Awaken His Eyes | The Awakened Book One

Untitled Part 19

Two nights after writing the note, Maeryn stared at the ceiling of her bedroom and waited impatiently. She wasn't sure of the time, but it had to be close to midnight. After feeding Aelia and putting her back to sleep, Maeryn's mind began racing. Soon, the events that she had possibly affected in a tremendous way would unfold.

If the letter even reached its intended destination!

Zula had delivered it with no problems and made it back to the house without seeing Lemus. But since then, there had been growing in her mind a sense of doom. At first, she was pleased with herself and the idea that she could slowly destroy the man who tried to replace her husband, the man who had killed her only son. The Empire to which Adair had devoted himself had so quickly abandoned him, even though he had gotten into trouble by serving that very same Empire. It was exciting to think of the privileged information to which she had access on a daily basis. If she was careful, she might be able to do great damage to the Empire that had stolen her true love away. But now she was scared of the consequences of her actions. Maybe the letter was not the smartest thing to send. If Lemus found it, he might suspect her, and he had proven that he had no reservations about sending family members to their death. But she had already sent the letter, and there was nothing to be done about it now but to wait. As she watched the moon's reflections off the ocean dance along the ceiling of her bedroom, she eventually drifted off to sleep.

~

The sound of a baby crying jolted her awake. Maeryn glanced around the room, now awash with the orange hues of early morning, looking for the crib and finding it at the foot of the bed. Aelia was sleeping soundly and Maeryn wondered if the sound that had awakened her had been just a dream. She pulled the covers back and got out of bed to stretch her legs. Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed loudly in the hallway. She could tell that it was Lemus—he had a certain attitude that permeated everything he did, including the way he walked. The footsteps passed the door to her room and entered the master bedroom at the end of the hall. From the agitated footsteps, his plans must not have gone well. Maeryn waited for a few moments, then left the room while Aelia was still sleeping.

She found Lemus out on the balcony that used to be her favorite place to think. Since Aelia had been born, he had not let Maeryn return to the master bedroom because of the child's crying. He told her that a man of importance with his amount of responsibility could not afford to be disturbed at night with crying children. It was just as well though; she enjoyed not having to share a bed with him.

Lemus was standing at the railing, overlooking the city as it began to sparkle in the increasing light of the sun.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly and carefully.

He didn't respond but continued to stare out into the bay. After several seconds, Maeryn started to wonder if he hadn't heard her at all. She tried once more to bring him out of his thoughts.

"Things are not well. You seem troubled."

"I don't wish to talk about it," he stated flatly.

She didn't want to give up so easily. "Well, if you decide that you want to talk, I'll be in my room. Sometimes it feels better just to get the words out." As she turned to leave, Lemus let out a sound as if he started to say something but decided not to. Maeryn stopped and waited for him to say what was on his mind.

"There was trouble last night," he said at last.

Maeryn waited for the rest of his story, and when it didn't come, she coaxed him out of his silence. "What kind of trouble?"

Lemus turned around from the railing and walked back into the bedroom. He slumped down on the bed and crossed his arms. "Last night ..." he began, and then drifted off.