19. Raelyna
RAELYNA
“I’m sorry,” Sage spoke lowly at the tavern two nights later. “I’ve looked into every possible option, but there’s no way I can get anyone into the Temples without permission. It just won’t work.”
I sighed as I began mixing a drink for an impatient customer down the bar. “Don’t worry about it, Sage,” I comforted. “We’ll figure something else out.”
She nodded, biting her lip nervously as she watched me closely, and I sighed for the second time while making one drink.
“I’m guessing Finn told you about the episode,” I confirmed, and she nodded.
“They’re getting worse, Rae,” she said with a note of seriousness I’d heard from her all too often.
“And what do you propose I do, Sage?” I gestured wildly with one hand as I poured the drink into a decorated glass, the liquid coating the ball of ice in the center.
“It’s not like I can control it. And until we find out why it’s happening, I’m not sure what other option I have, other than just to endure it. ”
“I know,” she said with a remorseful sigh. “Doesn’t mean I have to like that they keep occurring to you.”
“Well, I can’t say I’m the biggest fan either,” I said with a bitter laugh as I set the drink down in front of the male waiting.
My phone chimed, and I walked away from the counter, glancing down at the message from Finn.
Finn: Any word?
Me: Sage can’t get us in. We need another option.
Finn: Libraries?
I turned toward Sage. “What about the Solis Library?”
I could see her thinking over the suggestion, so I waited patiently—or as patiently as I could with Finn continually texting about whether I thought that would be a viable option.
A touch of a familiar affinity brushed over me. I glanced up, catching my mother’s gaze from across the tavern as she headed our direction while gesturing for me to busy myself. I sighed before I began cleaning the dishes that had piled behind the bar top.
“It’s been far too long since you’ve stopped by, Sage.” My mother’s voice was a jovial scold as she set down the tray she’d been holding before pulling Sage into a hug.
“I won’t let it happen again, Mrs. Kingsley,” Sage chirped back as she sat back down on the barstool she’d been occupying.
“Is the court keeping you busy with your studies in the libraries?” my mother asked as she bustled about, making a drink. Soap sloshed onto the bar top as I washed another set of glasses, listening to Sage ramble on about the various study techniques she’d been utilizing for her job.
It was only once my mother left, drink order in hand, that Sage swiveled on the barstool, turning to face me once again.
“We might be able to make the libraries work,” Sage confirmed after what felt like an entire year had passed.
I looked up, hands coated in dish suds as my eyes hooked on hers. “You think?”
She nodded, her eyes lighting up excitedly. “I need to go. But I will text everyone tonight with the plans, okay? Just promise me you’ll stay out of trouble?”
I nodded, a teasing smile on my lips. “Ay, ay, captain,” I joked as I made a fake salute to my best friend—a perfect imitation of the RSG. “We’ll all be ready.”
It was just my luck . . . because of course .
. . of all the days in the summer, today had to be the day for a flash rain to be summoned by the gods.
I stared out the front door of the Tilted Tavern as I wrapped up for the night, praying for the onslaught to stop before I finished drying the last of the glasses, but so far, I’d had no such luck.
“See you tomorrow,” Xander’s voice rumbled as he turned off the TVs. “You’re positive you don’t need a ride? I don’t need your mom blaming me for you catching a cold.”
I smiled at Xander as I locked up behind the counter and headed toward the door. “I’ll be fine, Xan. It’s only a few blocks; don’t worry about me.”
He smiled back, his eyes darting toward the windows as we both watched the rain pick up.
It didn’t rain often in Solis . . . maybe ten days a year, if that. But when it did, the rains came down in waves, nearly causing flash floods on the outer streets of Solis. We simply couldn’t handle the amount of water falling from the heavens.
With a heavy sigh, I turned the handle of the front door, darting out into the rain.
I was drenched the moment I left the covering above the tavern.
Chilled droplets soaked through my clothing as I began to hurry down the sidewalk, attempting to avoid the largest puddles on the pavement.
The neon hues of the streetlights reflected in the water, staining the sidewalks, the colors dancing as more droplets puddled on the ground.
It’s just five blocks . . . not the end of the world, I repeated in my head as I hurried down the street.
The roar of an engine sounded behind me as I hurriedly walked through the rain, and I wished for the third time in just one block that I’d taken Xan up on his offer for a ride.
The rumble sounded closer as I heard the vehicle approaching.
Ducking my head down as the rain came down harder, I picked up my steps, hurrying to cross the next street as the signal blinked.
No sooner had I stepped off the curb than a large spray of water flew onto me as a bike raced past, the water from a street puddle soaking me.
“Fucking stars!” I screamed, raising my hand in a gesture toward the bike passing by. “At least watch where you’re driving!”
I shivered as my shirt clung to my skin. The brake lights flared as the bike revved backward.
Stars help me.
Not now . . . Not in the Nox District.
There weren’t even any surveillance drones out right now with the weather.
The bike stopped right beside me, as my hand flew to the blade Finn had given me at my waist, grabbing it as I held it in my palm.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you to watch your language?” a deep voice purred as the male flipped up his visor, and amber eyes pierced mine.
Eyes I recognized . . .
“Didn’t anyone teach you to drive better?” I snarked in reply as I gestured toward my soaked attire.
Callum Blackwood’s gaze raked over every soaked inch of clothing as he took in my appearance, before his eyes met mine again, and an eyebrow arched in question.
“You’re walking through a rainstorm, but are blaming me for your soaked appearance?”
“No,” I spat the word back. “I’m saying you shouldn’t be allowed to ride a motorbike if you can’t avoid puddles.”
He huffed a dark laugh as I stood there in the pouring rain, before he crossed his arms across his chest, looking me over once more. “And what?” His voice was a light tease as he spoke. “You think you could drive better in the rain?”
I let out a breath as my eyes narrowed on him. “With my eyes closed.”
He hopped off the bike then, cutting the engine as his gloved hand extended in a gesture. “Let’s see it,” he said, a dimpled smirk showing as he stood in the darkness, the street lights reflecting from the rain droplets on his helmet as he waited for my response.
“W-what? Now?” I shook my head as I began to walk away.
“You have a better idea?” he taunted. “Plus, it’s pouring, and I’m assuming you’d prefer to get home before every inch of you is soaked to the bone.”
My eyes narrowed as I studied the male before me. This was a stupid idea . . . I did not need to prove I could drive a bike to this male. I was supposed to be staying away from him. He was a guard for Solis Court. He was off-limits.
And yet . . . “Fuck it,” I replied before I stepped forward and slid onto the seat of his motorbike. I revved the engine as the rain beat down around us, tightening my hands around the handlebars of the bike as a wave of excitement coursed through me.
It had been far too long since I’d sat on a motorbike . . . since before my father was killed.
It was a reckless decision . . . stupid really. And yet, my foot kicked back, and I was nearly about to press the gas when I felt Callum slide behind me.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I half-cried as I turned my neck to stare at him.
He huffed an amused laugh as he looked at me. “You can’t seriously think I’d let you drive off with my bike . . . without me.”
My lip turned down as I looked at him, because well, yes. I had fully expected that.
“I don’t trust you that much yet, starlight.” His voice was a rumble as he cocked his head, waiting for me.
“Well, I don’t trust you either.”
“And yet, you’re about to drive my bike.”
I scoffed. “Only to prove to you that you suck at driving in the rain.”
“Prove away,” he said with a grand gesture of his hand, which had me kicking the bike into gear in what I prayed was a fast enough movement for him to lose his seat.
It wasn’t.
I felt the rumble of his chest as I tore through the street, flying through the light as I cut across the slick pavement of the Nox District.
The roads were coated with a mixture of wet sand and potholes filled with rainwater, yet I flew through the streets, knowing these roads like the back of my hand.
I left out an excited shout as I raced toward my apartment, feeling the wind whip around me as I rode far too fast through the district, ignoring the pelting of rain as I felt alive for the first time in years.
The bike rumbled beneath me as I leaned into a curve, the tire spinning slightly before the bike straightened out and I flew through the next light without stopping, knowing that the streets on this side of town were nearly always free at this time of night.
I was drenched to the bone by the time I skidded to a halt in front of my apartment along The Wall a few minutes later, my heart racing from adrenaline as I cut the engine and twisted my body.
“See, far superior driving. No innocent bystanders splashed.”
He huffed a laugh. “I don’t know if I’d agree with you entirely. But fine, no innocent bystanders were splashed. I’ll give you that.”
I slide off the bike, making my way to the door.
“Why’d you let me ride your bike?” I questioned as I looked over at him.
“Maybe because I felt guilty for drenching you,” he responded light-heartedly. “Or because I didn’t want you walking home in the dark while it was pouring rain?”
I stared up at him, water dripping from my curls as I studied him closely, not entirely sure how I felt at the moment.
“You need to stop appearing everywhere I am,” I admitted into the night air after a few moments.
“Is that what I’m doing?” he asked, not missing a beat. “I thought we agreed it was you who was stalking me.”
I huffed a breath of air as I stepped up to the door of my building. “No.” The word was more of a whisper as he stood over me, rain hitting us from all angles. “I’m definitely avoiding you.”
“If you say so,” he replied, his voice taking a more serious tone as I stepped up to the door and he followed suit.
“Nope. This is where I leave you,” I stated as my arm darted across the entrance to the apartment building, blocking his advance.
Amber eyes lit up as he looked down at me.
“You sure about that?” he asked, his voice dark as his eyes tracked me.
I took a deep breath, which was a mistake, as I inhaled a lungful of his scent. Amber and leather flooded my system as my eyes narrowed at his proximity.
“Yes.” I nodded.
He reached out, tucking a wet strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers were slowly tracing down the column of my neck in a movement that had my body involuntarily shifting closer to him. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, as I stared into his eyes, loving the feel of his fingers on me.
He leaned forward, his breath caressing the shell of my ear as he whispered, “Until next time, starlight.”
“There won’t be a next time, Sergeant,” I replied.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” The words fell in the minimal space between our bodies as I looked up at him, tracing the outer edge of his lips. Lips that were so close to mine. Lips that—
I shook my head, taking a step back from his towering frame as my finger pressed against the keycard access and a faint buzz filled the space, before the front door to my building slid open.
“Good night,” I answered breathlessly as I forced my body to step backward, into the foyer.