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It was unfair to think that way or be angry about it. I knew that. But knowing something did not mean accepting it. My family was pushed by the desire to protect and care for me. No one had ever asked me if that was what I wanted. Would I have decided against this protected life if I could trade my freedom and self-determination for this passivity? I don't know!Sometimes, it is more important to have the feeling of being allowed to choose than to be able to choose in the end.
Dad looked at his wristwatch, folded the newspaper, took one last sip of coffee, and stood up. He came to my side of the table with heavy steps, stroked my hair, and kissed it gently.
“Take care of yourself while I’m gone,” he whispered in my ear. His voice quivered with worry. Before I could answer him, he had already turned away and hastily left the dining room.
I looked down at my fruit salad one last time, only to push it away from me the next moment. Thereupon, I also got up from the chair and went back to my room. I took my anger, my worries, and my loneliness with me.
Like every single day for the past five years, this one dragged on until finally, darkness displaced the last rays of sunlight outside the windows, becoming my secret ally in this mission.
I had replaced dinner today with an apple. I was too excited to get even one bite down. So I asked Aza to claim that I wasn't feeling well and didn't need dinner.
On time, Stephan was ready with the car and drove me to the Cathedral of St. John, as instructed by my father. Since I had seen his discomfort at the sight of this enormous church last time, I got out as soon as we stopped in front of the stairway to the church and walked up the path to the front gate without looking back to the limousine.
Chris stepped out of one of the large double doors at that very moment and pulled me inside the nave. His look was panic-stricken. Stealthily, he looked around the deserted church.
“Did you know about Alex’s plans?” he hissed so softly I could barely understand him, though his lips brushed my ear as he spoke.
Hastily, I shook my head. “He told me last night.”
Frustrated, my brother ran his hand through his reddish hair. He seemed unenthusiastic about Alex's idea of bringing his friends along as I was.
"Maybe we can still convince him it's the wrong way?" I whispered, though I didn't want to discuss this in the open church space, and was amazed that Chris was even talking about it before we were in the tunnels.
“Too late,” he groaned.
"What?" The echo of my words reverberated through the nave columns and seemed greedily devoured by the dark shadows around us. Admonishingly, my brother looked at me, took me by the hand, and hastily pulled me through the cathedral to the confessional that formed the secret entrance to the underground tunnels.
There, he pushed me through the curtain into the hidden passage. But instead of switching on the flashlight, he stared into the darkness before us and pulled me toward him. Behind his hand, he whispered in my ear: "Alex has already taken his friends with him. They are in the training room examining the weapons for your training. I don't like any of this at all. But now we have no choice. We must accept them and, above all, keep a good eye on them.”
Without waiting for my answer, he lit the hallway with the lamp and walked ahead of me until we approached the door behind which our rooms were located.
With a jerk, he opened them. Male voices and laughter unknown to me spilled out towards us. In the middle of the room stood Alex with two other guys, who fell into silence when I entered.
Alex came walking straight toward me. He smiled like a little child who was allowed to ride on the carousel at the fair for the first time. Excitedly, he grabbed my hand and took me to his friends. Chris stopped next to the door and scowled at us.Nervously, he chewed on his lower lip. I could see him thinking about explaining this problem to Jordy, Rick, and my father.
“Rina, let me introduce you to my friends,” Alex cut through the awkwardness. “This here is Jack. He’s also a law student at Columbia,” he introduced me to the man on the right. Jack had white-blond hair, an open look, and grinned charmingly at me. "He's good at archery and has been doing Aikido for years, where he also learned how to use a sword," Alex continued. Embarrassed, Jack indicated a bow.
"Hello, Myrina. It's nice to meet you. Alex has raved so much about you to us, and I must admit he wasn’t exaggerating.” Laughing, Alex punched him in the side.
"You charmer, you!" he teased, turning to the other guest the next moment. "This here is Edward, who unfortunately chose literature as his course of study. But he's the best fencer in the university for it."
My eyes fell on Edward's bag hanging over his broad shoulder with a book sticking out.Shakespeare,I read on the cover, and my stomach tightened with longing. I quickly looked up and saw a severe male face with hard features that were so unlike the literature I had just discovered. His skin was dark, as well as his eyes. I recognized a distrust in them that made me take two steps backward.
"Hello, Edward. Nice to meet you," I mumbled uncertainly, forcing myself to stop. A hum was the only response he gave me.
Alex didn’t seem surprised at all. Friendly, he patted the obviously well-trained man on the shoulder and pulled him to our weapons while he talked to him about which weapon he thought would be best for the beginning of my training.
Edward, however, paid no attention to my fiancé. His narrowed eyes continued to rest on me. I already felt uncomfortable around him.
Jack approached me. Smiling, he looked back and forth between Edward and me, then positioned himself in front of me in a way that broke the awkward eye contact.
A relieved sigh escaped my throat. The blond man laughed once in amusement. "Don't worry about it. Edward always takes a while before he thaws out. But once you know him properly, he's a good-hearted person."
“Well, right now, I can’t quite believe it,” I admitted honestly.
"Wait and see. I'm always right." With a wink, he grinned at me and then walked to the weapons as well.
Uncertainly, I turned to my brother. His anger was now unmistakably written on his face. Helplessly, I raised my shoulders.
