8. Loveleena
LOVELEENA
The man threw his hand through the opening to cover her mouth while he scrambled to pull away the stones. “Will you shut up? Someone’s going to hear you,” he chastised.
She breathed heavily against his palm, her voice dying in her throat.
Her lips stuck slightly as he cautiously released her mouth.
When he seemed satisfied that she’d be quiet, he moved the rest of the stones and crawled through the small gap.
Replacing the stones, he completed a puzzle he seemed to know very well, too well, before he stood and wiped the dirt from his palms onto his pants, facing her.
Even in the twilight, she could see him clearly.
It was the same man—same Defender—she saw earlier outside of Talamalu.
His dark hair still sat in loose waves, except now pieces had fallen around his face, as if his hair product had worn off.
Her eyes traced the edges of tattoos that travelled down the right side of his neck, into his shirt, peeking back out on the edge of his sleeve and down his toned forearm.
She lingered on the hand that had been across her mouth, before ripping her gaze away.
“Alva.” He said her name like a curse, and her shoulders tightened.
She eyed him suspiciously. “And you are?”
“Ren Elmerian.” He nodded sternly, and when she didn’t say anything, he added, “better get home, Alva.”
Why did Defenders always use last names? It drove her insane.
“Loveleena is fine.” She took a step toward him. He was tall—six foot two if she had to guess—athletic, and smelled like evergreen and campfire. Slayers were always unreasonably fit and he was no exception.
“Actually, I intended to go through there.” The words were out of her mouth before she could think better of it, and she snapped her jaw shut.
Dammit. Could she ever just shut the hell up?
Ren turned to look at the spot in the wall that had been covered, now indistinguishable from the rest of the towering barrier, before dragging his gaze back to her.
“You intended to go through the wall,” he said slowly, as if deciphering a riddle. “And why would you do that?” Arms folding over his chest, his stare said what his mouth didn’t: Traitor.
Fuck.
Goddess, what was wrong with her? She just outed herself, to a Slayer of all people. She held her mouth firmly closed.
“Listen.” He smirked, his voice venomous. “I’m not going to report you, if that’s what you’re worried about. But I don’t like liars.”
She crossed her arms, mirroring him. “So why were you entering the city here?”
“Official Defender business. Nothing to worry you, Alva.”
“For someone who doesn’t like liars, you’re not being very honest yourself.”
His eyes narrowed. They were locked in a stare for what felt like eternity, and then, finally, he spoke. “Fine. I was on a special mission—one not every Defender is privy to.”
Satisfied, Loveleena shared her truth. “My friend Park went missing last year, and I just thought maybe there was a clue, or something, I don’t even know, just something he might have left behind.”
Ren’s gaze raked over her, as if analyzing her honesty. “Park Kem?”
She perked up. “You know him?”
“I know all the noble families, Alva.”
She sighed. Right. Of course he did.
“You were going to risk your life and your family’s reputation to see if your friend left something out there.” He gestured to the wall. “Like what? His corpse?”
“No, I just thought…” What, exactly, did she think?
She looked at his calculated expression.
He knew more than he was letting on. Defenders always knew more about the disappearances, arrests, creature attacks, and Jarrian politics than the public ever did.
That’s when the idea struck her. Defenders could go beyond the wall.
They had private knowledge of everything.
If she wanted to find out more about Park, all she had to do was become a Defender.
It was so simple; why hadn’t she thought of it before?
There was only one thing that prevented it.
To become a Defender, you had to attend the Academy of Creature Defense.
And it was a little late for that. Initiation was mere hours away and she hadn’t even applied to the Academy, let alone gotten accepted.
Plus, Noble families didn’t become Defenders. It was an unspoken rule.
“Take me with you to the Academy.”
“Excuse me?” Ren laughed, a smile erupting on his lips. Even laughing he looked formidable.
“You’re a graduate, right?”
“I am.”
“Get me in.”
He stepped toward her, studying her face. “Why?”
Why wasn’t a no, and Loveleena grasped onto that. “I’m very”—she put too much emphasis on the word, and it came out sarcastic—“passionate about the cause.”
Ren raised an eyebrow. “You practically ran away from me earlier today.”
Okay maybe she was being sarcastic.
“I wasn’t running away from you, I was just—” she stopped herself before she could lie. “I just want to find my friend,” she added, honestly.
“Alva.” Ren laughed, as if her proposal was ridiculous. “You’re the daughter of a nobleman. The Academy is not for women like you.”
Women like you?
“It’s Loveleena. And what kind of woman am I? Since you seem to know so well.”
Ren did not even flinch, as if he never, ever, backed down from a fight.
Well neither did she.
“Noblewomen, women of high society, upper class, wealthy, women with political influence, women who would be wasting their cultural power defending the wall and—”
She held up her hand. “Okay, you made your point.” Did he really have to remind her of her responsibilities—the ones she wanted absolutely nothing to do with?
“How about we make a deal?” she urged, “if I can steal your dagger, you have to take me with you.”
“Fine,” he answered quickly. She knew he would, because he didn’t believe she could steal it. Which was exactly why it was so incredibly satisfying when she revealed her hand hidden behind her back, holding his dagger. She had swiped it, on instinct, while he had been replacing the stones.
All that practicing, all that stealing, had finally paid off.
Ren glanced down, noticing his dagger was gone from his thigh for the first time.
She stifled a cheeky smile as he dragged his eyes over her, seeing her in a new light.
It was clear he saw her potential, whether good or bad.
Which was why his answer felt like whiplash, hitting her like a blow to the chest. “No.”
“But we had a deal! You agreed—”
“We have rules to follow, Alva.” He snatched the dagger from her hand.
“But you just climbed through a secret entrance in the wall. It seems like you do whatever you want, unchecked.”
“What makes you think I was going through the wall unchecked?”
Loveleena narrowed her eyes. “Because you’re very clearly a Slayer. You have plenty of ways to go beyond the wall. None of which involve sneaking through a secret passage in the middle of the night—not even for some top-secret mission.”
“And how would you know that?”
The truth was that she didn’t. But Ren’s face gave it away—just the smallest hint of uncertainty, and she knew she had caught him. “Nothing, not even special missions, require a wall breach.”
Ren smiled a cool, arrogant smile and shook his head slightly. “Look, Alva, I might—”
“It’s Loveleena.”
“Defenders use last names.” He widened his stance. “So you should probably—”
“Well, I don’t use last names.”
“—get used to it”
“So you’ll take me?”
“Are you always like this?”
Her brows furrowed. “What’s your point?”
“Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?”
“Yes.” She did, didn’t she?
He looked out into the street again, scoping out the area, before sighing and rubbing his temple. “Fine. We go now.”
Now? No. She needed to tell her family and pack a bag. She needed time to prepare. “And if I say no? If I decide not to go?”
“Are you insane?” He frowned. “You just begged me to get you into the Academy and now you’re telling me you don’t know if you want to go?”
“Can’t a woman change her mind?”
For a moment, Ren looked exhausted. He huffed a breath from his chest. “Once you’re in, that’s it. No going back.” He leaned casually against the stone wall, as if too tired to stand straight any longer.
She thought for a moment. “You can get me in, right?” She never wanted to attend the Academy. But if she didn’t go, she’d probably be forced into marrying Mr. Boring, and it was the only thing she hadn’t done already to try and find Park.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“So many questions, Alva.”
“Loveleena.”
His eyes rolled and he offered his hand. “Come on, then. Let me handle it; it’s nothing your pretty little noblewoman brain has to worry about.”
Loveleena made a mental note that if she ever had the chance to stab him in his kneecap, she would. If only for that comment alone.
“How do you have any authority to get me in, especially so… last minute. Don't you need to apply like a year in advance, have a billion extra credit gold stars to your name, and a professor fangirling after you to even be considered?”
“Ha.” Ren let out a short, genuine laugh. She didn’t want to admit to herself how much she liked the sound.
“I have my ways. If we go now.” He turned and walked down the street before calling back to her, “Are you coming or not?”