53. Chapter Fifty-Three
53
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
ELODIE
D espite the warmth that forever seeped through the palace, my body declined to absorb it, and I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked with Alouette along the passages. Trusting her, as usual, to get us where we needed to be.
“That was a lot, you doing ok?” The concern in her voice made me glance her way, to see her brows furrowed over her sage eyes as she looked back.
I was definitely not ok.
“No.”
And there was no point in pretending I was.
My entire life had just been shredded apart. Again. I had no idea how the pieces fit back together. “I thought getting answers would make things easier, not ten times worse.”
The quiet stretched on before she spoke. “You’ll figure it out, you’ve come this far already.”
“Like that wasn’t complicated enough, now I have this asshole to deal with.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Her regular teasing tone returned as a frustratingly familiar door came into view, a guard standing sentry on either side. Both of whose heels snapped together at the sound of her voice, left hand crossing to touch their right shoulder, and their eyes focused dead ahead. Quiet courtesies of ‘General’ fell from their lips, but she ignored them, grinning at me as we came to a stop in front of the white door.
“You’d think that finding out your memories are trapped behind a barrier inside your own mind, and that your whole life has been a lie, would earn a girl some sort of grace period. Don’t you think?” I said, not in the slightest bit ready to step through that door.
“Honestly. I think you have absolutely shit luck.”
I huffed an unamused laugh at the accuracy of her words.
“And right now, it’s about to get a whole lot worse.” She tapped the wood, letting it open just enough for her to nudge me into the darkened room.
All sound of Alouette cut off with the soft click of the latch, the smell of ash and charcoal settled heavily on my senses, and I knew with certainty I was alone in here with Bastian.
Just fucking great.
Yet another fire roared in, yet another fireplace, and I wondered if being born here gave them an obsession with fire from birth, or they were just conditioned to ensure something was always burning wherever they went.
As my eyes adjusted to the dimness, they immediately found the big black chair Kaius had been sitting in when I was first brought to this room. This time, it was empty.
I knew he was here, could feel the presence of his magik. It coiled through the room until the very air I breathed screamed big fiery asshole Prince . As much as I didn’t want to be alone with him, at least his minions weren’t here; I didn’t have the patience to be hissed at.
As usual, more flames flickered in the sconces along the walls, casting eerie shadows on the thick tapestries that covered them. I knew the only other exit from this room was the single door just behind the chair I had been expecting Bastian to be sat on. I concentrated on discreet, steadying breaths in preparation for what I knew was going to be an uncomfortable experience.
“There’s no need to be so nervous, Princess,” his voice drawled from a corner, and I turned as the flames blazed higher, illuminating Bastian sprawled in a dark armchair surrounded by others just like it.
“How dramatic.” I arched a brow at him, noting he was missing his ruby circlet, though the mess of golden ringlets were his own sort of crown. It was a shame his personality detracted so much from his looks, because he really was devastatingly handsome in the way only an arrogant prince could be. If I had never heard a word from his mouth, I would have been all over him. Unfortunately, I’d heard more than my share of ugliness fall from his pouty lips.
Striding across the room, I sank into the chair opposite before allowing him the satisfaction of summoning me to him. Crossing my legs, it was my turn to watch as he arched his brow at me.
“Come, sit, by all means.” He gestured lazily towards me as I placed my hands over the arms of the chair, mirroring his pose and feeling a prickle of magik in my fingertips in retaliation to his closeness.
“Are we waiting for anyone else, or am I the lucky sole recipient of your delightful company?” Bastian’s eyes hardened before that charming mask was put back into place. A sliver of satisfaction rippled through me.
“For now.” His fingers traced patterns lightly over the fabric of the chairs, and I turned away; the memory of our hands clasped together as magik flooded between us an unwelcome one.
“Cosy.” I let my attention trail to the tapestries. Each one intricate and detailed, countless hours of work. Picturesque scenes of people with creatures I had never seen weaved tales all around me. I didn’t recognise the story they told, but there was that instinctual understanding of the that flowed through me. Had I been in the company of anyone else, I would have allowed myself to indulge in their story.
But I wasn’t with anyone else. I was with the prince of this kingdom. The one who needed me for something and hated me for it.
“Why am I here, Bastian?” I kept my eyes on the wall to the left of him, my gaze following the imposing figure of a scarlet dragon that stretched from floor to ceiling, scales shining in the flame light.
“Isn’t this what you wanted, Princess? Answers?”
“Will I get them?” I met his green gaze that seared into my skin.
“Some. But I want answers, too.”
“About?”
“About you. About who you are, about whatever it is you’ve been doing with Arden.”
“Arden hasn’t told you?” I asked, tilting my head to study him, knowing I already knew the answer thanks to my little out of body experience this morning.
“Arden has been... tight lipped, shall we say, when it comes to you.” Though his face remained relaxed, his eyes hardened into two chips of emerald as shadows danced over him.
“That must be very frustrating for such an important man like you,” I replied, unable to hide the smile that played on my lips. Bastian didn’t know what I discovered in that room. Kaius hadn’t shared with him anything, either—though I wasn’t sure what to make of that.
Now I had to decide how much I was willing to tell him without jeopardising my own chance at information. “And just how will we decide who gets their answers first? Rock, paper, scissors?”
“I will ask, and you will answer. If I am happy with what you tell me, you may ask your own question,” Bastian ground out, fist curling into a ball, ruby rings glinting before he relaxed them.
“Yeah, that’s not how this is going to go, Big Man.”
“Remember who is in charge here, because it’s not you.”
I scoffed as entitledness oozed from his every pore. “If you need to shout about who is in charge, it kind of gives me the feeling that it’s not really you.”
Bastian’s eyes blazed with the fire that I could so easily stoke; I couldn’t deny the small stupid thrill that rushed over me. “You should be careful how you talk to me, human,” he spoke, voice dripping with distaste.
Despite the ominous edge to his words, I let a laugh escape me. Apparently, everything I learned yesterday truly had been kept from him. The knowledge that I had answers he was desperate for made me a little giddy, even in the face of what was clearly a fraught situation.
Bastian stood slowly, a snarl on his face. His towering frame cast in shadows as he blocked out the light, eyes glowing slightly as he ate up the space between us. My delight faded quickly, replaced by the acute awareness of the heat that had just enveloped the room. Of the danger this prince posed to me.
While it was fun to poke at his temper, it wasn’t smart. The magik that was twisting itself through my body was enough to tell me that.
“How do you have magik?” he demanded, all attempts at niceties between us long gone.
“I’m not telling you shit,” I managed to grind out as Bastian leaned down, hands closing tightly on the arms of the chair, and forcing me back into the seat as I tried to put some space between us.
“You will answer when your prince demands it.” He was so close now, his charcoal and maplewood scent invading my senses. The heat radiating from his body bordering on painful as it brushed my skin. His huge arms were bracketed either side of me, keeping me in place without a single touch.
“You are not my prince,” I spat out with a venom that I hoped ate through his bullshit and left a festering wound in its wake. I pushed up from my seat, forcing him to step back from the cage he had me in, magik rippling through me. I could see the fire alight behind his eyes, feel my magik feed off his anger as well as my own. My world narrowed down to this infuriating man, and the scars on my back burned before my energy chased off the pain.
“There’s no need to fight.” My head whipped to the side at the sound of Kaius’ voice, in the same moment the temperature in the room plummeted. “I know much funner ways to get physical if that’s where this is going.”
Bastian stepped back, the space between us welcome as Kaius appeared in the room without either of us noticing him enter. The perfection of his face, and the jump of my heart, forced my anger at Bastian to the side as he closed the distance between us in a few long strides. Eyes sparking with mischief, his body blocked my view of the Prince.
“Goldie,” he murmured in my ear. Leaning down, Kaius curled a hand through my hair, his lips brushing a gentle kiss against my cheek sending a shiver through me. I couldn’t help as my eyes flicked past him, colliding with Bastian’s.
Straightening, Kaius went to a small half table that stood against the wall, tall bottles of amber liquid sitting on top. I watched as he opened one, pouring a measure into a crystal glass, his flexing muscles visible under his black jumper. The daggers—that I’d never seen him without unless behind closed doors—were strapped to his hips. The silence felt as thick as the heat that had radiated from Bastian only a moment ago, and I found myself unsure how I fit into this situation.
I risked a quick glance at Bastian, the thought that he knew what had happened in the cave between me and Kaius an uncomfortable one. Not that I was ashamed of what we did, just that it felt too intimate for someone like Big Man—who clearly held nothing but disdain for me—to know.
The clink of crystal caught my attention, and Kaius picked up the filled glass with his long, tattooed fingers. Crossing the room to place it into my hands, his lip curled at the side as I stared at him in confusion before he moved back to the table to pour another two glasses, handing one to Bastian before seating himself in the chair next to mine.
Slowly, I followed suit, sinking down stiffly, my agitated magik unsure of what to do with itself now that Kaius had diffused the rage that had been flooding me. I gripped the crystal tightly. As Bastian sat, his eyes focused on his friend, and a layer of heat still rippling around him.
“I see you two decided to start without me,” Kaius said, eyes crinkling as he sipped his drink, and I couldn’t help the way I was drawn to his lips.
“Believe me, nothing got started,” I replied, feeling Big Man's attention whip my way and choosing to ignore him.
“Didn’t look that way from where I was standing.”
“Then maybe you should find a different viewpoint, Kaius,” Bastian growled.
Kaius tipped his glass towards him and silence followed. I was moments away from leaving, fleeing back to my room. I’d take the certainty of getting lost over sitting here like this.
If I was lucky, Alouette would find me.
“Goldie, you came here looking for answers. Am I right?” His grey eyes fixed on mine, and I nodded quickly in agreement.
“And do you agree that there are some things we also want answers to?” I nodded again, my instinct to flee lessening with every word spoken in his deep, reassuring voice. “Then I do think we can make this work, with a little cooperation.”
Heat, that had no business being there, flared within me at his words, and I raised the glass to my lips, relishing in the burn of the liquid as it moved down my throat. I hadn’t been properly in Kaius’ company yet after what happened last night, except for briefly in the corridor, and I wasn’t sure how I was meant to act around him.
Had it just been some fun between us? A way to blow off steam after a stressful day?
Did Bastian know? Did Kaius even care what had happened between us, or was I just a convenient body?
That didn’t seem right. He hadn’t got anything out of last night despite me offering.
Those are not the questions I need answers to right now.
I pulled myself from the memory of Kaius’ body heavy on mine, and focused on the more important matters, like why I was even here in the first place.
“Everything. Anything. Whatever she wants, basically.”
The words he had spoken earlier floated through my mind, and I knew that Kaius being here was my best chance of getting any answers. He always had been.