45. Chapter 45
Chapter forty-five
“I’ll be right back,” I said, ignoring the wary glances Dey was giving me.
“Raynella,” my father warned, apparently unwilling to let me disappear a second time.
“I need to go to the bathroom. Seeing all that water… I’ll be fast.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but I was out of my seat and halfway up the stairs before he could reply.
I rushed in the direction of the tunnel, my feet moving faster than I thought capable. When I reached the entrance, I yanked the door open, letting the darkness swallow me whole. I barely registered the flame that surrounded my hand as I ran toward the arena.
Just as I neared the end of the tunnel, strong hands grabbed my shoulders and pressed me into the wall.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Sin hissed into my ear.
“I have to,” I panted. “I had faith in you, Sin. I need you to have faith in me.”
He cupped my face. “No heroics, Rain. When that horn blasts I want you to take a dive, okay? These igniservians are different. The fire controls them more than any other element. They won’t hesitate to go for the kill, so do not give them the chance.”
“I won’t,” I replied firmly. “Where’s Cam?”
“He went to hide Ram and heal him as best he could. I didn’t tell him about my power, but he knows something is up. I don’t think I can keep my illusions a secret from him after this.”
“So don’t,” I said, caressing his face. “You need to let people in, Sin. You can’t go through life alone. Cam and Ram care about you, and it kills them that you shut them out. Believe me when I say you can trust them.”
He nodded. “I hope you’re right.”
I kissed him. “I’m always right.”
He laughed and his arms tightened around me.
I coughed, struggling to breathe under the pressure from my corset. “I don’t suppose you have anything else I can wear?”
He smirked. “You could always go out there naked. I’d be the only one to know the truth.”
“Sin!” I exclaimed, smacking his chest.
“Okay, okay,” he conceded. Laughing, he reached down to grab a pile of clothing at his feet. Female fighting leathers. “Peywyn keeps a stock of clothing in the training room. These should fit.”
Stripping off my restrictive dress, I held Sin’s gaze. Heat flared in his eyes as I stood before him naked. Pulling on the leather pants and tunic, I watched his eyes narrow as my curves were covered up.
“I know what you’re thinking, and we don’t have time,” I said, despising myself a little for being responsible.
“They're still cleaning up the water mess,” Sin purred in his sultry voice. “And I can be fast.”
“I don’t know if you should brag about that,” I teased.
He nipped my ear. “You’ll pay for that later.”
“Promise?”
His wicked grin offered a guarantee, and I nearly abandoned the whole thing just to let Sin have his way with me.
It was thoughts of Ram’s broken body that sobered me up.
“Tonight,” I said, leaning in to brush my lips against the column of his neck. “We will get through this. We will get through the banquet. We will get through the damned ball. And once we put this whole nightmare behind us, you can remind me of all the ways Vitaean anatomy is superior to humans.”
I cupped him firmly through his breeches, smiling when I felt how hard he was just from my kisses.
He groaned and arched into my hand. “You’re killing me, Fea Remia.”
“Yeah? Well if I’m such a bad girl, you’ll just have to punish me.” I rubbed up and down his shaft. “So use the next few hours to figure out all the ways you can make me scream.”
His cock twitched, and I fought the urge to slip my hand inside his breeches to touch him. I needed to focus though, and Sin needed to prepare an illusion.
I dropped my hand. “Use your magic. Prove just how powerful you are.”
A ripple of power rolled off him, and I held my hand out, watching as my pale skinny arm darkened and filled with muscle.
I ran the hand over my chest. I still felt like me, but to anyone looking, I was now my father’s famed general.
A call for the igniservians to approach the field rang through the tunnels.
“Go,” Sin said. “I’ll be right behind you. I have to see the people to maintain the illusion so I’ll be in the corner of the arena. If you get worried, just look for me.” He kissed me one last time. “You are incredible, Fea Remia. Your bravery, your power. I am in awe of you.”
I blushed as I jogged off into the bright sun, ready to meet my fate.