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16. Mystery
AFTER ROY LEFT the bathroom, I towelled myself dry, battling against my mood swings. Roy’s and the doctor’s voices came muffled from behind the door. I slid on my clothes and twisted my hair in a bun before exiting. The doctor glanced at me and flashed a quick smile. His hollow cheeks and red-rimmed eyes, topped with his white coat, gave him a ghost-like look.
“Miss Easterwood, you’ve done a great job. Mr Turner’s wounds are perfectly healed.’”
Roy was sitting on the edge of the bed, wincing, one hand on his chest.
“He’s still in pain though,” I said.
“The pain should go away in a few hours.” Dr Stone let out a sigh of relief and rubbed his eyes. “I need some rest, but don’t hesitate to call me if something happens.” He shuffled out of the room, tired and defeated.
“Poor man.” I put my boots on. “Do you still want to leave?”
Roy nodded. “I must see Allen.”
“I’ll come with you.” Still thinking about the shower, I straightened, checking that my clothes were presentable.
“Hell.” He cringed as he picked up his bloodstained, shredded clothes and put them in the basket.
“I’ll fetch new clothes for you.” It was part kindness, part need to escape. His revelation about being scared of our relationship left me more stunned than I’d like to admit. Never would I have said that Roy could be scared of us. Or of anything. A shiver chilled my skin when I stepped out of the room and into the corridor.
Stretchers were still lining the wall, but there weren’t any running nurses or doctors or shouting people. The door of the staff room was open, and I slid inside. Water pitchers, sandwiches, and neatly folded clothes were piled on the shelves. I groaned at the sight of Kenneth, who was hunched over the table, taking deep breaths. He jolted when he saw me.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, his chin jutting out.
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
He ran a hand over his pale face. Dark circles made his amber eyes look bigger. “None of your business.”
“Funny, but I was about to answer in the same way.”
“Good. How’s the condottiero?” he said ‘condottiero’ with a snarl.
“He’s in perfect health.” I copied his arrogant stance. “Which I guess is bad news for you.”
For a moment, his shoulders stooped as he gazed down. A breath left him, as if he was relieved to know that Roy was all right. “As I told you, I don’t hate him if that’s what you’re implying.” The soft tone of his voice shocked me into silence. He sounded like he cared about Roy, at least a little.
“You have an odd way of proving it.”
The moment of tenderness vanished. The air between us became charged with the tension of our rising beasts as he stepped closer. “He isn’t as special as everyone thinks he is. He’s a braggart with the good luck of having been made a condottiero. That’s all.”
“He’s the most skilled fighter of Raven Park.” Why was I having this conversation with him? It was pointless.
“Perhaps, but he’s a damn liar. Ask him what he’s hiding. Ask him what will happen to him if his crime comes out.” He shook his head. Every trace of his fleeting weakness was gone. “Your infatuation for him is pathetic.”
My beast roared her outrage. “You’ve never cared for what I feel. Don’t start now.”
He grinned. “Just because you follow him everywhere like a devout puppy, doesn’t mean he cares about you. He didn’t care about Lukas. He doesn’t care about you. The sooner you realise that the better.” His shoulder bumped mine when he strode past me and out of the room, right as Peggy was coming inside, making me forget my anger.
“Peggy,” I said at the same time she exclaimed, “Kristin.”
“How are you?” I put a hand on her shoulder and studied her pale face. “Sam and I couldn’t find you. We were worried.”
She flushed a deep crimson that enhanced her freckles. “I was all right. I…” A tendril of her bright red hair fell loose from her ponytail, and she tugged at it. “I was stuck in the dispensary during the whole mess.”
I frowned. “The dispensary? What were you doing there?”
“A nurse locked me in without realising that I was still inside, and I didn’t have a key. So I stayed there, hearing the chaos in the manor until someone let me out.” She didn’t answer my question, but the shivers shaking her and the pallor on her face dampened my curiosity. “It was terrifying. I had no idea what was going on. I heard the shouts and the people running in the corridor. The dispensary has no windows. It’s a dark room with a thick door. I heard the explosion. The ground shook, and then the screams of the people who were brought here. I punched the door and yelled, but no one heard me. Not even when I half turned, could I open the stupid door. It was horrible.”
