16. Timeline Change
Timeline Change
We returned home after he had tethered with the water element woman. He whispers his desperate, sloppy pleas when we’re alone.
Xavier lacked the word “talk” when the door closed to his room. Instead, he forced himself on me to prove his love, believing that having sex with me would show his unwavering devotion without a doubt.
“I’m not in the mood, Xavier,” I say. I turn to my side, hoping he’ll leave me be.
He grabs my shoulder, pins me on my back, and glares down at me. “It meant nothing, baby,” he says, and his kisses trail down my neck, across my collarbone. He grips my shirt to lift it over my chest, and I instinctively open my legs. “I love you so much.”
I stiffen at the pop of his jeans buckle. “Xav, I’m not in the mood…”
“But you’re so fucking wet for me, Pandora.”
I stare at the ceiling until it bleeds.
The water at the pier is still. Silence hangs in the air, and the brisk cold brings no wind. The pale, white-as-snow surroundings lack vibrancy, and thick chunks of ice cover the water.
I stand at the edge of the dock and see a colourless world. Millions of stars burn brightly in the sky, scattered amidst the darkness. It’s beautiful to be away from streetlights and homes glowing with yellow warmth, and the stars shine brightly when I’m far from the Kingdom of Crystal.
With my eyes closed, I take in the crisp, thin air. The coldness travels down my throat and spreads into my lungs until the frost burns.
I miss the kingdom’s atmosphere, but the memories are tough to shake off—a dreadful reminder of manipulation, pain, and deceit. I should’ve run away when I had the chance.
As my eyes open, he’s standing beside me. It’s becoming a recurring theme. Whenever I’m in this place, he arrives as a companion. And as much as I want him here, each time my eyes open, it brings fresh pain and longing.
I should make the most of my time here.
“Do you remember when we went ice-skating?” Desmond asks, a smile filled with cherished memories on his face. “You were bloody hopeless.”
“Shut up,” I say, nudging his shoulder. “I learned, didn’t I?”
His fingers brush against mine. “Do you want to?”
I lower my gaze to the thick layer of ice, my hands tightening into clenched fists. “It’s been a while—two years, Des.”
Desmond waves his hand in front of him. Ice swirls outwards before shooting away. Stairs materialise, and Desmond slowly descends them with his hands in his pockets. “We’ve got time for you to relearn it. I suspect we will be here for a while.”
The night cracks, shuddering like an earthquake and letting voices slip through my haven. “Choke on it, baby. Yeah. That’s it. Deeper…”
My heart contracts, but I shake off the sickening feeling and descend the stairs until I step onto thick slabs of ice covering the ocean. My shoes aren’t great against the frost, and the flat surface of my ballet slippers slides. My stomach lurches, and my arms flail as I try to keep my balance.
Broad, muscular arms catch me before I fall. My fingers grip his shirt as my head rests against his chest. Tight, contracting muscles surround me until I’m safely in his embrace, and his lips gently brush my forehead.
The urge to ice skate fades, and instead, my hands touch his chest as I yearn for Desmond’s realism. My arms rest on his shoulders, and I boldly gaze into his enigmatic indigo eyes.
Memories of our time together flood into me.
How we trained, and how he pinned me against the snow with his knee between my legs.
My insides knotted at how alive he made me feel.
Whenever I was with Desmond, my body was in utter control.
With every hitched breath, fingers slipping into warmth, and knife to the throat, we revelled in the mayhem.
Our love was too chaotic and exciting for this world, so it became short-lived.
“I wish my first time was with you,” I breathe.
His lips graze against mine, and our breaths become erratic and hitched. Desmond scans my face. “You know my reasons for not wanting to touch you, Marionette.”
He doesn’t have to elaborate. The nickname he gave me tells a dark tale of my past. Strings of a puppet. They controlled everything about me. When I finally cut them, crimson filled the Kingdom of Crystal, and the dagger hidden in my Oceanview Harbour apartment lay thick with his blood.
My arms tighten, and I rest my head against his chest. We glide across the ice in an embrace of love and bitterness. I miss him so much. It’s hard to withstand anymore.
“I don’t want this to end.”
His lips press against my forehead. Desmond doesn’t need to say a word. We both know how much we don’t want this to end. But unfortunately, I realise that if it doesn’t. It means my body lies bare, still, and without a soul.
When I leave the bathroom, the door to his room swings open, and two fire elementals enter. My body tenses up, and my hands grip the towel tightly. It’s not until they approach Xavier’s bed, where he lies in a pool of sweat, that my shoulders relax.
Erin Clark enters a moment later and touches his shoulder. “Xavier, dear. They are here to take you away.”
Xavier grunts his response.
Erin Clark rises and looks at the two fire elemny. “He did not have a wonderful night last night. Aside from the hot sweats, he also tethered.”
“Rough,” the taller fire elemny says with a shake of his head. “But we will take him now, and he should rest easier in the room we will set him up in.”
She smiles. “I enjoyed my time there.”
I touch his sweaty shoulder when the fire elemnys take hold of Xavier’s limp body. “I will see you when you awaken, Xav.”
He doesn’t respond. The pre-awakening overwhelmed him. They carry him out, likely into an emergency van and to wherever they kept the awakening ones.
Erin Clark closes the door after apologising for disturbing us. I grab my suitcase, wear a dress with sneakers, slip an elastic band around my wrist, and then brush my hair until it shines black as I look in the mirror.
Dark circles plague the area underneath my eyes, and no amount of cream will reduce the puffiness. Smoothing foundation across my face and down my throat, after I finish putting my face on and looking somewhat presentable, I slip the nail file into my satchel and leave the bedroom.
Down the hallway and through the kitchen, I overhear Sara and Kylie chatting with Erin Clark about Xavier tethering to that water element woman last night.
They mention my name, and sympathy from Sara and Kylie.
I wish they hadn’t. Encourage him to move on.
But then again, would he push himself onto her when she’s not ready and use guilt and gaslighting behaviour to sleep with her?
At least now, as an already broken and abused body, I’m saving someone for now.
Still, they’ll get together soon enough. Staying away from the tether once it’s etched onto the skin is tough. Lust will flow through them, and feelings unknown to elemny who hasn’t tethered will draw them toward each other.
Tethered elemny lose all will when they mark, and it’s easier to be with each other to protect than without.
As I step into the kitchen, Sara notices me first. Her wide, warm expression wavers, and she approaches me with open arms full of sympathy. Kylie smiles, but her attention drifts away. She likely feels guilty talking about me.
“Are you all right, dear?” Erin Clark says.
I push my hair away from my face and nod. “Uh, yeah. I will feel better when I see Xavier again.”
“Well, until then, explore more before leaving tomorrow evening!” She ushers us out the door.
As our group moves down a few blocks, I mention needing a moment to clear my head.
They say it would be for the best and agree to catch up for a drink and a sit-down half an hour before Xavier’s awakening near the amphitheatre.
Out of their sight, I roll my shoulder, kink my neck, and allow the timid persona to fade away as the mindset of an assassin takes over.
I hop into the first cab I spot. The driver scrutinises me until I hand him a $100 bill.
He pulls away from the curb after I tell him I want to go to the Crimson Hotel.
I keep my eyes on the window, my hands tightening on my dress. He asks if I’m meeting someone there. I shake my head and explain that I want to take photos of every tourist attraction before I leave. He mentions a few others, even bringing up the castle.
I brush him off and say, “I went to the castle last night. It was the first place I wanted to go with my friends.”
“Was it everything you dreamed it to be?”
“Yes!” I’m not even lying. It’s hard to picture anything apart from ash, flesh, and dead bodies in Flesh. However, it’s also disappointing to have a castle in a place like this.
Brutal.
The cabbie parks in the taxi bay outside the Crimson Hotel.
With a quick thanks, I grab my satchel and hop out of the car.
Switching into tourist mode, I snap a few photos of the hotel to share with Sara and Kylie, then turn when I see cameras flashing nearby.
Amid the crowd and the wailing screams of excited fans, Prince Walkyer comes into view.
Shit.
Dipping my head, I glare at the ground and make my way down the pathway. Fans cluster ahead of me, and I get swallowed up by the crowd. We pass each other. I glimpse him smiling at his fans from the corner of my eye, but his gaze lingers in one direction as if he needs to be somewhere.
The rising hairs on the back of my neck stop, and the shudder of panic being so close to a prince eases until I can focus on killing King Ragan—his dad. Upon his return to the castle, I would have left behind nothing but organs and entrails riddling the floor.
There are two directions I can take.
Prince Walkyer being so close to the Crimson Hotel makes me rethink the initial plan Nancy had in mind. If he enters the hotel at the same time I do, there would have been a minuscule chance he’d recognise me, and that slight chance is enough to put me off.