20. Rahzlyn
Rahzlyn
“Basil,” I gasped.
Cold sweat blanketed my body. The room slanted while I attempted to sit upright. My memory evaded me—except for the undeniable knowing that Basil was in trouble.
I didn’t wait to ponder my dim surroundings. There was a door ahead of me, and I intended on using it. But the moment my bare feet contacted the cool wood, I lost all sense of control. The pain of the brand stung, reminding me of its presence.
“Take a minute before you hurt yourself,” a man said.
I let out a startled scream. I followed the voice to a figure lounging against the wall to my left. My hands shot to my chest, and that was when I realized I was wearing a necklace I’d never seen before. A clear crystal dangled from a long silver chain.
“It’s a communica,” the voice said again. “So you can understand what I’m saying. Keep it around your neck and against your skin. You’ll need it where we’re going.”
He blended with the shadows of the dark, cramped room—except for his gold eyes.
The evening’s events trickled back into place. “You.”
A flash of white teeth. “You remember me this time.”
“Where are we? What did you do to me?” I scrambled back against the headboard. Terror chilled me as I took in the rest of my body. I still donned the Black Rose costume, though that hardly counted as clothing. A man of his strength, with a woman unconscious and practically naked in this bed…
He stood quickly as if sensing the direction of my thoughts. “I didn’t do anything to you, and I don’t intend to.”
My eyes narrowed up at him. “Right, you only sedated and abducted me.”
The Chosen folded his arms and sauntered closer into the ring of light from the candlestick. “And whose fault was that?”
“My fault?” I should have noticed his eyes immediately. I could blame my nerves, though in the end, it came down to my own stupidity. “What do you want from me?”
“What do you need basil for?” he countered. “The herb you cried out.”
“Basil isn’t an herb,” I snapped. “I mean, it is, but Basil’s my brother.”
“Your brother’s an herb?”
“That’s his name. And he’s in trouble.” My heart pounded ferociously in my ears. “Answer my questions first.”
If this Chosen wanted me dead, I suspected that would have transpired already. He wasn’t a seer, and he definitely wasn’t a royal by way of his obvious strength and lack of a talisman around his neck. No, this man was undoubtedly a guardian.
I acted on foolish instinct and bolted for the door.
He snatched me by the waist and pressed his gloved hand over my mouth. I fought against him in panic at the thought of succumbing to slumber like before.
“I am not going to hurt you,” he said calmly into my ear. “I am going to release you, but only if you promise to be quiet. Do you understand?”
I nodded. Several beats later, he peeled his hand away. I seized the opportunity and bellowed at the top of my lungs, “HELP!”
The hand returned, dissolving my voice. “That wasn’t quiet.”
I responded with frantic, muffled jargon.
“Listen carefully,” he said, tightening me against him.
While I no doubt reeked of fear, sweat, and desperation, this man had the audacity to smell a little too good for someone in the process of capturing me.
“There is no escape here. I take it you know what I am. And while your past actions have made me question your judgment, surely you are smart enough to acknowledge that fighting me will not end well for you. Accept my generous offer and do as you’re told.
Because I assure you, no one in this building is willing to go up against me. ”
Arrogant ass.
Though to his credit, only twenty-four guardians existed in all of Gaianos—each possessing unparalleled power.
I would be a fool to cross one. My shoulders sank in defeat.
He took that as my sign of acceptance and did as he said he would.
I lurched away, whirling around to face my captor. “What do you want from me?”
“Your presence is required by Gregorios, the Chosen Seer of Scorpio. I cannot speak to why.”
“That’s not good enough. What could a Chosen possibly need me for? And what were you doing, impersonating the king?”
At some point, he’d shed the mask, hood and scarf, opting for fitted black pants, a matching tunic and leather vest with subtly padded shoulders. It was plain for a guardian’s standards, yet everything about him made it impossible to think straight.
A flicker of frustration bled through his pale features. “I was not impersonating him. You clearly made a false assumption.”
“You said nothing when I addressed you. Or as I…”
He spun his wrist outwardly, fingers splayed wide in anticipation. “As you… failed to seduce me?”
My cheeks heated. “You’re not taking me anywhere. I have obligations here.”
“Such as seducing your king?”
“I needed to put him to sleep—like you did to me.” I staggered backwards. I didn’t know how much vervain he’d forced me to drink. “You could have killed me!”
“But I didn’t.”
I glowered at him. “My family is in danger. If you hadn’t intervened—”
“Had I not intervened, sweetheart, you would be dead.”
“You don’t know that.” I lifted my chin. “I’m quite capable of seducing men.”
“Is that so?” His eyes dragged down the length of me.
I wrapped my arms around my waist. “I’m not going anywhere until I find my brother.”
“Finding your brother entails going somewhere.”
“With you, arrogant prick.”
His face hardened like stone. “I have explicit orders to take you back to Scorpio with me. We can do this the easy way, or you can make it difficult for yourself. Perhaps you care for another nap?” He cocked his head. “You do look a bit tired.”
“Fuck you,” I spat.
“I believe you tried that already.”
The urge to slap this man was overwhelming.
“We’re leaving now.” He reached for me.
“No!” I exclaimed, my mind reeling. “Hold on a second. I… have a proposition for you.”
Slowly, so painfully slowly, he lowered his arm. His piercing eyes simmered with interest.
“Help me,” I began. “Or rather, my brother. Something bad is going to happen to him unless I find him and save him from… some bad people.” He wouldn’t believe I wasn’t part of the apostai. I wouldn’t either—not with the brand on my foot marking me as one of them.
“Some bad people,” he repeated flatly.
“I need your word that you will do everything in your power to help me find him.” My eyes stung from the devastating pressure of the situation. I would get on my knees if I had to. “Please. If you promise to help find him, I’ll go with you willingly. I swear it.”
I knew he had no reason to listen. Had no obligation to help me, a silly woman tangled up in plots she didn’t understand. He was a guardian with a duty to his own people and could do whatever he wanted—
“Fine.”
I blinked at him in surprise.
“As soon as Gregorios meets with you and is content with what he seeks, I will bring you back here myself and help you find your brother.”
Depending on how long that took, the pit in my stomach told me it very well could be too late by the time we returned. “No. We find him now, and then we meet with your seer.”
“You do realize you are in no position to negotiate here.”
I wasn’t a complete moron and couldn’t risk the opportunity at hand. He might be indulging me. “I’ll need to notify my grandparents. They could be in danger as well.”
“I will personally ensure a letter gets delivered to them.”
“Not later, now.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Word will be sent once we arrive. We have couriers capable of sending messages rapidly. Time is not on our side.”
“I don’t care about whatever time constraints you’re under! I’m an actual person here, with a family and a life you’re so casually trying to take me from. What if the situation were reversed, and I abducted you?”
A deep, throaty laugh escaped him. “I’d love to see the day.”
“Is there no one in your life you would need to speak to? No one to make sure gets looked after should something happen to you?”
“I’m a guardian, so no.”
I reeled back. “That… sounds rather sad, actually. And lonely.”
Something in his eyes flashed. “Spare me your pity. I assure you, my life is far from lonely, not that I need to justify anything to you.”
I arched a brow, sensing the opposite to be true. That wasn’t my problem. My present conundrum was convincing this guardian to do something that clearly wasn’t on his agenda this evening.
“Look, if anything happens to my family because of me, I will never forgive myself. And that might not mean anything to you, but it’s everything to me.
My grandparents would be able to move on without me, and I accept that, but Basil is her—their world.
” Emotion clogged my throat. “Let me at least warn them that danger is coming. If anything happens to them, their blood will be not just on my hands, but yours as well.”
The man pressed his lips together, shaking his head once. “Once I get you to Scorpio, I will personally return to your apothecary and warn your family myself. That is my final offer.”
It was my turn to eye him suspiciously. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?”
“You don’t.”
“Then swear on the life of someone you love.”
“Have you forgotten what I just said? Love is forbidden for Chosens.”
I extended my hand out to him. “Shake on it.” With a sigh, he wrapped his around mine and squeezed.
“I’d like to believe you will truly honor this agreement.
But if you don’t,” I warned, to his amusement it seemed, “I will find a way to rip you apart with my bare hands.” I squeezed harder, or as hard as I could. It hardly phased him.
He pulled himself from the exchange with a smirk. “That would be the day.”
“Apothecary,” I murmured, his earlier words registering. “How do you know that’s where I live?”
The guardian peered at me with his freckled, angular face. To think I’d thought him to be the most attractive man in the room. Regrettably, I still did—only now our predicament tainted that notion entirely.
“Unbelievable,” I mumbled. “You’ve been following me too, haven’t you?”
“Alongside your betrothed.”