and tried to settle into a comfortable position. One of her boxes was taking up half of the back seat and there was nowhere else to put it. She pulled her blankets up around her but they did little to guard against the cold. She shifted so that her back was against the box, but it didn’t increase her comfort.
She missed her mattress. She missed the relative warmth of her van. She missed Antonio and Matilda and the life that had almost been hers.
No. It had never been hers. It was never going to be hers.
How had she ever imagined she might be their mate? She had thought they would be proud to see her walking. That would be funny now if it didn’t feel like someone had pierced her heart. Why would they care? She was just a Solviso who needed their help. Now her debts to them were paid and she would never see them again.
She wiped away the first tear, but when the next one fell she left it and sobbed herself into a fitful sleep.
*
Vitoria woke, startled by a tapping sound.
Her eyes flew open and she bolted upright and reached for her gun. Where in Lencura’s name was her bag?
Her head was light as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she spotted the bag on the floor in front of the passenger’s seat. A whole lot of good it did her there.
Panic clawed at her gut. She couldn’t get to her gun or the driver’s seat without getting out of the car. A large figure loomed outside. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat and she swallowed down her panic.
She looked around frantically. There must be something else she could use to defend herself.
She heard a click and a rattle. The door. Someone was trying to open her door.
Had she locked it?
When it didn’t open she figured that she must have. Still, it was only a matter of time before the intruder got in.
Hands shaking, heart racing, she leaned between the front seats. Every muscle protested as she reached forward, but she had to get her gun. What other hope did she have?
Tears pooled in her eyes. This couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be how it ended.
There was another knock and a familiar voice said:
“Vitoria, open the door.”
Matilda. Vitoria’s heartbeat slowed. Her breathing evened out. What was she doing there?
She reached up, ignoring the pain in her back, and pressed the interior light on.
She looked out of her car at two very naked monarchs. They must have been in their animal forms when they found her. For a moment, she considered turning off the light and feigning sleep. She’d paid her debt. She would be off their land by morning. She certainly didn’t want to talk to them. Unless… Maybe…
No. She shouldn’t get her hopes up.
“Open the door,” Antonio ordered.
Vitoria crossed her arms and shook her head. Why should she do as he told her? If he wanted her out of the car he could try asking nicely.
“Vitoria, get out of the damned car now or I’m going to tear this door off.”
She had never heard him so angry before. He was usually so calm, but there was fury in his voice. She wouldn’t get far with a door missing.
She unlocked the door, pushed it open and climbed out. She felt a twinge in her ankle when her foot connected with the ground and she hissed in pain, lost her balance and stumbled forward a few paces. Antonio reached out a hand to steady her, but she stepped back, away from him.
If only their sight was as weak as hers in the dark. No doubt her eyes were puffy, and her cheeks streaked with tears. She forced herself to look up at them, to meet their eyes. She wouldn’t have them remember her cowering and weak. They looked furious as they stalked towards her. An
tonio’s eyes turned feline, Matilda’s gaze darkened. She stepped back instinctively until her back hit the car.
“What are you doing out here?” Matilda asked. Her tone was clipped.
“I needed to rest and thought it was safer to do so here than to have to stop on the Boundary Road. I can leave now.”
She felt the tears stinging at her eyes again. She couldn’t get away fast enough for them.
“Leave?” Antonio’s voice was low, dangerous. “What the hell are you doing out of the palace?”
Maybe Harold hadn’t given them the money.
“I paid my debt. I sold my van. Harold said he would give it to you. If it’s not enough I might be able to send you more when I have it.”
Vitoria’s shoulders slumped. Her ankle ached, and the rest of her joints weren’t doing much better. It hurt to look at them more than it hurt to stand.
“We don’t care about the money, precious one…”
Antonio’s words sent a wave of anger through her. How dare he treat her like he did and then call her that. She looked up at him.
“Don’t call me that.”
He frowned.
“I didn’t know you didn’t like it. You haven’t said anything before…”
“Words have meanings and you shouldn’t say things you don’t mean.”
“Oh, kitten,” Matilda said. She reached out and stroked Vitoria’s arm and Vitoria felt a tear trickle down her cheek.
She’s just a Solviso…
“Just leave me alone, please. I’ll be off your land as soon as I can. I won’t bother you again.”
“Let’s go home,” Antonio said. “You’re cold and it’s safer there. We’ll talk at home.”
“I don’t have a home. I sold it. And my debt to you is paid so I’m no longer your concern.”
Vitoria heard rustling a moment before something large pounced out of the darkness. She gasped as the grey wyla stopped behind Matilda and Antonio. The monarchs turned in unison.
The cat shifted into the man she’d seen in their meeting.
Bound to the Monarchs Page 5