Page 32 of Where We Belong

“It is unsafe for her to be prancing around in the streets, uncle. Very dangerous indeed. What if the Mer Army target her and she wanders to the edge? She does not know how to resist their song. She could be lost forever. Again.”

“Oh, nonsense.” He claps his hands together. “We will send the Captain and lieutenants out with you also. We have streams of Volker in the city; it’ll be right as rain.” I don’t miss the way her head snaps up at the mention of the Captain. The bond must be calling to her. But she seems to have no clue whatsoever. Kaed on the other hand is more than feeling the effects already. I stopped to see Eira late last night and on the way found him pacing the corridor outside my mother’s chambers where Agni has been placed. Restless as a starved hound scenting blood. Every so often, he would stop at her door as though listening for proof she still breathed on the other side of it.

“I’ll be fine here until you get back. I can sit in my room.”

My room. Those two words call to the anger I bury deep in my chest. Just before it responds, Eira walks in, bowing to the room. I love watching her do that. Her presence alone soothing the burn and something in me exhales.

“You called, your Majesty?” She says, the beauty radiating from her shocking me as if I have not laid eyes on her a thousand times. Dark hair pulled back into a low bun, edges coiling under her sweat. I want to unravel it. Unravel her. The ash on her forehead tells me she has already been hard at work this morning, if only I could ease her. A slow, knowing smile spreads across Nykholas’s lips, and Eira’s eyes are unable to meet his while she dusts off her apron. Ah, yes. How could I forget. Someone is already easing her. I taste my breakfast in my throat.

“Eira, please meet Ashley. Ashley, this is Eira, our Ironwright.” She rolls her eyes as Eira curtseys. So distasteful.

“What’s an Ironwright?”

“I make weapons.” Her warm smile is incredibly inviting, Agni does not deserve it. “We’ve met before, kind of— I don’t know if you saw the white flowers when you woke up? Aiden and I brought them for you.”

“Oh, yes, I did, thank you.” I ignore her sideways glance.

“Aiden also helps me whenever he has time. He’s a very skilled metalworker.” When Eira grins at me, my cheeks heat and I pray Nykholas does not notice.

“I see.” Agni stands abruptly, pushing her untouched plate away, clearly unaware that her plastic boots are melting. “It’s nice to meet you, Eira. I’ll be in my room.”

I hope my uncle will let her go, but instead, he follows her out. The room falls silent as everyone tries to catch the conversation. His gentle pleading is answered by her inappreciative tone.

“I’ll take the tour another time, maybe with someone who actually wants to go with me.”

It is rather delightful she knows where she stands. Eira’s hand rests lightly on my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts before they spiral. I look up into her beautiful face, which, right now, only adds to my woes, because it does not belong to me anymore. For now.

Chapter 32

Ashley

But the night my eyes did find her,

a stoic soldier died.

I’ve asked Thea and Fawn for wine at least three times a day in the last two weeks. I just need something familiar, something to calm my nerves, and they’ve never heard of weed. The second I’m left alone with my thoughts, the craving comes roaring back. Apparently, if I want alcohol, I must have it with a meal. But I can’t. I don’t know how I went from stealing bread to refusing everything placed in front of me. I haven’t seen the Captain, and I’m not sure why I care as much as I do, but honestly, it’s consuming me. That and the fact I still can’t use any bloody magic. Who would have thought I’d miss it as much as I do. This is nothing but a fancy cell. And if they think eighteen months of this is going to make me want to set them loose on my world, then they’re in for a shock.

Of course, I can see the grimaces on everyone’s faces. Especially Aiden, who, outside of pulling his collar over his nose, acts like I’m not even there when I pass him every morning at breakfast. I just can’t bring myself to go underwater. Nightmares of Kaed throwing bucket after bucket of it over me as I scream and scream, rip me from sleep at night. Despite my refusals, Fawn and Thea continue to run my daily baths, and I continue to sit in my desk chair, staring at the wall until it’s time for breakfast. Then, I head down to see if my uncle will talk to me yet.

It seems whatever business he had that morning is taking ages. After that, I go back to my room and sit in the chair until I doze off, and the next morning comes. Each night, just before dawn, a sweet-smelling breeze drifts in from somewhere — some kind of magical ventilation system I assume — finally taking the edge off the unbearable heat. A few times now, I’ve wandered the quiet corridors at night. I don’t know what possessed me, maybe boredom, but mostly I got lost and had to flag down a soldier to walk me back. Just to the left of my door, there’s a staircase I can’t seem to stop looking at. It disappears down into a long, busy tunnel, the entrance always guarded by two silent soldiers who don’t so much as blink when I pass. Something about it intrigues me, but survival instinct tells me to stay away. That’s the way to the Volker compound, Cook and Eira told me during a late-night chat. That was the third time I wandered. Somewhere in the dimly lit hallways, I caught the scent of warm bread, and I found myself stepping into a large kitchen. The chop, chop, chop of a knife against wood filled the air, and at the counter were Aiden’s closest, and I’ll bet my fucking life, only friends.

“A lost little lamb in my kitchen at this hour?” Cook bowed.

“You just missed your brother, Princess,” Eira said. Thank hell for that.

“Just Ashley. Please,” I offered a smile that fought to meet my eyes and lost. “I was just following the smell, it’s amazing.” My brows shot up when spices shuffled along the walls and shook themselves into pies and pots. Cook’s grin widened, a glint in his eye as he rinsed his fingertips. “Ah,” he said, “so you’re the kind of girl who lets her stomach lead the way. Sensible.”

“Is that for breakfast tomorrow?” I nodded to the thick golden mousse next to him.

“What do you care, you’re not going to eat it.”

Eira swatted his arm with a sharp hiss of his name, eyes wide. But a breathy laugh escaped me. An actual laugh. I immediately slapped my hand over my mouth because it was an awkward, rusty sound, like it didn’t quite belong to me. But it felt nice. And just like that the ice was broken and I lost track of time. It felt like they were interviewing me about my world, or “The Above”, as they call it. Cook was the most curious, throwing out wildly inaccurate facts about Earth that made us laugh again and again. I ended up asking a few questions of my own, and that’s when they told me a little about the King’s army. And Kaed. I noticed them hesitate when I mentioned him, so I didn’t push past the basics. Even though I was itching to know more. They filled me in on everything – the war, the treaty, the tension, the different beliefs.

The next night, I found myself in the kitchen again, and it started off well enough, but a throat clearing from somewhere behind me shattered any desire I had to remain in that room. Aiden stood at the door, with a carefully placed smile, tugging lightly at the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Hello, Agni.”

“I was just leaving,” I muttered, rolling my eyes when he put his sleeve to his nose. I gave him the widest berth I could manage when I stalked past, but I should’ve just barged straight through him. He stood there like a fucking tree. Eira’s scolding voice drifted faintly down the corridor, mixed with his flat replies.