Chapter 5 #3
The armoire is packed with more clothing items than necessary, so I grab a pair of slippers and another robe.
Just as my hand goes to unspell the lock, the door shakes as if someone is on the other side trying to get in.
I jump, my eyes immediately landing on the mess in front of me.
I push the discarded robe around, trying to clean the blood up and off to the side.
It’s barely done anything to conceal the mess, but it is an effort.
The door rattles again followed by three soft knocks. Looking down at myself, I realize the shirt I grabbed is partially sheer across the bodice. Don’t these people wear actual clothes?
My hand zaps and I open the door slowly, twisting the knob gently to get a peek of who is at the door.
“Care to let me in?”
The door swings open faster than lightning, and I pay no attention to the thud of it as it hits the wall.
“Sawyer,” my voice cracks, emotion welling as I lunge forward and into his arms once more, relishing in his touch. He hugs me back, his broad hands tightening around my back and waist.
“Where have you been? I’m losing my mind.” I emphasize the last word and release a bit to truly take him in. His clothes are different, more formal. His build is firmer and his height changed… but this is Sawyer.
My Sawyer.
He backs me up into the cottage, shutting the door behind him. Sawyer shifts his weight and the sound of a crunch forces both of our eyes below to the shattered bottle and blood spilt on the floor.
“Oh, Liv,” he starts as he takes in the bloodied robe sticking out from beneath the tea table. The red doesn’t feel right in this space, this cottage. It feels brash and wrong.
“These bottles,” I say, motioning to the crates and the glass, “are all filled with blood. Blood, Sawyer. What is going on here? They’re going to kill us.
” I begin panicking. Sawyer drinks me in, his eyes raising from the floor, past my pale legs, up the thin cover and landing on my face.
Feeling a bit awkward, I cross my arms across my chest. He’s never seen me in anything less than work clothes from the farm. All clothes were work clothes.
He takes a step onto the glass and his nostrils flare. “Little explanation I can offer you right now will help.”
“Any explanation will help. How far from the village are we? Did you tell Ma I’m okay?”
Sawyer steps in close and puts a palm to my cheek. I shudder at his touch. He murmurs. “Do you trust me?”
“You’re different,” I blurt, wiping a tear from my face.
“I could say the same for you,” he softly replies before looking down and I swear I heard his heart beat just once.
“What are we doing here?” I ask, ignoring his remark and moving to the couch. I need answers and I can’t be near the blood any more. Sawyer hesitates before joining me. Our thighs are pressed next to one another, cold and yearning. I fiddle with the lace of my hem as my mind races.
He leans in. “These people—”
“Hardly people,” I interrupt, my face begins to burn because something is off. He nods, his hand resting on the inside of my thigh. His usual warmth is missing but the feel of him gives my mind reassurance. “Sawyer, what happened to me? What happened to you?”
“It’s complicated, Liv. Gods, it really is.”
“Well, uncomplicate it. Let us leave here,” I urge. He looks over at me then and it feels like the first time we met.
The rest was history.
“Let’s go right now,” I whisper, afraid of lingering ears. I don’t trust anyone but Sawyer.
“It’s not that easy.” Sawyer drops his head, obviously distressed by the situation. “If we left now…” He pauses. “Cedric would find us.”
I nod. “Why do they think you’re a prince?”
Sawyer shrugs. “I’ve been playing the part. They’re confused, maybe missing family members are trying to replace them. I’m not sure, but what matters is that we get out of here.”
“When?” I ask, replaying everything I know about the castle and the people. I wish I paid better attention to the grounds.
“I’m not sure, but I will come for you when it’s time. For now, we need to keep our distance. I’ll keep playing my part and you do what you need to do to survive.”
“You’re holding something back, I can tell. You always get a line –” I rub his forehead with my thumb slowly – “right here. What is it?”
Sawyer stands and looks around the cottage, peeking in doors and opening drawers. He looks taller, something I noticed when I first woke. And it’s true, his tan is gone. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course I do,” I reply, trying to ignore the metallic stink in the air. “You’re the only one I can trust,” I add.
“Good,” his voice trails from the kitchen as he searches for something I do not know.
“How long have we been here?” I ask.
“A couple weeks I think,” he replies from the bedroom now. A nervous energy builds in my legs, my hands, my stomach. Everything is wrong.
“It’s strange, your comfort,” I observe. His jaw ticks. “You just look so comfortable here.” I gesture to him when he comes back to the couch. “You definitely fit the part.”
Sawyer smiles and his eyes trace down my face, landing on my lips. Our intimacy is such a shared comfort that I nearly lean in but he stands before I can.
“When will I see you again?” I ask. A lot of scenarios are playing out in my mind but so many things are clear.
Sawyer is not a prince, I have not been asleep upstairs for two years and we will leave.
But the questions still linger. Sawyer is hiding something.
He always has that look about him, I realize, and figures aren’t my strong suit, but something is not adding up.
Sawyer peeks out the bay window curtain briefly before heading to the oak door. “Hopefully soon, but do not seek me out, Liv, even if you want to. I will come when it is safe for us. Do you understand?” I walk to the door and close the distance with a hug.
“Yes, Sawyer.” This foreign place is full of unknown dangers. I have to trust his experience. If he is truly acting a part as I am then we must work together. His eyes linger on mine a half-second too long before pulling me into one more brief hug.
He doesn’t shut the door and his silhouette treks slowly up the hill illuminated by the moonlight. Just over his head is the looming castle.
Lux.