Chapter 20
Braxton
“How do we know which candidate we have to take something from?” she speaks up. She is very petite, but has all the qualities a leader should have.
“You will find out yourself,” my brother answers stiffly, his voice still stuck in his throat. I turn to see Hazel, and she looks at my brother with smiling eyes.
She is in way too deep—I don’t even want to know how.
Stupid love. It makes you soft.
An irritating voice fills my ears.
“When do I get my hint?” the snake hisses.
My brother narrows his eyes, not giving her the empathy she wants.
“You and Aiden will find the hint,” he answers, his head held high, emphasizing Aiden’s name. “If you’re lucky,” he whispers, but I know he does it loud enough so she can hear. I don’t talk to him anymore, but it is clear to me he doesn’t like her as well.
“Can we leave now? I need to fix my hair. I don’t want to look like a fucked-up person tomorrow,” Gwen sneers, apparently very aware of the video her eyes and all the others take.
Caleb and I turn our heads fast towards her.
His eyes stand on fire, and I assume mine are as well.
She has her hand close to her face as she studies her nails.
“What?” She looks at me and Caleb like she is some innocent child, blinking her eyelashes.
“You’re so lucky the king isn’t here, or you would be down in the dungeons for speaking against royalty,” I snap.
She acts like my reaction doesn’t bother her, but I see the hesitation in her eyes, doubting if she should react.
I turn around and stroll away, needing to find some peace, the urge for some silence in my mind.
I take a shower first and stroll towards my hiding cabin after.
“What are you doing here?” I snap, my voice way harsher than I mean to sound.
Eliane lounges on my couch in the cabin, her legs crossed, her hand flipping through the pages of one of her many books.
Her eyes widen, tracking my gaze. I find her in my mind and feel her thoughts. Guilt trembles through her.
“Sorry, I needed somewhere to read quietly and have a moment for myself to prepare,” she stutters, closing the books on her lap with a soft stud. A growl escapes my throat, and she looks at me, jumping up, grabbing her backpack and making amends to go out.
“It is fine,” I suppose.
“You clearly don’t want me here, so I am going to leave.”
She walks towards the door. I can’t let her go. Not now that I finally got her.
My hand presses against her shoulders as she tries to pass me.
“Wait.” I stop her. “How did training with Fintan go?”
Big doe eyes look up at me and she crunches her nose. Because of all the wrinkles her scrunched nose causes, her freckles make her look even more adorable.
“It was fine, but I didn’t get the hang of it completely,” she answers, looking at her feet. My fingers glide towards her chin, forcing her to look at me. I just can’t seem to help myself around her. Her watery gaze finds mine.
“You are doing just fine, Honey. You will get everything you want,” I comfort her.
My voice is raw and stuck in my throat. I let a cough escape my throat and shake my shoulders, trying to shake this stinging feeling off me.
“Maybe we should talk about how we are going to do things for tomorrow anyway.” I make up, trying to get her not to leave.
“You’re right,” she answers, her backpack falling off her shoulders, flopping her ass down on the couch again. I rub my temples and shake my head in disguise. How do I always seem to get myself in weird situations?
This is going to be a complicated night.
The stars shine bright as we stumble through the garden, back towards our room.
It is eleven am and we discussed our strategy, resulting in us sticking together.
When I suggested we stick together, she gave me funny eyes mirroring her shock and surprise by letting it rush through my body.
For a moment, I thought she wouldn’t agree, but as she noticed I was being serious she agreed fast and firmly with my suggestion.
We are not sure yet who we have to steal from, or how we are going to do it.
So being ready to go when the clock hits 00:00 seems like a smart idea.
This time, I am going to change into effective clothes, because as far as we know, we are not being kidnapped at night again. Eliane hasn’t spoken about it after her emotional meltdown. I don’t want to bring it up, maybe she isn’t ready to talk about it. Maybe she never is.
She changes into different clothing as well. Dark clothes stick to her body. They hug her body and her curves seem to be on all the right places. She sits on the bed as she attaches multiple daggers on her belts.
I repeat. Belts, as in multiple ones.
She actually has more than the belt on her leg. She also has one on her arm under the top layer of her clothing and one around her waist. And I can’t ignore her sticking a dagger between the underwire of her bra.
“Is that really necessary?” I ask her, lifting my brows in question.
She doesn’t answer, just lets out an exaggerated sigh and keeps stuffing her brown leather backpack with useful things, refusing to give me the satisfaction of doing what she promised.
So, I start swinging some weapons around my own back too.
“How do you think we will know which duo we have to take something from?” she asks as I sit down on the bed, my back facing her. “Do you think it will go with paper again, just like last time?”
“No, I am not sure, Honey,” I answer, my eyes lingering towards her backpack, the one that she keep stuffing fuller and fuller.
“Doesn’t that thing ever get full? ” I chuckle, changing the subject, because I would never admit it, but I am nervous as well. She narrows her eyes and gives me a strict look as I look over my shoulder. She is really a little fiery thing.
Time passes at a fast pace and the clock rings at midnight. I push the door open and we stroll into the darkness. I lock my jaw in place and take a deep breath before I allow my feet to drag me in.
Like magic tricks me, something feels stuck in my shoe, again.
Eliane must feel the same, because before she closes the door behind us, she bows over, unties her laces, takes her shoe off and shakes it.
The little metal cylinder falls out and she gives me those eyes again.
Heat prickles my skin and I follow her action.
All the hair on my arms are standing straight up.
The second round of the trials have begun. I watch Eliane as she opens the cylinder and unfolds the small piece of parchment inside. Her eyes wide as she reads what is on it.
“What?” I snap, too curious to know what is on hers. She turns her paper so I can read what’s on it.
Hazel
Manes, that sucks. She just found out she is her sister. Stealing something from her won’t do good to their new sister bond. She swallows hard before finding my eyes.
“She is going to understand, Honey,” I comfort her.
She nods, but fidgets her fingers and it is a sign to me she doesn’t trust me fully on that part.
I push my cylinder into Eliane’s hands, my fingers too big to get the damn thing open.
It took me ages the first time to figure it out, and I’m not about to struggle through it again when she can do it in a split second.
She looks at me confused and furrows her brows together.
Realization sinks in and she grasps the thing out of my hands, taking the top off for me.
I fidget the piece of parchment out and unfold it.
I read the letters in front of me before showing it to Eliane.
Gwen
I definitely don’t care about taking something valuable from her. I’ve disliked her from the start. She raises an eyebrow in question. I feel her thinking. “Are you okay with that?”
“More than okay,” I firmly answer her question. Darkness surrounds us as we stroll outside. I know what Gwen values a lot.
Her reputation and wealth.
“Let’s steal the ice queen’s money,” I snap.
“How do you want to do that? I can carry some. But my pockets aren’t big enough to carry a fortune,” Eliane answers, grinning. She is definitely right, so that is why I have a better plan.
“We are going to steal her parents’ will and inheritance.”
Finding out where Gwen lives isn’t that hard. She is rich. She must be. So Ilanos it is.
I know through the stories Mum once told me there are a lot of different kinds of shops in the village of Ilanos.
From clothing shops and hatters, to fortune tellers and such as magic healers.
Some are just too good to be true, but their marketing works and that is all that matters to a shop owner.
There also appears to be a magic address teller that can find houses, relatives, and much more by hearing of just a name. That is our first destination.
“I hope the shop is still open,” Eliane breathes out as she walks next to me. She wrings her hands together before grabbing her hair, attempting to make a braid.
“I assure you, it is,” I answer, holding my gaze forwards.
“How do you know?” she continues, biting her tongue before correcting herself.
“Oh you probably have been here a lot of times before. Sometimes I forget I was the only one locked away.” She makes it sound like a joke, but I hear the disappointment in her voice.
I narrow my eyes at her before I decided to answer.
“No, I haven’t. I have come here less than you can count on your fingers. I just have my window open, and I can hear the music drum all night.”