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You know her by now.
You know who she is.
You shouldn’t have done that.
I hear them then, the servants, twittering and laughing as they walk down the passageway to Eleanor’s room. Bile rises in my throat and I swallow it down angrily as I step aside and unlock the door.
The servants eye me warily as they step inside.
She is going to be having dinner with Ihohka.
She is going to be having dinner with someone who isn’t you.
How could I possibly take her to dinner?
How could I possibly give her anything that Ihohka can?
I remember then that I have a meeting with Gavarn soon. Our plans for the rebellion are still in motion and I am more determined than ever to bring the Renzui family down.
This meeting with Gavarn is the first one I have been able to have in a long time. I have been stuck in the manor for weeks now.
You have been stuck with Eleanor. Getting to know her. Falling for her.
Getting away from my duties in the manor has been difficult. It should have been easier for me to slip away with Fohri gone.
However, I knew that I could never leave Ellie alone with Ihohka.
Ellie. She has a really pretty name, doesn’t she? It just rolls off the tongue.
Ultimately, she is vulnerable, and Ihohka could hurt her at any moment.
But tonight I will be attending the meeting with Gavarn. I do not think Eleanor will want me around anyway. I can hear her inside with the servants. I can hear the water splash as they bathe her and wash her hair, and I have to take several gulping breaths, as more unwanted images rise to the front of my mind.
They aren’t that unwanted.
She is so beautiful, and picturing her like that, naked and dripping with water, does things to me that I can’t understand.
You should not have dragged her away from Ihohka like that! You should have let her be! Then maybe she wouldn’t be this angry with you.
I am quite sure that she hates me now.
You drove her right into Ihohka’s arms,I think angrily to myself, and again, all I can see is the look on Ihohka’s face when they were walking through the gardens.
How could I be this stupid? How could I hurt her like that?
Why didn’t I realize that this would drive her away?
I try to focus on the meeting with Gavarn, while Eleanor continues getting ready. It will be a strategy meeting and I know that a lot must have happened during the previous meetings I have missed.
I have gathered some intel for Gavarn, and I only hope that it will prove useful. I also know that Gavarn has been doing his best to keep the rebellion going. And it seems to be working, because lately, whenever I have seen Ihohka, he has looked stressed out.
The constant crease between his brows, and the way his mouth is set in a hard line – unless he has been speaking with Ellie – tells me that our side is winning.
The fact that the rebellion is so successful is just proof that the time for the Renzui family’s rule is over. Soon Kantor will be free, and Fohri and Ihohka will be out of power.
And the thought excites you, because secretly, you’re hoping that you’ll get a chance with Eleanor.
The truth of the thought does not shock me. More and more I am realizing that I care for Ellie, fiercely, and wholly. And I do not know what I would do if she fell for Ihohka’s charms. What I do know is that I am willing to do what it takes to protect her from him.
