I ran my hands through my hair, deep in thought. Last night shouldn't have left me with mixed emotions. I still hated the devil, but my body clearly remembered his touched. My skin prickled at the thought. It wasn't a memory I recalled, though. He knew me too well for it to just be a coincidence. But as hard as I tried to remember, I could only think of one time I had sex with him, and we didn't go all the way. Tobias just touched me in a car. It was nothing like what I had felt last night.
With a sigh, I sunk down lower where I sat on the balcony. That man was too confusing.
"You've been out here a lot lately," said Nyko, leaning against the door frame.
"I can't think in there." I gazed out over the city. It served only as a wall to keep me trapped here. A maze of streets filled with people that would only hurt me.
"What are you thinking about?" He sat down at my side.
"Leaving here."
"Is that all?" He glanced at me from the corner of his eye.
I shook my head. "No."
"It wasn't too bad then?"
I shook my head again. "No, he knows everything about me." I rubbed my forehead. "I don't understand how."
Nyko folded his arms and tapped his finger. "What can you remember about hell?"
Shrugging, I went back to playing with my hair. "Bits and pieces."
"But we've talked about the village, and all your memories are still intact?"
Groaning, I felt another headache coming on. "I can't explain it. When I tried to think about it, nothing's there. Nothing's ever there."
Nyko leaned over next to my ear. "Maybe because what Tobias is telling you is the truth." He stood. "I'll find you some medicine." He disappeared inside.
I frowned at the thought. Tobias was a liar, a manipulator, yet the pieces in my head didn't match. There were too many holes. I chewed on my fingernail. It would be another two weeks before Tobias could accept the challenge to win me. My head fell back, and I closed my eyes. My forehead was pounding, and I didn't know if I had the patience to wait that long.
***
I slid to the ground and pulled my hood further over my eyes. It took some digging, but I found out where the devil was staying. All I needed to do was to get there without being caught by anyone else. I snuck passed the guards and into the street. Keeping my head down, I walked straight toward the inn.
The building appeared in front of me, and I was shocked by the amount of people inside and out. They were laughing and drinking. It looked like one giant party, and if this was actually the place where the devil was staying, then I did not doubt he was the leader.
Pulling my coat around my face, I crossed the street and entered the inn. Music and shouting blared through the room. I heard cheering coming from the bar. I weaved through the crowd and spotted Tobias sitting at a table with a large man having a drinking match. I arched a brow as he started chugging a pitcher. It was clear now he wasn't training for his matches, just getting drunk every night.
Stepping into the room, I removed my hood. The men and women around me lurched back, and the noise started to die down. I walked to the table and folded my arms. Tobias froze. Alcohol ran down his face. He quickly recovered before dumping the rest into his lap.
"Raja?"
"I wanted to ask you something, but I don't think you're coherent enough to answer."
Laughter filtered through the gathering.
"I'm not that drunk." He wiped his face. "Just a slight buzz. We'll have to finish this later," Tobias said to the man. He stood and had to grab the table to steady himself. "Let's go to my room." He put his arm around my shoulder, more to keep his balance than anything else. "Carry on for me." He whirled his wrist above his head. "Don't let the party stop because of me."
We went to the elevator.
I lifted his arm off and moved across to the other side. "So is this a normal night for you?"
He nodded, rubbing his face. "More of less. These people know how to have a good time. And the owner," he grinned. "Let's me drink all the free beer I want. And Glek," he closed his eyes, "hell, you know your beer. Better than Helix. Still can't get that bastard to tell me how they make it. I'd quit being the general and go into the beer business. I'd make a damn fortune off that stuff." He sunk to the ground.
"Just a little buzzed?"
"Yep, just a little."
The doors parted, and he awkwardly climbed to his feet. I just watched. Nyko was right, no way in hell could this man be the devil. He was far too pathetic.
"Raja," he waved for me. "Here's my room key."
Snatching it from his hand, I marched out and found the room marked with a 53 while Tobias shuffled along behind, nearly bumping into the walls a couple times.
"How long have you been drinking?" I muttered, opening the door.
"A couple hours. We start early and go late." He hurried in and went straight to the bed. "There's nothing else to do in this city between tournaments." Tobias rolled onto his back.
Closing the door, I flipped the lock into place. "This is rather unsightly for you being the devil."
"I'm not the devil," he breathed, flinging his arms back on the bed. "I am the general," he took a big breath, "of the imperial army," Tobias wiped the spit off his face, "of Helix, Tobias Franklin Hollins." The man looked over at me. "Franklin is my father's name. Remember? You were so cute when you figured that out."
"Don't remember." I sat down on the bed.
"Oh, your eyes got all big." He motioned on his face. "That's what you say to open my collar," he recited in a high pitched voice. "Goddamn, you were so cute back then. A little curious spitfire with a piss poor attitude, but cute as hell."
"Hmmm..." I yanked off his shoes. "I think you need to go to bed."
"Wait." He rolled to his side and reached for me.
I moved up by his head. "What?"
"You wanted to ask me something, so ask away." He burped, and pounded on his chest. "Wow, that one snuck up on me."
My expression didn't change. "It can wait until the morning."
He grabbed my hand. "You're staying the night?"
I nodded. "If I tried to go back, someone else will just take me before I make it to the palace. I'm sure most of the city already knows I'm with you right now."
"I'll kill them," he stated, rising to his knees. "I'll shoot them in the head." He reached under his pillow and pulled out a gun. "You're mine. I made that clear. No one touches my pet."
"Tobias, stop." I touched his arm. "Put it away."
He nodded and sunk to the bed. "Why won't you go home with me? I'm tired of being here. I want to sleep in my bed, watch my farm, and tell Eric I quit."
I rubbed his back. "You're very interesting when you're drunk."
"I usually don't drink so much," he muttered. "I just sit around thinking about you, and it pisses me off. And I can't kill that bastard of a prince yet, so I'll tell the bartender to just keep the drinks coming." He flipped over and smile. "Does this mean you're falling for me?"
"It means I had a question to ask you."
He cursed under his breath. "You're so damn difficult."
"I could be easy," I replied. "Sleep with whomever, whenever."
"Don't you dare."
I laughed and laid down at his side. "Your breath stinks."
Nodding, he yawned and pulled me to his side. "You smell really good, so it's okay."
"I think you need to stop drinking."
"I think you need to just give up and go home with me," he snapped, "and since either of us are getting what he want at the moment, let me drink."
Laughing, I laid my head on his arm. "For a general, you quite childish."
"My mother thinks the same thing." He wrestled a blanket over us. "But I don't care. I get the job done, so everyone can stop complaining."
"Whatever you say." I touched his face.
His red eyes closed, and his breath soon settled to a steady rate.
I brushed my fingertip against his lips. "Why can't I remember this side of you?" I whispered. I was starting to believe that the overlord had done something to my mind, because a drunken devil, I doubt was possible to forget.
***
I woke the sound of a pill bottle being opened. Rolling over, I spotted Tobias shaking out a couple and popping them into his mouth. He washed them down with something that was a little too yellow to be water.
"That's really not healthy."
He shrugged and took another swig. "I'm treating this like a vacation."
"So I'm just your vacation whore?"
His head snapped around, and he narrowed his eyes at me. "More like a souvenir."
I smiled. "How's the hangover?"
"I bounce back pretty quickly. I'll be good by lunch." He flopped back on the bed. "So why are you here?" He brushed my hair out of my eyes. "I'm pretty sure I told you to stay in the palace, after the trouble you caused last time you tried to run away."
"I wasn't running away. I wanted to talk to you and didn't want to wait. Who knows in the next tournament, you might die."
"Then it really doesn't matter what I have to say." He gave me a smirk.
"I guess not," I breathed.
"Raja." His lips touched mine as his arm slipped around my waist.
I gasped as his fingers ran along my skin. "Stop."
"I found you, so I can do what I like, right? That's the rule, isn't it?"
"It's weird, though."
He kissed me again. "What?"
I bit my lip. "When you touch me, my body does weird things. It remembers you, but I don't." I hid my face "Everything so jumbled in my head. I don't understand. I don't remember you ever touching me like this."
Tobias sat up and retrieved two pills. He offered them to me. "Wait here." He dropped them in my hand before going to get a glass of water.
Tossing them into my mouth, I washed them down and felt my body relax.
Resting against the headboard, he guided me to his side and put his arm around my shoulders. "There's a block in your head. You're pushing against it right now."
"Can you fix it?"
"No." He glanced around the room. "Not here, but I'll find someone who can."
I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes. "I want to remember you."
"The old me is exactly the same as I am now. Maybe slightly more bull-headed, but we're pretty similar."
I scoffed at the comment.
"Okay, we're exactly the same. I might be even more stubborn in my old age, but so are you." He rubbed my arm. "So you're not missing anything. I want you to get your memories back, but if you don't, I'll just have to make it up to you. Okay?"
Nodding, I sat up and kissed him. "I'm not convinced yet that everything you say is true. What my head say doesn't match my heart, but I want to find out if it was ever possible for me to love you."
He cupped my cheek. "Then I'll find a way to convince them both. To that, you have my word."
"You always keep your word?" I said, not knowing exactly where the thought came from.
Tobias smiled and hugged me tightly to his chest. "Always."