-____________- 2.0

Chapter Fourteen

-Tharren-

Tharren woke up a few hours later to some now gone sound after tossing and turning for most of the night. His room was completely black with night but for a small pool of moonlight at the window. He groaned and put his pillow over his head, rolling onto his stomach. When he rolled over, the sheets wrapped around his legs and he growled in frustration, whipping them off angrily and jumping out of bed.

He leaned against the wall, pressing his cheek to the stone to feel the cold. He shrugged away and fumbled around in the dark for his shirt, then hurriedly put in on and headed towards the door. Tharren sank down slightly, slowing his breathing and slipping back into everything his scout training had taught him, and pressed an ear against the door. He could hear muffled snoring, which had to mean that no one was awake, because neither of his guards would let the other sleep on duty.

The door swung open silently at his hand, and the Hadalian scout crept out slowly, scanning the hall for any observers. Gavin was missing from his post, and Coby was snoring loudly, slouched to the left of the doorway. Tharren smiled to himself and headed down the hall, constantly looking for any other night walkers who may catch him out of his rooms. Finally, he arrived in front of the door he'd been looking for. He stood back up to his normal height and opened the door quietly, stepping in.

This room was even darker than his, the cloth draping in front of the window blocking out all but a small sliver of moonlight that stretched across the floor and across the bed in the middle of the room. Tharren's eyes slowly adjusted until he could just make out the curtain of rich red hair across Siri's sleeping face, the determined grimace on her lips, the occasional flutter of her eyelashes. He took a few steps closer, bending down to kiss the grimace off her face and wake her up, but he froze halfway. The sliver of moonlight in the room had shifted ever so slightly since his entrance. It now glinted off the silver band and the gaudy diamond set in the middle.

Tharren straightened back up and glared angrily at the engagement ring, then turned and rushed from the room, not even bothering to be quiet or avoid being seen. The halls were empty anyway.

Tharren reached his door twice as quickly as he had reached Siri's, using all his self control to not slam the door behind him and wake Coby. He didn't even bother trying to go back to sleep, instead pacing around the room to burn off steam.

So much for having made up with Siri. After all they'd been through, she was still wearing the ring Lewis gave her, still getting married to him.

Eventually, he got tired of pacing and collapsed onto his bed, falling into a dreamless sleep.

Siri burst through his door the next morning, trailed by her dogs and carrying a plate of steaming pancakes. Tharren rolled out of bed, still wearing what he had to her room the night before, considerably rumpled now, and took the plate from her without a word. Siri shrugged and sat down at the table across from him, while Tharren kept his eyes on his food and ate quickly, still not speaking.

"What's up with you this morning?" Siri leaned forward, trying to get a glimpse of his eyes.

Tharren shook his head of what little sleep was left. "Nothing," he muttered angrily and glanced at her hand.

"Seriously Tharren? Quit acting like a three-year-old and tell me what's going on."

He glared up at her from his pancakes, chewing slowly, then swallowing before speaking. "Why are you still wearing that damn engagement ring?"

Siri glanced down at her finger and twisted the ring a few times. "Because I'm engaged to Lewis."

Tharren turned his head back down to his breakfast and shoveled in another bite, chewing thoroughly before taking another.

"Tharren, what the hell is wrong with you this morning?"

The Prince pushed his chair away from the table, shaking his tray so the milk threatened to spill over. "What's wrong with me? Here I had been thinking I actually meant something to you, that we had something...I don't know what exactly, but it was good. Now I see that after all we've been through, and no matter how much you say you don't want Lewis, you still wear around his ring, still allow him to send you all around, parading that you belong to him, that you're his fiancee! I guess I was wrong, huh Siri? And I don't like being wrong, not about things that matter."

Siri stood more slowly, walking over to where he stood. "Tharren, you knew from the start we could never be...something. I'm engaged to Lewis, and there's no getting out of it. Do you know what it would look like if I left him, do you know what would happen to me if we were discovered, what Lewis would do to you if he found out I left him for you? You're Hadalian, a prisoner, and I thought we both knew this wasn't anything. I'm sorry, I should have seen this coming when you talked about meeting my brother, but I am going to marry Lewis, and what we have can still be good. Nothing has changed." Siri reached for his hand.

Tharren shook her away. "Something has changed. Dammit Siri, I don't want this anymore, I want something real. I like you Siri, a lot. I've tried so hard to deny it, to keep this from happening, but I failed. If you want some guy for entertainment, then find some one else, just don't...don't mess with me anymore."

Siri gulped, and met Tharren's eyes, and for once, were so guarded that Tharren couldn't even hint at what she was thinking. "I...um..." She took a wavering step closer to him, before spinning around and rushing out the door.