CHAPTER 37 AILEEN
CHAPTER 37
AILEEN
That night, I could barely sleep.
With my ribs still healing, Ragnor and I didn’t have sex. Instead, he simply cuddled me close and buried his head in my neck. Despite the tension in the air following our short argument, he fell asleep easily.
But I couldn’t.
Not when I felt like I was ruining us before we even properly began.
So I stayed awake, listening to his soft breaths and sinking into his embrace, wishing I could erase my past and the irremovable stain of my bloodline.
When morning came, I gently pulled away from him. I thought he awoke when I did, but when I saw his heaving chest relax, I left the suite.
Walking through the hallways of the Rayne League made me feel nostalgic, a perfect distraction from the chaos in my head. When I arrived at the cafeteria, it almost felt like I was home.
But there was no place that could be my home. In my head, I would forever be a nomad. Yet the Rayne League, despite the bad memories it brought, felt like the only place I truly belonged. Perhaps because Ragnor stood at its head. Or because this was where everything started going astray, and thus this was the only place that could bring me back to the right path.
The cafeteria was mostly deserted but for a group of three kitchen workers wearing dirty aprons who were drinking coffee at one of the tables. When I saw who they were, I was suddenly swept away by emotions.
As I rushed toward them, they heard me coming and turned to look at me. Their eyes widened, and I found myself smiling from ear to ear, tears in my eyes, as I threw myself at one of them, the first person in the Rayne League who’d shown me kindness.
Jada. Along with CJ and Bowen. The dishwashing team.
I’d missed them so much.
“Aileen!” Jada screamed in happiness as she hugged me back. “What are you doing here?”
I leaned back from her and wiped my eyes. Damn, I had become such a crybaby in the past few days. “I missed you,” I said, turning to look at CJ and Bowen, who gave me fond looks of welcome. “It’s so good to see you again.”
“The same goes for you,” CJ said, his eyes trailing to my hair. “I see you’ve been through some changes.”
I laughed tearily. “You have no idea.”
“Sit,” Jada commanded, pulling me to the chair next to her. “Bowen, bring coffee to our friend.”
Bowen gave her a mock glare. “Are you ordering me around?” he drawled but then smiled and gave me a wink. “Kidding. You like it black with AB negative, right?”
“You remember,” I said, warmth filling my chest.
“Of course I do.” Bowen chuckled and rose from his seat. “Anything else? Lon’s famous egg and bacon?”
My mouth watered. The Atalon League’s food was great, but nothing compared to the Rayne League’s chef’s touch. “Yes, please.”
Once I had my coffee and food, Jada said, “You’ve got to tell us everything! Last we heard, you were bought by Atalon.”
I smirked. “You disappoint me, folks. I thought you were apt at collecting gossip.”
CJ snorted, rubbing his buzz cut. “Well, when it came to you, there seemed to be a severe lack of information.”
“Which is why you need to spill,” Bowen said, giving me a prompting smile. “Tell us everything. We’re dying for some news that isn’t about rapist noobs or Margarita’s incompetence.”
I jolted at his words and frowned. “Now I’m curious,” I said, thinking about Ragnor’s redheaded Lieutenant. “What’s going on here?”
The three exchanged glances before returning their gazes to me. “Do you know Tansy Contos?” Jada asked quietly.
The name stirred up a sense of nostalgia mixed with caution. Tansy had been a newcomer along with me and eventually was bought by Ragnor. She was an oddball, to say the least, always daydreaming and spouting nonsense.
She wasn’t strong, but she always made me put my guard up. She’d said some things back when we were suitemates that made me keep some distance between us.
“Yes,” I told Jada now. “She used to be my suitemate here.”
Jada gave me a somber look. “Several weeks ago, there was an incident.”
CJ cursed, and I snapped my eyes to him. He was glowering at his coffee mug. “Two noob men assaulted her,” he snarled, “and while our Lord took care of them, Contos has been hospitalized in the infirmary ever since.”
“They broke her.” Bowen shook his head, face both disgusted and angry. “Her mental state has been deteriorating rapidly. She has to be under surveillance at all times.”
My blood froze at their words. First, Zoey was a dead woman walking. Now Tansy was in a severe mental state. What was it about my former suitemates and misfortune?
“I’ll go visit her,” I said quietly, trying to process what they had just told me. What the hell had happened in the Rayne League in the past couple of months?
“You have to get the infirmary’s permission,” Jada told me softly, squeezing my hand. “I know the last time someone visited her, she had a meltdown.”
I might not have been best friends with Tansy, but I couldn’t help but pity her. She was already not quite there to begin with, and now this ...
“Anyway,” CJ said, giving me a pointed look. “It’s your turn. What brings you here to our humble abode?”
This was a loaded question, especially since I didn’t exactly know what I was doing there. Ragnor and I hadn’t talked about my future in that sense. Officially, I was still part of the Atalon League, but there was no chance in hell I would go back there. Not after Atalon tried to “rent” me like some object to the Jinn.
But what would it mean for me, then? Would I become Leagueless?
And what about Isora? I refused to believe she would want to go back there. Yet what was the alternative?
“Hey.” Jada’s voice brought me out of my own head, and I turned to her. She gave me a worried look. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”
The gnawing worries must’ve shown on my face. “Thanks,” I said, smiling faintly. “Can you fill me in on some gossip, instead?”
Jada laughed, lifting the weight from my chest, if only temporarily. “But of course! Let’s start with the latest news: Magnus, the Lieutenant, has been seeing the cute nurse who took care of him not too long ago ...”
“Yo, Henderson.”
The voice came from behind me and brought my gossip session with my dishwashing friends to an abrupt stop. I turned around and saw the dark-skinned bionic woman from the Jinni villa taking the empty seat in front of mine, laying down a tray filled to the brim with food, as though she was feeding an army. She seemed to ignore my friends, who were watching her with surprisingly awestruck expressions.
After clearing my throat, I said, “Hey” as she started gobbling up the food like a starved woman. Seeing her significant biceps flexing, I wondered if she was a bodybuilder.
I also wondered why she was sitting down with us—or, rather, with me.
Clearly thinking the same thing, Jada elbowed CJ and rose to her feet. “We’ll talk to you later,” she told me as Bowen followed suit. Jada turned her gaze to the bionic woman. “Have a pleasant morning, Commander.”
The woman gave them a single nod, and before I could protest, the dishwashing group dispersed.
I returned my gaze to the woman, trying to understand what she wanted from me. Likely sensing my confusion, she raised her head and gave me a grin that was a tad too unhinged for my liking. “I’m Neisha,” she told me, giving me a salute with a croissant. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Same, I guess?” I said, still not quite sure about her.
Grin still intact, she said, “Don’t worry, Goldilocks. I’m simply here to accompany you later to see your friends. The Lord’s orders.”
“Oh,” I murmured, my chest tightening. Ragnor seemed to know me too well. He knew I would want to visit Isora and Zoey, and so he arranged for a companion.
Though why I needed a companion when we were safe here was a mystery.
For a few minutes, we ate in silence. She seemed unabashed as she practically inhaled her omelet and slurped the thinly cut cucumbers like spaghetti. It was fascinating, I had to admit; I’d never seen anyone eat so much in such a short amount of time, and it made me curious.
She proved to be quite sharp, because she sensed that too. Chuckling, she said, “I started out as a Common, but my Gift is superstrength. Used to be a weight lifter in the past, you see.” She motioned toward her tray. “Since my Gift consumes far more energy than most, I need to eat like a motherfucker to recharge.”
I didn’t think I’d ever encountered any Gifted who so willingly and openly disclosed the nature of their Gift. It was refreshing. “So you really are a bionic woman,” I said. Something about her pretty face and deadly muscles made it impossible to tear my eyes away.
Shrugging, she leaned back, drinking her coffee. “Well, it’s your turn,” she said, giving me a wicked grin. “What’s up with you and our Lord?”
Her question made me tense. “Nothing’s up” was my immediate response.
She rolled her eyes so exaggeratedly, her eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets. “Don’t bother lying,” she said and pointed at me with a bacon-impaled fork. “Everyone knows something’s going on between the two of you.”
I folded my arms, jaw locked. “And what makes everyone so sure about it?”
Chortling, she stuffed her mouth with bacon. Once she swallowed, she gave me a somewhat sinister smile. “Three things. One, his erratic behavior in the past few months.” She nibbled on a carrot before returning to me. “Two, the fact he joined the noobs’ field trip twice, and in those two times you were involved in some sort of way.” She sipped her coffee and shot me a knowing smirk. “And three, the fact you slept in his room.”
As a private person, I didn’t like any of that—especially since after our little chat yesterday, I wasn’t sure where we stood anymore. I wasn’t even sure we were still on for that one-month trial period.
“Also, there’s another point,” Neisha said, eyes flickering with amusement. “I heard you calling him by his name.”
She was far too nosy. “You think you got me all figured out, don’t you?”
She shook her head. “Not at all,” she said candidly. “It’s just that when it comes to such matters, I’m an expert. Though in your case, it doesn’t take a genius to see that you and our Lord are utterly infatuated.”
That was enough. “While your insight is ... intriguing,” I said, trying not to sound too irritated, “we’re not close enough for me to talk to you about any of it.”
She rose from her seat. “You’re right,” she said. “Then let’s take you to those you are close to, shall we?”
I looked down at her tray. It was empty. Mine still had a piece of bacon left. But her words managed to erase any trace of hunger, so I stood up and said, “Lead the way.”