Austin stepped into the library, nodding for Seth and Nate to go. He closed the door behind them and turned around. Ryleigh was settled in one of the cosy chairs near the fireplace, cross-legged and with a book in her lap. His eyes flitted around the room; there was no one else present.
He hovered near the door, watching her. Her hair fell in wild tangles over her shoulders, and her eyes were fixated on the literature in front of her. She didn't look like she knew he was there. She was chewing the inside of her cheek, fingers fumbling with the pages.
"What are you reading?" he asked, moving into her line of vision.
Ryleigh shrieked and nearly threw the book across the room. "Man! Have some mercy on my nerves."
He couldn't hide a smile. "You usually notice me from a mile away."
"Well, I was focused."
"Must be interesting then." He nodded to the book.
She shut it, holding her finger between the pages. She squinted at the cover, the title hardly more than a faded impression in the old leather. "Can't read that. It's about rejection, anyway."
His smile faltered. "O."
"Yeah, I figured I should probably know what I'm getting myself into, you know? I mean, of course I know what rejection means, but I wasn't sure about the specifics." She looked up at him, her gaze darting across his face. He sat down opposite her, making sure to keep his expression as neutral as she was wont to keep hers.
"Did you know that when you reject someone, you have twenty-four hours to undo it?" she said. "Like, if you mate within a day, you'll be fated mates, but after that, there's nothing you can do to restore the bond."
"I did know that."
She had a way of looking at him whenever his intellectuality came up – a compound of amusement and, he hardly dared say it, appreciation.
"Of course you did," she said. "Can't believe my mate is such a bookworm."
"You're the one holding a book right now."
She acknowledged the point with a smile. "True. Guess we have something in common after all. Who'd have thought." She drew her index finger across the book's worn cover. "Do you think there's logic to mates? Like, does the Goddess put certain people together for a reason?"
"It would be cruel if she didn't."
"So why us? Just because we both happen to like books? Certainly that's not enough."
"I don't know."
"And here I thought you know everything."
One corner of his mouth turned up. "Not nearly."
"Shame. Guess I'm left to draw my own conclusions. Maybe the Goddess is just a bully with a warped sense of humour."
"That's heresy." He shot a glance at the door, half afraid her guards might still be lingering, or that Ellis had chosen that exact moment to walk in. If Ellis were to hear her speak like that, he would kick her out of the pack so fast she wouldn't even get a chance to reject him.
"Only if it's not true." She slipped her legs out from under her. "So, where have you been all day?"
Austin reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to her without a word. She pulled her brows down from under the mess of her hair and took it.
"What's this?"
He only nodded for her to read it, and she did. A breath slipped past her slightly parted lips.
"A royal pardon."
"Yes. You're free."
Her eyebrows seemed torn between rising and lowering even further over her nose, almost as if she didn't know the meaning of the word 'free'.
"Thank you," she said, her forehead smoothing out.
"No need to thank me. It's all part of the deal."
"Well, yeah, but with you and Julie broken up, I feared the deal might be off."
"I'm a man of my word."
She regarded him a moment, then nodded. "It does appear so." Her eyes returned to the paper in her hands. "So he just took your word for it?"
"It took some convincing, but yes. There are perks to being on good terms with the king."
"I'll say." She refolded the letter and tapped it against the armrest of her chair. "I guess I have to take my leave of Nate and Seth, then. I've grown rather accustomed to being followed all the time. I might get lonely."
"I'm sure you'll get over it."
She lifted one shoulder. "Probably. I have to say you're timing is great. I was wondering if you were going to make me wait out the last eight days, but I'm happy you didn't. Are you busy tomorrow?" She nodded at the book. "It says that rejection generally hurts a fair bit, so it might be best if you don't have much else to do afterwards."
"Tomorrow?"
Her brows twitched again. "Well, yeah. I mean, little point in waiting, is there? Best to get it over with. Except if you do insist to wait till the month is over?"
He shrugged. "You're free to do whatever you want."
She slipped her fingers from the book, closing it fully. "If tomorrow doesn't work for you –"
"It's fine. Whatever you want."
"Alright. Good. I mean, there's no point in delaying the inevitable. The sooner I'm out of your hair, the sooner we can both move on with our lives."
He lifted his eyes to meet hers. "Where will you go?"
She shook her head. "Don't worry about that. I'll be fine, one way or another."
"I won't be there to stop your attacks."
"If I get far enough away from Golden Dawn, he won't be able to get a hold of me anymore. I might get on a ship to Rilia, or maybe I'll go to Lilley."
"You're leaving Andior?"
"Maybe. I'll figure it out as I go."
"What if he catches up with you?"
She thought about it. "Then I'll be fine too. Just because it's not the life I want, doesn't mean it can't be a good one. If there's anything you should have learnt about me by now, it's that I'm a survivor." She got up from her seat. "Don't worry about me. Tomorrow I won't be your problem anymore." She nodded down at the book still clasped in her hold. "I'm just going to put this back. I've read enough. I'm prepared. Unless if you want to...?" She held the book out to him, but he shook his head.
"I already know everything I need to know."
"Alright, yes. Mister Know It All."
He didn't respond, so she turned and disappeared behind the book cases, looking for the shelf from which she had retrieved the book.
"Well, there's only so much time I can spend in this dusty place," she said when she returned. "I'm just going to go outside and enjoy my newfound freedom. Tomorrow works, then?"
He nodded.
"Alright," she said, gesturing over her shoulder towards the door. "Guess I'll be going then. See you at dinner, probably." She took a step backwards, then turned on her toes and made for the door. He got up.
"Ryleigh."
She slowed, then stopped, twirling back around.
"Yeah?" she said, her voice wavering ever so slightly.
"Don't reject me."
______
A/N: A short chapter, but one of the most important ones nevertheless. Guess Austin isn't as eager to see her go as he pretended to be. What do you think Ryleigh will do?
Thanks for reading!