by Jenn Vakey
“I’m fine,” I told him, my eyes not leaving him as he walked to the sink in the corner and wet a rag. Then he walked back over and stood in front of me, bringing it up to my face as he gently started wiping away the blood. He had been quiet on the walk over, and I could tell something was bothering him. Even my reassurance that I was okay hadn’t lessened the tension there now.
“I should have sent someone else out with you two this morning,” he said, his eyes on what he was doing. He wasn’t rough, not even slightly. It was an odd feeling having him care for me like this, but I didn’t dislike it.
“Careful,” I said, keeping my eyes on his. My tone almost teasing. I didn’t like it when he was tense. The way he used to be with me. “It’s starting to sound like you’re worried about me.”
The tiniest smile met his lips, shedding some of that rigidity with it. “Is that so bad?”
I couldn’t answer. I felt the blood start to surge through my face, the heat rising as I blushed. It wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it made my heart pound, my insides swim in ways that I didn’t even think were possible. No matter how much I tried to convince myself I needed to put some space between us, I liked that he worried about me. That he cared about me.
Rhydian’s eyes moved to my cheeks as the color filled them. I could see the smile in his eyes, though he managed to keep it from his face. He was good at that. Much better than I was.
“I’m sorry about yesterday,” he said. “In the river. I should have asked before kissing you.”
“Is that the only reason you’re sorry?” I asked nervously, practically having to force the words out.
That hardened shell broke away as Rhydian finally smiled. His free hand moved up to my chin, tilting my face up toward him. He didn’t hesitate at all before dropping his head down and pressing his lips to mine. It was slower this time, although it still left me completely unable to even remember how to breathe. Not a kiss based from desire, but more of an answer to my question. It was a really good answer.
When he pulled away and turned his attention back to the task at hand, I sank into the realization that he was so different from the man I had first met. Almost lighter, unguarded. Like he was letting me see the real him, the one that he kept locked away from everyone else. It only proved to me more that I was making the right decision. That I couldn’t do what Adler wanted and sacrifice him for my sister. Especially with how hard it was to actually believe he was who Adler thought he was.
Rhydian finished cleaning my face, then went back to the drawer of the cupboard and pulled out a small tube of the skin gel. Noella was still trying to figure out how to duplicate it, but she had divided what had been in the larger tube into smaller ones so there could be a supply in every room. I looked down at it in his hand and shook my head. “Just use the tape to close it. Save the gel for more serious injuries.” Rhydian looked down to the tube himself, then met my eye with a look that could only mean he was impressed by my request. He didn’t argue. Just put it back and grabbed the tape.
He was even gentle with that as he pulled the edges together and secured them. After giving it one last look, he met my eye again. “Any more injuries?” he asked.
I bit down on my cheek to keep my smile from showing, then lifted up the side of my shirt. My eyes followed his down to my ribs, which were already starting to show signs of bruising. It wasn’t nearly as bad as when Aarys hit me, but it didn’t feel good.
“May I?” His hand hovered over the area as he asked, gaze turning to mine for permission.
A nervous shiver pushed through me as I swallowed and gave a small nod.
I closed my eyes when I felt his hand moving carefully over the area. It hurt when he pushed down to check my ribs, but the tingling sensation his touch brought was somehow stronger. It was like the warmth of his hand spread out like a wildfire, reaching into every inch of my body. My breathing started to speed, my heart threatening to beat hard enough to erupt right out of my chest. His fingers slid over my skin, his body so close that I could feel him brushing against my knees.
My eyes shot open when it became too much to take anymore, and my hand reached out and gripped the front of his shirt. Rhydian’s green eyes had barely reached my face before I was pulling him to me. And he let me.
The moment his lips were on mine again it felt like the world around us exploded. I snaked my arms over his shoulders, one hand cupping the back of his neck while the other sank into his hair.
There was nothing slow about it this time. With a low groan, his tongue flicked at my lips, begging them to part. When they did, it was reaching hungrily into my mouth, his freehand at the back of my head, tugging me even closer to him.
The one that had been checking my ribs was still under my shirt. It slid around behind me, his fingers pushing into my lower back and sliding me forward on the table until my legs were around him. My chest heaved against his, wanting… I don’t know what. More.
My head was spinning, my body aching in places I didn’t even know it could. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pressed those places even harder against him. The sensation only grew when I felt his body respond.
Then came a knock at the door.
An involuntary growl bubbled through me as Rhydian chuckled and stepped back just in time for the door to swing open. I couldn’t even make myself look over to Noella as she entered for fear that she would be able to read exactly what had been happening all over my face.
My gaze stayed glued on Rhydian. Taking in the way his eyes were glazed, his lips red and wet. The way I could tell he was just as frustrated by the interruption as I was.
I smirked and looked down, knowing that I needed to push everything that had just happened back down for the time being. Letting out a slow breath, I glanced over to Noella and watched her pull a pair of gloves on.
Rhydian took another step back when she neared the table and crossed his arms, but his hungry eyes were still on me. I felt like a meal, and he was a starving animal that was just waiting to devour me. I couldn’t go there. The rational side of my brain knew that. But, oh, I wanted to. I wanted to so badly that my body was practically screaming for it.
“Tape?” Noella asked, giving me a much needed new place to put my focus.
“Yeah, she didn’t want to use the gel,” Rhydian said. When I glanced back toward him, I could see that her interjection had also worked in snapping him out of whatever thoughts had been moving through his mind. He blinked a few times, the look of control moving back over him. “I’ll leave her in your care. Good work today, Leeya.”
I nodded and watched as he turned to leave. It was probably good that he had. Otherwise, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to actually focus on Noella. I’d spent enough time with her that I had no doubt she would pick up on that.
After getting checked out, I walked back to the dorm to take a shower.
One more day. That was all I had. I needed to clear my head and focus on the last of the details I needed to iron out.
I now knew how to get in and out of Alkwin. I had enough skills that I would be able to at least stand up to any Sentry I encountered, hopefully holding my own if I wasn’t completely outnumbered.
The next thing I needed to do was the one I looked forward to the least. I needed to talk to Adler. Not only did I need to know how to find him once I was back inside the city so I could follow him, but I needed to convince him that things were still going as planned in Alkwin. Hopefully, there would be some way I could guarantee that I wouldn't run into any Sentry when I made the trip back to Eden. Although, I had no idea how to do that. Any attempt I made to convince him they needed to stay away would probably end up backfiring.
After my shower, I dressed and grabbed the Haller from my bag. People were walking around the community, but no one paid any attention to me as I slipped out into the woods. Most importantly, Rhydian wasn't anywhere in sight.
My heart was in my throat as I placed the call to Adler and held the Haller to my ear.
With any luck, this would be the last time I ever had to talk to this vile man. Well, unless I had the opportunity to rub his failure in his face after I got my sister out of his clutches.
“What is taking you so long, girl?” he growled when the connection went through. “I'm losing patience with you.”
“I'm sorry,” I said, the words like acid on my tongue. I hated apologizing to him. “He's been gone for almost a week. Yesterday was the first I've seen him since I told you he was going into Eden.”
Since he had failed to grab him, but I wasn't about to say that part.
“I bet he was,” he said, though not in a way that made me think he didn't believe me. Instead, something about his tone actually made my insides clench with dread. The way they always did when I was expecting to be told something I wouldn’t like. “The king was murdered last week. I imagine he's been lying low.”
There was no way of keeping myself from gasping. King Phineas was dead? He didn't say exactly when he had been killed, but he wouldn't be telling me if it wasn't the same time Rhydian had been in Eden.
My heart stopped.
Everything made sense. Aarys had said they caused trouble in the city. It didn't get bigger than that. He had already killed the prince. Now the king? I didn’t want to believe it, but how could I not? Something like that didn’t happen by accident. It had to have been planned.
“The princess is also dead,” he added, spitting the words out almost like it was my fault that it had happened. And as his words slammed into me, I felt like it was. “Just a child, and the only one of my brother’s children left in Eden to take the crown.”
I felt sick. I had seen images of the princess when I was still in Eden. He was right, she was young. Too young. Innocent. Beautiful curly blonde hair and a sweet smile. Phineas might have been guilty when it came to the crimes against Tainted, and likely Prince Gryffin too. Not Princess Myrah.
“I'm going to be tied up with things at the palace now that I'm to be named the next king of Eden,” he went on. “You have one week to get me that deviant. I will have Sentry waiting outside of the archway on the eighteenth at first light. If he is not there, your sister will be killed.”
“I'll get him out,” I said, my voice dry and cracking.
He disconnected after that. My legs gave out under me and I dropped down onto the ground and stared out in the direction of Alkwin. I felt numb, confused. Angry. How could he kill a child? That didn't seem like him at all. Not the man I had been getting to know. Had been getting intimately close to.
But Adler hadn't been lying. I could tell he wasn't. Maybe he just thought Rhydian had been the one to kill them. To kill her. That would prevent me from being able to tell from the way he spoke. Could it really be just a coincidence, though? Rumor had been that Tainted were responsible for Gryffin’s assassination. As much as I didn’t want to believe it, I couldn’t see how someone else could have managed to also kill the king at the same time Rhydian and the others had been in Eden.
And what was I supposed to do now?
I fell back onto the hard surface and watched the clouds moving through the treetops above. I needed to figure this out, which meant looking at this one piece at a time.
Adler said he would be in the palace for the next week. That derailed my plans of going in to follow him. So did I still go back and hope that someone else could lead me to my sister, or did I wait?
If I went, there was a chance he would try to get ahold of me on the Haller. I couldn't take it with me to Eden. He'd be able to track it. No, as hard as it was, I knew it would be safer if I waited.
Accepting that nearly crushed me, but it was what was best for Lillith.
But waited to do what? Was I still going to go through with my plan? If Rhydian really did kill the princess, I wasn’t sure he deserved to be spared anymore. It also meant everything I had seen from him had been an act. A mask to conceal what he really was.
I had to know the truth.
There was only one way I was going to be able to get the answers I needed. They were in that room in the clinic. The one that, despite him being back in the community, the door was still closed to, the room off limits. I had to see what was in that room.
Pushing myself up, I made sure the Haller was hidden in my pocket and walked back out into Alkwin.
Rhydian was on the training field with Joury and Aarys. He glanced over toward me when I stepped out and smiled. Despite the sense of nausea still working hard at my stomach, I forced a responsive one on my face, glad when he turned back to the others. I wouldn’t be able to fake my way through a conversation with him.
Noella was standing by the houses talking with Faida. They didn't notice me. Good.
Walking as casually as I could, I headed straight for the clinic. No one would think anything of me walking in there. All I needed was a couple minutes.
A sense of determination moved through me as I pulled open the door and stepped in. I didn’t even care if I got in trouble for looking for answers in there. I had to know.
When I neared the closed door, I was stilled by the sound of a voice from within. A male voice. Prestyn. Crap. I had completely forgotten to look for him when I spotted the others.
I couldn’t hear who he was talking to, but he was saying something about getting food. Without thinking, I moved quickly into the room across the hall and slid behind the open door. The crack was in the perfect position that I could see the closed door, but it wouldn’t get me very far unless the person in there happened to be near the door or directly in its open path.
Now all I could do was wait.
Five minutes passed without hearing another sound. I knew it was getting close to lunchtime, but I didn’t know how long it would be before Prestyn actually left. Would he just leave, or was he waiting for one of the others to relieve him first? Either way, the longer I waited, the greater the chance that someone would catch me. I wouldn’t be able to explain this one away. Not hiding behind a door like this.
Just when I was considering leaving and trying to time things right so I just happened to be walking past the door when he finally left, I heard the click of the knob. Then it opened.
Prestyn looked up and down the hall, then pushed it open the rest of the way. Before he closed it behind him, he turned and told the person waiting inside that he would be back in a few minutes, then left instructions not to leave the room. I wasn’t watching him, though. My eyes were on the bed that was just visible behind him. The person sitting on it.
Not a person. A child. She had her back to the door, but I could see her long, curly blonde hair. That was all I could see of her before he stepped back and the door closed again.
But it had been enough.
The drumming of my heartbeat in my ears was almost loud enough that I couldn’t hear Prestyn when he left the clinic. I waited for a moment, then slipped out and left myself. I managed to keep my thoughts from completely taking me over until I made it to the safety of the yard, but only just.
Adler told me she was dead. I didn’t have proof, but I could feel it down deep inside. The bundle that had been in Rhydian’s arms when he walked back into Alkwin. The voice that I had heard in the clinic before blacking out. It was her. Princess Myrah.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I barely remember what I did for the rest of the day, or anything that was talked about during lunch or dinner. I did notice that Rhydian missed both. With Prestyn, Joury, Noella, and Faida all in the dining hall, I was certain it was his turn to watch the young princess.
The stolen child.
That was probably a good thing. The others might not pay much attention to my moods, but Rhydian definitely would have. He would have questioned me, and I wasn’t sure I would have been able to hide the fact that my thoughts were moving to dangerous places.
The king was dead, the princess in Alkwin. Why was she here? Why did Adler think she was dead? I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little better knowing that Rhydian hadn’t ac
tually killed the child. Was kidnapping her really much better, though? And why do it at all? If people thought she was dead, how could they hope to get anything from having her?
The only thing I could really come up with was that they were going to use her as leverage in the future. What better way to get out of Eden if someone was caught then by exchanging them for the princess.
If that were the case, maybe I could actually turn over Rhydian. Surely Adler would release him for her return. Then I could get Lillith back and no one would get hurt.
Unless they wanted her for other reasons. Maybe they hoped to condition her, to turn her to the Tainted’s side before sending her back to take her place on the throne. I hated to admit it, especially since she was only a child and probably terrified since she was being held by the people who killed her father and brother, but that wouldn’t really be the worst thing. Well, at least the best outcome from the horrible situation this was turning out to be.
For a brief moment on the way back to the dorm after dinner, I considered trying to get her out of here. Getting her back to Eden.
If I did that, there would be no way I could convince Adler I was still going to be able to get him Rhydian. Not only that, I would be slamming the door on any chance that Lillith would be welcome here after I rescued her. There was the added problem that they always seemed to have someone assigned to watch over her. How could I even get her out and get enough of a head start that we could make it to Eden before they stopped me?
I didn't like it, but she at least seemed safe where she was. I would focus on Lillith first, then try to figure out what to do with the princess.
* * *
All of the excitement I had been feeling in the past week was gone by the time I woke up two days later. It wasn’t even the fact that the people I had been living with had kidnapped the princess of Eden and were holding her for reasons I still couldn’t understand.