50. Kane
Chapter 50
Kane
I was walking back to the estate with what I’d just done heavy on my mind, when Sam intercepted me. He rushed up to my side, out of breath. Instantly, my mind kicked into high alert. “What’s wrong?”
Sam shook his head with wide eyes. “Something happened. Etan came back and went to see the Princess, and then he took her and Jerek down to the isolation cells, threatening everyone with a gun like a mad man.”
My stomach dropped. No. No. No. What happened? Not Ash. She wouldn’t do well in an isolation cell. “Where is Etan now?” I said quickly, beginning to run toward the estate.
“They’re in the war room. They were bringing Jerek up, but the King sent me to get you; he wants you there. ”
I cursed. Ash was all alone again, trapped in a room with nowhere to go, but this time she didn’t even have a window to look out and feel a hint of freedom.
We raced to the war room, and when we entered, Jerek sat at the table with shackles on his wrists. I slammed the mask over my face to keep myself collected. I had no idea what I was walking into, but if the King was certain about anything, we’d be dead already.
Etan and the King stood to the side of the table, with the King’s guards in the four corners of the room. Etan looked like his head would explode at any second.
“Kane,” the King said. “We need to know if anything has happened in your time with Asha.”
I raised my brows and leaned back against the wall, crossing my arms. Sam stood like a statue by my side. “As in?” I asked.
“Gabriel believes Asha has been in contact with Liam, and seeing as the only people that she has been with at all times are you or her guards…well, either one of you is lying or Gabriel is incorrect.” The King’s eyes narrowed at me, and Jerek looked extremely nervous. I’d been doing this long enough that I didn’t squirm under the King’s gaze. I simply cocked an eyebrow at Etan, insinuating his erroneous accusation.
“I told you, I have reported everything that she has done,” Jerek said, his voice clipped .
“And you?” the King asked Sam.
“I reported everything to Wavern,” Sam replied, without any emotion in his voice.
“That leaves you,” the King said, looking at me and cocking his head to the side. His evil blue eyes would make a lesser man wither. I turned to Etan.
“Did she say where Liam contacted her, or how, or what he said? Because I have been doing nothing but trying to break her.“ I stared at Etan when I said it, enjoying watching his temper flare into dangerous territory.
He threw out every explicit word known to man and lunged toward me, but I didn’t even move off the wall. He raised the gun and put it inches from my forehead, breathing hard.
“Gabriel, put the gun down,” King Maximus said, with anger lacing his voice.
Etan’s hand shook, and his finger danced over the trigger. I remained impassive as I spoke. “Answer the question. Where did Liam contact her?”
Etan’s eyes darted away, and I knew I had him. Ash didn’t spill any secrets to him. She maybe made an offhanded comment and he assumed, but he had nothing . Relief rushed over me. Ash didn’t betray us; she didn’t love him.
Etan slowly lowered the gun, his eyes burning holes in my face. “She didn’t say.”
“Barrett,” the King ordered. “Bring her up.”
The mammoth of a man rushed out of the room, and Etan took a step back, still holding the gun in his hand. We waited in tense silence in his absence. Soon after, the door opened, and Barrett pushed Ash in by the arm. I dug my fingers into my arms to keep from moving. This could all go very, very wrong. The weapons on my chest burned against my shirt. A few quick flicks of my trigger and this could all be over.
Ash stumbled in, and her eyes didn’t meet mine; they went straight to Etan, but I could see the redness that rimmed them. Look at me. Please look at me. I need to make sure you’re okay. Her eyes didn’t so much as waver. “Gabe,” she said, and her voice broke.
Suddenly, Etan looked pain-stricken, and he put the gun back in his holster and rushed toward her. “Ash,” he said, with pain in his voice. Barrett released her, and she lunged right into Etan’s arms. What the hell is going on?
Even when Etan’s arms surrounded her with her face pointed in my direction, her eyes still stayed on the wall to my side. Look at me.
Etan moved his hand gently to her shoulders and pushed her back. “Ash,” he said softly. “We need to know if Liam contacted you.” I expected her to deny it, to give them anything but the truth. I should’ve expected her to go completely off the rails by the way she acted, but utter shock smacked me like a ton of bricks when she spoke.
“Yes, he did. That’s what I tried to tell you in my room, but you wouldn’t listen.” Her voice pained me to hear; it sounded like her throat was parched from sobbing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jerek’s jaw drop before it snapped closed once more. Sam was doing his best to remain expressionless. What was she doing?
“It wasn’t his fault.” She inclined her chin toward Jerek. “He couldn’t have known. When he took me on a tour of the city, someone bumped into me, and I didn’t think anything of it. But when I got back to the mansion, I found a note in my pocket. It was signed, Dad , and it said he’d try to contact me the night of the winter solstice. I was waiting until you got back to tell you. ”
I tried to school my face. She was telling lies—lies heaped on top of lies. I looked at the King, who had narrowed eyes as he assessed his granddaughter.
“I would never abandon Nan, Gabe, you know that. The things I heard while you were gone—you’re right. You’re right about everything. I can never forgive Liam for all he’s done. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”
Ash reached up and stroked her hand down Etan’s face. My heart about jumped out of my chest, and the pulse hammering in my ears told me I needed to calm down, but I couldn’t.
“I’m not mad anymore, Gabe. I just want to be with you. I was going to tell you so we could catch Liam together the night of the winter solstice.”
Ash knew Nan had passed on, and I knew why she lied. She was saving us all. She took all the blame for herself, then used Etan’s feelings for her against him. But it looked so real. The way they gazed into each other’s eyes ripped into my carefully constructed mask. I’d felt her feelings for him. I knew that deep down, she wanted him back, she wanted to save him. Not in a physical way—I didn’t think she’d ever let him touch her again, but she wanted her friend back. She wanted the boy she’d grown up with back.
Etan appeared as if he could cry with joy.
“Is that true?” King Maximus said, glaring at her.
Ash looked at the King for the first time. “I know you despise me and my hair, but I’m not your enemy, Grandfather. I’ll help you find my father and end the rebellion. We don’t need anymore senseless killing. I just want to stay with Gabe.”
Her eyes swung back to Etan, and his hands shook as he brought them to either side of her face. I wanted to vomit. It looked so real—why did it look so real? It’s not real. I had to tell myself that if it was real, she wouldn’t have lied and would’ve exposed far more. She manipulated Etan’s feelings for her to save us, as he had manipulated hers for so long, but what was she doing to herself in the process? Stop, Blondie. Please, stop. It was cunning and clever. She was trying to destroy Etan like he had destroyed her, but at what cost to her soul?
“I love you so much,” Etan whispered, and then his lips were lowering to hers. My stomach rolled. Please, Blondie, don’t do this. Look at me. You don’t have to do this. I glanced down at the last minute, avoiding a mental image that would surely be seared into my brain forever. When the kiss that felt like it lasted ten lifetimes finally ended, the King spoke.
“Then we will find Liam the night of the winter solstice.”
“Good,” Ash replied. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
The King’s eyes were thin, but he accepted her answer.
“Let’s get you back to your room,” Etan said, herding Ash out the door. Finally—finally, the moment before she left, her eyes sought out mine. Her face fell for a millisecond, and I saw everything, then she was gone again.
Barrett unshackled Jerek, and we all turned to leave, when the King called me back, leaving him and me alone in the room with only his guards.
“Watch her,” he said. “I don’t trust her. Pull Wavern off guard duty and add guards to her door. She’s not allowed to leave her room until the winter solstice.”
“Yes, sir,” I answered, hating my mindless soldier voice.
I turned to leave again, and he spoke one last time. “Oh, and Kane, either find her ability before the winter solstice, or you won’t live to see another one.”