Crimson Mist

by Rachel Jonas

  “She likes to think she’s the brains behind the operation, but I’m not sure about that,” I joked, knowing it was at least half true.

  Corina chuckled lightly, and then fell silent. “I can imagine it’s made things … awkward between you two. You know, you binding yourself to me and all.”

  I didn’t answer right away, because I wasn’t sure I understood her meaning.

  “I mean, not that she doesn’t understand you did it because, at the time, you were thinking about the mission. And I’m sure she also understands anything you feel as the result of it aren’t your true feelings, but—”

  “Hang on,” I interjected with a laugh. “Do you think Paige and I are—”

  “I didn’t mean to pry. I only meant that I hope she knows me being here isn’t any kind of a threat to her. I know the emotions I feel for you are all smoke and mirrors.”

  It was strange hearing her admit such a thing, having these ‘emotions’. Although, it shouldn’t have been, seeing as how I was having the exact same experience.

  “You’ve gotten your wires crossed. Paige and I aren’t together. She’s more like a sister to me than anything,” I informed her. “In fact, she’s had an on again/off again situation with Jax for many years now.”

  That earned me another glance of disbelief from Corina, which turned into a shared laugh.

  She faced forward again. “That’s a difficult pairing to imagine. I mean, Jax is kinda old, isn’t he? And, from the looks of things, he’s had a pretty rough life before joining up with you. And Paige is beautiful. I’d imagine her with some guy who matched that—young, good looking, sexy.”

  Without complimenting me directly, she’d just done that exactly, after having just admitted to believing Paige and I were a thing.

  “That why you thought she was mine?” I teased, despite knowing it was in poor taste. Sitting here with her tonight—this woman I’d idolized long before ever seeing her face—being myself felt easy.

  She laughed it off, lowering her head. “I mean, you’re not, not … those things.”

  My ego had been thoroughly inflated for the evening. Thankfully, she couldn’t see my face at the moment.

  When the boundaries between us blurred a little, I rested my free hand on her shoulder. I should have removed it the moment I realized what I’d done, but the way she seemed to relax into my touch changed my mind.

  We were plunged into the loudest silence imaginable, as the tide between us shifted yet again. I had just opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it.

  “How’d you know,” she started. “I know what you said about overhearing Roman exposing me to the princes, but … was that enough for you? Was there still some doubt?”

  I cleared my throat before answering. “Honestly, the pieces all fit, so I should have been able to take it at face value, but it isn’t easy to believe you’ve not only met, but have also spoken to Blackbird.”

  “Spoke to and bit Blackbird,” she corrected, but the way she said it I knew there was no malice intended. It was a dark joke, but a joke nonetheless.

  “Uh, well, yes, there’s that,” I stammered.

  “Lighten up. I’m kidding,” she cut in, saving me from myself. “Just tell me how you knew.”

  I breathed deeply again before finishing. “Well, I honestly didn’t know for sure. Not until moments before I revealed myself to you in your bedroom. It was when I overheard—”

  “You heard me talking to Liv,” she concluded, peering over her shoulder again.

  I nodded to confirm. “You were explaining to her how, for the first time in a long time, you were happy and didn’t want to risk ruining it with the truth. Not realizing your mates already knew your truth.”

  Her stare was deep and penetrating. It was then that I saw through her armor, saw how difficult it was being away from them.

  She faced forward again, seemingly aware of how her guard had just slipped.

  “You didn’t clarify who you thought was coming for me,” she mentioned next, getting the conversation back on track.

  I refocused on tending to her bruise, choosing to ignore how she affected me.

  “What I gathered from the bits and pieces of spotty chatter I overheard, the Magistrates.”

  “Should’ve known,” she muttered. “They’d just sent a letter, but apparently matters became more pressing, which made waiting for me to come to them too risky.”

  “Perhaps.”

  Things went quiet again, but a set of urgent footsteps broke the silence. When Paige entered the parlor, Corina and I both lifted our gazes to the doorway.

  Paige stopped in her tracks and assessed the situation, seeing me nursing Corina’s injury while she sat practically topless before me.

  “Something wrong?” I asked, commanding her attention once more.

  “Um, sort of?” she answered, rushing toward me with the tablet she held. “Take a look at this.”

  I grabbed the device and held it where Corina had a clear view as well.

  It was an article. One recently published, reporting how “The Royal Doll, Mistress Corina,” had reportedly gone missing.

  “They’re going to pin this on the princes,” Corina piped up, shifting in her seat completely to take the tablet with both hands, scanning it for more details. “The authorities have already been looking for an excuse to ruin them. If I’m missing, it’ll look like I’ve run off, and they’ll think the whole thing was a ruse.”

  She turned to me with worry in her watery stare.

  “I have to do something.”

  Which translated to ‘you have to do something’.

  I glanced toward Paige, who offered no advice whatsoever. There was a plan in place. One that would eventually involve the princes, but it seemed a bit premature to bring them up to speed so soon.

  However, those brown eyes of Corina’s got the best of me.

  “Bring me a phone,” I ordered Paige.

  I didn’t miss how she hesitated, but she eventually complied.

  I had no right to ask any favors of Corina, but I didn’t have much choice. Too many lives depended on the delicate balance we maintained here.

  “It’s a matter of safety that I’m making this request, but … you can’t tell them where you are, or who you’re with,” I forced out, knowing this might not sit well with her. “If it was only me and there weren’t others here that I look after, I—”

  “You have my word,” she agreed quickly, taking the phone the instant Paige returned with it.

  Paige and I exchanged a look, and then I nodded, letting her know it was okay to leave.

  Corina dialed feverishly and then wrestled her shirt back down over her bra. For several seconds, the line simply trilled. But then, a deep voice that rang out from the other end brought her to the edge of her seat.

  “Julian?”

  “Corina, where are you?” he asked in a panic. If their closeness hadn’t been apparent before, it certainly was now.

  Corina passed a weary glance my way when she fought her instincts, fought the urge to divulge every detail to her mates.

  “I … can’t do that. Not yet, anyway.”

  “What?” A second voice rang through the line this time. One with an accent similar to my own—Levi. “Corina, I swear if you’re trying to be a hero and protect us, I’ll—”

  “It’s not that,” she interrupted. “It’s just … I legitimately can’t right now. But I needed you all to know I didn’t just abandon you. I wouldn’t do that. Not again.”

  There was silence on the line, and I guessed that thought had crossed their minds at some point.

  “We know this wasn’t you.” I recognized that voice as Silas, from the many interviews I’d heard him give over the years. “But I hope you understand why we can’t let you end this call without telling us where we can find you. Even a small clue, something we can use to find our own way.” I didn’t miss how he was practically begging.

  Her dark eyes found their way in
to my soul again, and I nearly caved.

  “Not yet,” she asserted, “but promise me you’ll stay off the Magistrates’ radar as much as possible. If you can somehow put this all on me, to take the heat off yourselves, do it.”

  “We’d never even consider it.” Julian’s response came down heavy on Corina’s heart, like a weight.

  “Just … do it for me.” Her eyes fell closed after speaking.

  “We’ll find you,” Levi promised, “And whoever pulled you into this will have hell to pay.”

  The threat didn’t rattle me, but I imagined he meant every word.

  “Please tell my team I’m okay,” she all but choked out.

  “Of course,” Silas promised, and with that, Corina ended the call.

  I didn’t have to ask to have the phone back, she willingly handed it over. More and more I understood how she was wired. I’d made the mistake of calling her fearless before, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. The only difference between her and anyone else, was that she didn’t let those feelings rule her. Like me, she knew how to make the hard decisions, and having done so all these years, she’d built up an almost inhuman tolerance.

  But she wasn’t dead inside, wasn’t heartless.

  When my hand came down on top of hers, she didn’t pull away. I believed she knew it was meant to console her.

  “I know that wasn’t easy, but I appreciate you thinking of my people.”

  She offered a gracious nod but didn’t speak.

  “I promise you, as soon as we can let them in on everything, I’ll see to it that that’s done.”

  Her gaze met mine and I got the impression she didn’t doubt a thing I said. Perhaps there was an upside to being brutally honest.

  “You need to rest,” I insisted. “You can have my bed. I’m not really in the mood to sleep.

  “Me either,” she admitted. “Can we just … stay here and talk?”

  A faint pounding in my chest that had been felt so rarely I’d nearly forgotten what it was. My heart.

  “Absolutely.” I settled back into the couch beside her.

  She couldn’t have known this, but spending the day with her had been one of the most humbling experiences of my entire life. There wasn’t much she could ask me that I wouldn’t agree to. A little conversation was certainly not too much to ask.

  She relaxed and settled deeper into the couch. Her hand landed between our bodies, holding my attention when the back of it rested against mine.

  Of all the possibilities this day held, being seated beside one of the greatest icons of our time was not one I had even considered. And yet, here we were—restless, alight with the fire our cause had lit within us, entangled in an emotional connection we hadn’t even begun to understand.

  Life was strange indeed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Aaric

  “Are you actually gonna talk to me, or should I just start pacing with you?” Paige’s question halted my steps.

  “Sorry,” I replied, knowing she sensed that I was distracted. “There’s just been a lot to process today.”

  “I’ll say,” she scoffed. “Starting with the fact that you and a certain vigilante were basically making googly eyes at each other all day.”

  My brow knitted together. “Firstly, she’s asleep on the sofa in the parlor, so keep your voice down. Second, you’re insane,” I said with a laugh.

  “Oh, yeah?” Paige begged to differ. “I’m insane, but you’re the one who gave her your best bike, your best gun, and made me give her my best riding jacket.”

  I fought a smile, hating how well she knew me.

  “That was simply out of respect. After all, she’s not just anybody. Not to mention, I have a lot of buttering up to do, considering the shaky ground on which we started.”

  “Psychopath,” Paige mumbled with a cough.

  I shoved her foot off the kitchen stool, and she reached for her water bottle, threatening to launch it at me.

  “If I’m lucky, she’ll forgive me within the century,” I joked.

  “Well, at least you two have a lifetime together to figure that out.”

  The statement prompted me to shoot Paige a look. “You really think you’ve got this all sorted out, don’t you?”

  She shrugged and belched. “The bond will continue to grow, making it basically impossible for you two to live without each other. We both read Dr. Crazy’s notes,” she added, referencing Dr. Percival’s work. “If you ask me, it’s inevitable.”

  Her tone suggested she didn’t see it ending any other way.

  “Let’s just survive the week. Then, we’ll worry about forever.”

  Another casual shrug concluded that part of the conversation.

  “Fine. Fill me in on things. Tell me what I missed,” she requested.

  I gave the inquiry some consideration, going over the day’s events in thought before speaking.

  “Well, in a matter of minutes, she managed to find a solution to an issue we’ve mulled over for months.”

  “Of course, she did,” Paige replied with a smile. “Which issue?”

  “She came up with a reason to gather the elite in one place,” I shared. “Her suggestion was that we use her, pretend she’s on board with everything and disguise our agenda with a ‘coming out party’, I quoted. “Anyone who thinks they matter will certainly be there. Even if only to say they were present on a night history was made.”

  “And boy will it be,” Paige added with a devious grin. “I like it. Shouldn’t be difficult to pull off.”

  At first, I agreed with a nod, but an inkling of doubt set in. Of course, she noticed right away.

  “What is it?”

  I hesitated for a moment. “It’s just that, I know she volunteered, but … do you believe this is safe to carry out?”

  Whether I was comfortable with Paige knowing how much I cared or not, I was certain my thoughts bled through my expression.

  “I’d love to say the plan is failsafe, but I’d never lie to you,” she uttered. “This is dangerous work. Always has been, and it will be until it’s done.”

  She was right, so I stopped seeking reassurance. In our line of work, there was no such thing.

  “All I can say is she’s smart and she has instinct. Those are two things that have saved far more lives than any weapon ever known to man.”

  A heavy breadth of silence hung in the air between us and I used the time to remind myself who we were dealing with. Corina was more than she appeared to be at first glance. She was a formidable opponent for anyone to come against, and no matter what we faced, I had faith she’d come out on the other side of it.

  “At any rate, we’re out of time,” I sighed, leaning against the edge of the counter.

  “What do you mean?”

  I peered up to answer. “There’s a very tight timeline on all this. Starting with Corina transitioning and our need to complete the pact. If we’re even hours late, the window of opportunity is closed, lost forever.”

  I sensed Paige’s weariness long before it showed on her face.

  “Okay, so … what are you implying?” she asked. “Because I know you’re not suggesting that we bring them here. The other princes?”

  “Actually,” I said, “that’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

  “Absolutely not. Our people would be terrified enough with one prince on the premises. Let alone three. I know you haven’t forgotten how long it took them to warm up to Empress Westower.”

  “Oh, come on,” I chuckled. “We both know warming up to her is about as easy as hugging a glacier.”

  Paige paused to shrug again. “You’ve got a point there, but still. This won’t be easy news to break to them.”

  “Easy? No. But one-hundred-percent necessary,” I insisted. “The landscape of the Resistance is changing, and the way to get everyone through it isn’t by hiding the truth, keeping them in the dark. The sooner they accept things as they really are, the quicker we can all move for
ward.”

  Paige glanced down, seeming unsure of herself as she chewed the side of her lip.

  “So, I may need to tell you something that could throw a slight wrench in this plan.”

  My brow tensed. “Like?”

  She did this fake innocent thing with her face that made me want to throttle her.

  “Well, remember how we talked about this before you brought Corina back, and we had a slight concern the princes would track her down?”

  I didn’t speak, just stared as she found the words.

  “I may or may not have devised a plan to … let’s just say I thought of a way to slow them down.”

  I leaned away from the counter, closing the distance between us. “Paige, what did you do?”

  “Obviously, I wouldn’t do anything that would result in their deaths, because they’re tied to you and whatnot, but … you never said anything about not roughing them up,” she added with another innocent grin. “I simply made certain that if they went back to Blackthorn, they wouldn’t find anything that might lead them here.”

  “Spill it,” I seethed.

  “Okay, okay. I just … hired a pack of Roamers to stay holed up there and scare off anyone who might show up.”

  “Scare off—” My sentence trailed off there, before I found my words again. “Do you have any idea how hard it will be to build trust between the two sides as it is?” I asked, hoping this would open her eyes to the damage she may have done.

  “They’ll never know it had anything to do with us.”

  “You sure about that?” I scoffed. “Absolutely reckless.”

  “Well if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle black,” she concluded.

  We reached a stalemate like usual when we disagreed on something, both too pigheaded to cave.

  “You’ve really gone and done it now.”

  “I said I was sorry,” she countered.

  “Really? When? I seem to have missed that part.”

  “Well, maybe I forgot to say it, but I am,” she insisted. “I only meant to help.”

  While I didn’t doubt her intentions, I couldn’t say for sure she hadn’t just made an already difficult situation a million times more difficult to overcome.