Chapter 9 #2
I bit my lip, looking straight ahead as we entered the overgrown parts of the wilderness that was not particularly looked after. The varieties of the dark, leafy trees and thick shrubs, mixed with the waist high weeds, concealed us from the windows of the palace.
“Red.”
“Excuse me?”
“Red is my favorite color.” Kent’s eyes landed on my hair and swiftly moved back to my face.
My cheeks brightened with a fiery heat. He did not mean it that way, he was just looking at my hair. It was not, in any way, related to what he had just said.
“Do you have any family in the city?” I asked after a long pause.
“No.”
“Do you have a family?”
“Yes.”
I nodded. Did he mean that he is married with children, or he has parents and siblings? I really wanted to know, but I was too scared to ask. Instead, I fidgeted with my dress, avoiding looking at him.
“Do you . . .? Do you want to ask me something?” I looked up at him.
“I have many things I want to ask you, but I’m not sure you’re ready.”
“Why?”
He looked away. But his jaw clenched as if he was forcing himself to stay silent.
“Do you live in the city?” I asked.
“No. All the guards are stationed in the palace.”
“I see. How did you know that Sally . . . that they were giving me poison?”
“You did not look like yourself.” I could not stop staring at him. “I mean you did not look good.”
“Did we know each other before?”
“Yes.”
I stopped glaring at him. I turned away, my mind reeling. That made so much sense. It explained the way I felt like I already knew him. I took a deep breath of the fresh, chilly air and almost immediately my head started to spin.
We knew each other. But why did he act like we were strangers? Was Kent even his real name?
“How . .? Why . . ?”
“You’re not ready for this conversation.”
“What do you mean I’m not ready? I want to know what’s happening!”
“You’re not back to your normal self.”
“I want to know why I don’t remember anything about who I am. Where did I come from? Where’s my family? Do I even have a family?”
“You have a brother.”
“I have a brother?”
“Yes. As far as I know, he’s your only family.”
“Where is he?” I stopped.
Kent shook his head.
“Why am I here?”
“I’ll tell you everything when you’re ready.”
“No. Stop treating me like a delicate flower. I can handle it!” I pushed his arm away.
Suddenly, my skin burned and I could not seem to get enough air. My vision blurred as I tried to catch my breath. Then strong arms wrapped around my shoulders. The truth was, his proximity gave me peace, and I needed him more than I ever would dare to admit.
“I’ll tell you everything when the time’s right,” he whispered in my ear.
“Now. I need to know now.” I stepped away from him.
His arms fell to his sides, and for a moment, there was a new expression in his dark eyes.
The next moment, he grabbed my hand and pulled me through an opening in between two evergreen bushes.
My feet were unsteady, slipping on the branches and the carpet of dry needles beneath me.
When at last he let go of my hand, we were in a small clearing surrounded by trees and greenery on every side.
“Please. You have to tell me what you know.” I breathed.
For a moment, all I could see was his back. The wide shoulders in a well-fitting leather suit, his wavy, dark hair. Slowly, he turned his head so I could see his amazingly beautiful profile.
“The council discovered that you’re a descendant of the red dragon line, and they brought you here against your will. They want you to be obedient and compliant, which is why they’ve been giving you that drink.”
I swallowed. It was nothing that had not already crossed my mind at one time or another. But it was a relief to finally hear it from someone else, and know that I was not going mad, that my suspicions were valid.
“Why can’t I remember anything?”
“I don’t know what they’ve been giving you. I suspect it has something to do with the medicine.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Why are you here?”
“I came for you.”
“Why?”
Kent turned to face me. Our eyes locked. His brows furrowed, and the black of his irises burned through me with intense, blazing heat.
“Why?” I asked again.
“Because you are mine.”
His voice was quiet, full of cool control, and confident that I belonged to him, that I was his. Something exploded in my chest, making me see stars.
“You are mine, Alina. And there is nothing that can keep me away from you, not now, not fucking ever. I will do anything to get you back, even if I have to burn the palace down, or the whole damn city.”
“You sound like a mad man,” I whispered.
Instead of answering he closed the distance between us.
I stepped back and immediately felt the rough surface of tree bark against my skin.
His eyes, his voice, everything about him terrified me, but it also made a liquid heat pool in my abdomen, even his lips, and his tightly set jaw.
His hand slowly moved toward my face, but he never touched me.
Instead, his hand pressed against the tree trunk just inches away from my head.
“I’ve been a madman since the very first time I laid eyes on you.
Just one look from you, and I’m ready to fight and die, if that’s what you want from me.
Just one word, and I’d gladly leave everything behind for you.
But there’s no way I’ll ever let you choose another man. Not in this lifetime, nor any other.”
My eyes opened wide as he leaned closer to my face. His hot breath brushed against my skin and involuntarily my lips parted. I wanted to lean into him, feel his lips on mine, drag my fingers through his hair. It was torturous, forbidden, and so, so sweet.
“This is crazy.” I exhaled.
Right away, I felt that I said something wrong because his face hardened. He moved away, his chest rising and falling as if he just ran many miles.
“You better get back to your room before your maid returns,” Kent said, his tone suddenly detached and impersonal.
I lowered my gaze, feeling so incredibly confused by his reaction – and by my own feelings, which were undefined and scattered.
Kent returned to the main path and I followed him.
He offered me his arm and I accepted it, still too dazed to think clearly. We did not talk on the way back, and when we finally made it to my room, he opened the door without even looking at me.