34. Chapter Thirty-Four Siyala #2
Sliding the curtain hanging from a rafter above, I’m left alone to stare at the water—my body aching with the urge to plunge myself into it, while my mind asks what I’ve done to deserve such a luxury.
My fingers curl in and out at my sides as I stand utterly frozen, too many thoughts and emotions pressing at my bones and filling the spots between them.
But then I hear Xander take a seat on the crate.
Craning my head, I listen for the soft beat of his heart, letting it anchor me.
The comfort from his presence knocks a breath out of me, but it’s enough to get me moving again.
Quickly undressing, I sink down into the tepid water, low enough that the surface is spread out just below my eyes.
How will you escape now? Why should you be the one to find freedom when Immie didn’t?
Is Rhea okay? What will happen if you return to the Shifter Kingdom?
The thoughts pelt me one right after the other, and any hope of momentary relief vanishes.
I wash quickly and with abandon, stories of why Xander brought me here springing to life in my head.
Surely, this must be some strange sort of goodbye, because why else would he risk this place again after what I did?
I dress in the clothing left for me, form fitting black pants and a light gray top, the material so soft, it whispers against my skin.
Drawing the curtain back, I run my fingers through my damp hair as I walk to where Xander is sitting, a small spread of food set out on the makeshift table in front of him.
At the sound of my steps, his shoulders rise, and he waits a few seconds before turning to look at me. “Take a seat,” he says, heat flushing his cheeks a slight shade of pink. “If you want.”
Silently, I lower onto one of the crates, hands falling from my hair to instead reach for the edge of my tunic, needing an outlet for the nervous energy that’s built up inside of me.
I drag a nail over the hem, only to realize it’s different from the others.
My gaze turns down to the intricate lines, the swirling patterns unlike any other embroidery I’ve seen before.
How strange, I think as I massage it between my fingers.
So focused on the threading of the shirt, I let too many seconds pass in awkward silence.
When I finally look back up again, Xander’s eyes are fixed not on mine but on where my fingers restlessly move.
The corner of his mouth lifts with the faintest excuse of a smile before his expression sobers, and he drags in a deep breath.
“I have news of Princess Rhea,” he says, and time itself seems to stop.
Eyes bouncing between his, I lean forward, my lips parting to ask a question I’m not sure I can handle the answer to. “Is she alright?” When Xander nods, I exhale roughly. “Tell me everything.”
“I saw her through the Mirror when King Dolian called out to the mage king,” he starts, crossing an ankle over his knee and folding his arms in front of his chest. His biceps strain against the edges of his sleeves, and I catch the briefest glimpse of what looks like a raised portion of his skin before he adjusts and it moves out of sight.
“She was standing there with the prince of the mages, Nox Daxel.”
Surprise flutters through me at that, my brows straining together. “I don’t understand. Was Flynn not with her?”
Xander cocks his head to the side. “Flynn is the mage prince.” His own expression shifts into one of discernment, a large hand reaching up to tuck his dark hair behind his ears. “He wasn’t just a mage infiltrating the kingdom but a prince doing so.”
“What?” My stomach sinks at the revelation. He had lied to us, and Rhea… Gods, Rhea trusted him implicitly. “To what end?”
“Of that, I am not sure. But I have my suspicions.” His gaze holds mine, and it only makes that dread living within me grow.
“You think he was after Rhea the whole time?”
“It’s possible. He worked his way up in the guard for four years, faster than any other recruit besides myself.
” His tone doesn’t relay pride in that small tidbit of information, but I tuck it away to think about later.
There is a hesitation that lingers before he continues.
“I find it curious that it’s shortly after he gets assigned to the princess’s tower that he decides his work here is done and he helps her escape. ”
I lean back, defeated at the idea that all this time, I had assumed Rhea was safe with Flynn. That she had escaped the horrors that persisted here for a chance at a better life in the Mage Kingdom with him. But what if she only exchanged one cage for another?
“If it is any consolation,” Xander says cautiously, pulling me from my dreary thoughts, “she looked well. And Flynn—Prince Nox—was protective over her. Threatened to kill King Dolian and everything.”
I try to smile at that, but it falls flat. “Sometimes, I think protection is just a matter of perspective,” I whisper, my shoulders rounding as Kenji’s last words flit into my mind. “An illusion.”
I feel Xander’s eyes on me as the silence stretches between us, but I struggle to meet his gaze.
Eventually, he sighs and then reaches across the table to slide the food he brought towards me. “Eat,” he commands, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
Pulling the parchment open reveals a sandwich of some kind cut in half, the scent of it rich with whatever meat, cheese, and vegetables are piled high between the bread.
Lifting one of the halves, I slide the parchment back towards him, his brow lifting in question.
My questions simmer beneath the surface.
Why are you being kind to me? Why act like we still have any semblance of a deal still in place? Why are you here?
But instead, I raise my own brow, pointing to his half of the sandwich. “Eat.”
And so, together, we do.