Chapter 31
Ryder
Her in that dress is going to be the death of me. I have got to get a grip before she catches me staring again. But a man only has so much self-control, and she looks like she belongs on an altar meant to be worshiped.
I wonder if she realizes just how captivating she is.
Knowing her, she probably thinks of herself as invisible next to someone like Danielle, but she would be very wrong about that.
Of course, Danielle is beautiful and lively, but she’s no Reign.
Even without the dress, Reign could bring any man to his knees with just one glimpse of her smile.
Her power is undeniably dangerous, but so is that smile.
She’s a weapon of all sorts, and if I’m not careful, I’ll get caught in the crossfire.
“Miss Calloway, would you care to join me on the balcony? The view of the Infinite Sea from here at night is one you don’t want to miss,” Nio asks her with an outstretched hand.
“You’re speaking my language,” she responds with that deadly smile, taking his hand.
The two of them step out onto the balcony and out of view. I shouldn’t mind, but I can’t keep myself from looking every five seconds to see if they’re coming back.
Maybe I should just go join them.
I’m about to make my move when Ion turns his attention to me. “So, Ryder. How would you guys like to go out on one of our ships tomorrow? If we’re going to be allies, then I think you all should see what we’ve built here.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea.” We toast to it, and when I turn back to the balcony, I’m relieved to see they’ve returned. However, that relief is quickly replaced with annoyance when I see his hand on the small of her back as a way of guiding her.
What is wrong with me? I don’t get jealous, and she’s not mine to be territorial of, anyway. If anyone has that right, it’s Damien. It’s only a matter of time before those two find their way back to each other. It’s so poetic it almost makes me sick.
“Alright,” Ion announces, standing up from the table. “Dinner was amazing, but we have an early meeting in the morning on one of the other islands, so we have to get going.”
“Of course,” I say, reaching my hand out. “Thank you for your hospitality. We look forward to seeing the rest of your home tomorrow.”
“What are we doing tomorrow?” Nio asks.
“I told him we should take a ship out and show them around a bit.”
“A ship?” Reign squeals. “That would be amazing! I’ve never seen one, let alone been on one!”
“Well then, you’re in for a treat,” Nio promises with a grin I’d give just about anything to wipe off. I suppose that wouldn’t be very king-like of me, though.
“See you all tomorrow,” Zaro bids with a wave.
“I really like them!” Reign chimes to Amaya once they’re gone.
“I’m sure you do.” I don’t hide the disdain, and it earns me a confused glare from both of them.
“If you’ll excuse us.” Danielle stands up and irons out her dress with her hands. “My brother and I have much to catch up on. We’ll see you guys in the morning.”
The two of them slip off into another room, leaving me with the two twisted sisters.
“You know what? I’m awfully tired. I think I’m gonna call it an early night.
” Amaya adds a fake yawn to sell it, but I don’t think Reign is buying it either.
She’s setting us up to be left alone, I just don’t know why.
Does Reign have something she needs to tell me?
Whatever the reason is, I can tell Reign wants to follow her, but she doesn’t.
“What were you ladies talking about out here before?”
Reign seems to relax slightly. I’m not sure what has her so on edge. It’s not like we haven’t been alone together before.
“Oh, um, we were talking about Damien at first, but then she told us she and Ion are married, and that kind of took over the conversation.”
“Quite the age gap they have, huh?”
“She said 17 years! At first, I thought it was weird, but the way she talks about him, it’s like age doesn’t matter when it comes to two souls finding one another.”
“Do you believe in the whole soulmates thing?” I ask out of pure curiosity.
“I’m not sure. I mean, I think so? Or at least I want to believe in it. Don’t you think it’s comforting to know that there’s someone out there who was perfectly made for you?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it that way,” I admit. “But no. I don’t believe in all of that.”
“Then what do you believe in?” She leans against the table, waiting for an acceptable answer, but I don’t have one to give her.
“I think that not everyone is as lucky as Ion and Danielle.” I can tell she’s not pleased with the answer, but she doesn’t push it. Instead, she just twirls her glass of champagne, watching it as if she’s in a trance. “What did you and Nio talk about out there?”
My question seems to snap her out of whatever daze she was caught in. “Oh, he was just telling me about the tides and how the moon affects them.”
“Stand up.” She looks up at me like I’ve lost my mind, so I offer her my hand. “There’s something I want to show you.”
She hesitates for a moment, but eventually takes my hand. “Do I need to change first?”
“No, what you’re wearing is perfect.”
I wrap my arms around her, and she pulls back. “Wait. We’re going somewhere far away?”
“You’ll see.” This time I tighten my grip around her waist. When we reappear, I make sure to cover her eyes before the smoke clears.
“What are you doing?” She asks, putting her hands on top of mine.
“Turn this way. Okay, take a step to the left. Alright, here is perfect.” I slowly remove my hands and wait for her reaction.
“Ryder… this is…”
The fact that she can’t find the words is exactly the reaction I was hoping for. She takes a couple of steps toward the pool of glitter. When she bends down to touch it with her hands, it slips right off of her moonlit skin.
She turns to me with a look of wonder and awe. “It’s like liquid, but it’s not.”
“You want to get in?”
She looks back at the pool of sparkles and at the waterfall of them falling from above. “Only if you go first.”
“Alright,” I agree with a nod. I remove my suit jacket and roll my sleeves up a quarter of the way. Not that it even matters much.
Her eyes follow me as I slip into the mystical pond. It only reaches a couple of inches above my waist, but I dip my head under so that she can see. When I come back up, the small diamond-like specks run down me, finding their way back to the pool of them.
“Are you wet?” She asks from the safety of her spot near the edge.
“No, it’s not like that,” I assure her. “Here, reach out your hands.” She cups them together, and I pour a handful of the stuff into her hands.
“I hardly feel anything.”
“So, you coming in or do I have to enjoy this all by myself?”
“Hush it! I’m coming.”
After she takes off her heels, I reach for her waist and help her in.
When I put her down, the shimmering dots come all the way up to her chest. Childlike giggles escape her when she spins around, letting them run off her arms as she lifts them into the air.
Her dress blends in so perfectly that it almost looks like she’s wearing nothing, and I have to look away to keep my composure.
“How did you know about this place?” She asks, turning back to me.
“I came here with my father many times over the years. I wasn’t included in the meetings, so I did a lot of exploring. This is one of their hidden gems.”
“It’s incredible! They’re like falling stars.” She makes her way over to the cascading stream of sparkles, and I follow.
“Come on.”
I grab her hand, dragging her with me beneath the falling galaxy.
It runs like sand against our skin, and when she looks up at me, it’s almost as if she’s wearing a cloak of diamonds.
I can’t read her mind, but there’s something behind those eyes of hers.
I expect her to pull her gaze away, but she doesn’t.
She just looks up at me like she’s trying to work something out.
A sparkle lands on her cheek and fails to fall away. It glimmers against her skin like a coin in the afternoon sun. I slowly reach up and wipe it away with my thumb. For a moment, her eyes close as if the feeling of my touch is something she has longed for.
What am I saying?
She’s probably just tired. I dip out of the waterfall before I do something stupid.
“Thanks for showing me this.”
She makes her way back to the middle of the glittering pool, laying back to float on the surface. Her dress melts seamlessly into the sea of diamond-like specks as if she were a creature born from it.
“This is what I wanted my life to be like.” I’m not sure if she’s speaking to me or herself, so I don’t say anything.
A second later, she stops floating and stands back up.
“When I died, I had so many regrets. There was so much I hadn’t done and so many things I hadn’t seen.
It felt like I wasted my life away, but now I’ve gotten a second chance to do things differently. ”
“Is that why you got drunk at Hollows the other week?”
She falls back into the puddle in embarrassment. “How did you know about that?”
I laugh, thinking back to the conversation. “Akari told Artemus and me about Amaya’s little run-in with the flower bush.”
A burst of laughter explodes from her, and it might just be my favorite sound now.
How did that happen? How did this girl from the Sector come to steal away my thoughts? How is it that a part of me feels lost when she’s not around?
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to think of that and not laugh,” she finally says. “But yes, to answer your question, that was a big reason I drank too much that night.”
She doesn’t specify the other reason, and she doesn’t have to. She just found out she lost her father and that I had been lying to her. She had every reason to seek a temporary escape from it all. I’m only sorry I was the cause of it.
“Can I ask you something?” She moves in closer to me, and the energy has shifted to something more serious.
“Always.”
She pauses, trying to figure out how to ask her question. “Are you cursed?”
I nearly fall backwards.
“Why would you ask that?”
Reign shifts around uncomfortably, but she doesn’t avoid the question.
“You know how I saw that memory of you with the wolf cub? Well, I saw another one. I mean, I didn’t know for sure if it was a memory or just an illusion, but when I saw the X carved into your chest, I suspected it might be real. ”
I’m so taken aback, I’m not even sure what to say. No one knows about the curse. There were only the three of us in the room that night. If word got out that there would be no more heirs to the throne, there would be panic and disorder throughout the realms and surrounding territories.
“Yes, I’m cursed.” Despite her having just admitted to believing it was real, she seems shocked by my confession.
“So, you can’t fall in love, then?” Her voice is quiet, like she was working up the courage to ask me.
“That’s one hell of a memory you jumped into.
” She looks at me with guilt, and I suddenly feel bad for making the comment.
I’m not sure how she saw it, but it certainly wasn’t of her doing.
“Not exactly. I mean, that’s what we thought at first too, and now, looking back, that would’ve been preferred. ”
“So, you can fall in love?”
“Yes, but it’s a lose-lose either way you cut it.” I idly run my hand through the shimmering pond. “I can either be physical with someone I have no feelings for, or I can love someone and never be able to act on it. If I were to fall in love and so much as kiss the person, they would die.”
Pain and pity flash across her face as she thinks it over.
“The witch who cursed you had mentioned that you would be the last heir to the throne. How does that work?”
“Royals can only conceive with those they love. It’s the universe’s way of keeping the bloodline pure, I suppose. Being that my father and I can no longer be physical with someone we love, it kind of makes having an heir impossible.”
“I had no idea that’s how it works.” Her brows furrow as she works through all of the information. “Does that mean you haven’t been with anyone since…”
“Getting quite personal, aren’t we?” I ask with a raised brow that has her face turning red.
“Relax, Reign. I’m just messing with you.
” She appears to loosen up a bit, and I glide closer to her.
“I’m no saint. I still know how to have fun without feelings.
I’ve kept most of those rendezvous outside of the realms, so no one really hears about them. ”
“And they’re okay with having no strings attached?”
“Trust me. They’re happy with the arrangement.” I can see she’s fighting back her next question. “Ask me what it is you really want to ask.”
“Last year when I thought you had ingested the truth serum, you said you had been in love before. Was that before or after the curse was cast?”
“I see. You had already known about it back then, and that was your way of trying to get more information out of me.” She doesn’t deny it. “It was before. A long time ago, actually. As you can imagine, the story didn’t end with a happily ever after. My father made sure of that.”
“I’m sorry.” She looks like she wants to say more, but she doesn’t.
“Don’t be. Love is overrated anyway.”
“You don’t mean that,” she says, drifting closer to me until there’s only a foot of space between us.
“You want people to think you’re this cold killer, but you’re not.
I see how you care about your people. I see how you lead.
You may have everyone else fooled, but not me.
You’re just too scared to let anyone in. ”
“Are you sure you’re not just projecting?” I deflect. “You’re the one with walls so high it would take a whole army to tear them down.”
“They’re only there because everyone I tend to trust ends up hurting me. And we’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you!” There’s that fiery side I tend to bring out. “What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing. You’re just—” I laugh. “You’re kinda cute when you’re mad.
” She lets out an exaggerated huff and turns to get out of the pool, but I pull her back before she gets too far.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I say, trying to reel back the laughter.
“You have every right to put those walls up. I know I’m part of the reason they’re so high, and I’m truly sorry for that.
” Her face softens, so I keep going, deciding to give her the answer that she wants.
“You’re right. I am scared. My father will use anyone I care about to hurt me or control me, and I can’t afford to put anyone in that position.
I mean, look at what he did to Damien. Even without the curse, love has never been an option for me. ”
“Can’t you do what you did with Damien and the elixir?”
I shake my head. “Some curses can’t be broken.”