Chapter 22
The next day, Paige felt up to doing more translations. There was a slight rose color to her cheeks, and a light in her eyes that gave Zane hope that the cure for Fire Ivy would be the answer.
Redblood himself came in for a while, just as Paige was reading about Apophis, the dark underworld leader who all dragons of the realm feared. Drake's entries rambled in places when it came to Apophis, but the amount of devotion Drake showed to both Balaan and Apophis was frightening. It was clear he worshiped Apophis through Balaan. The level of devotion was frightening when Zane considered how many others in the realm shared this radical view. Especially when he knew they would have to be as devout as Drake, making them just as difficult to find.
"The Great Apophis has left his legacy in Lord Balaan," Paige read. "Darkness will come to all those who oppose him. Only those who serve Apophis through Balaan will be protected from the coming storm. Through Balaan, we will return to our true forms and receive the full protection of Apophis once again."
In a relatively short time, Paige read through twice as many pages as Dean. When they broke for lunch, Zane wanted to find Lavender. He'd invited her to come and listen, but she'd adamantly refused, stating that if he liked, she would send one of her guards. However, she felt it was no place for a royal to be. Her attitude was starting to grate on his nerves. Even when he'd told her that Redblood himself had come in to listen, she'd discounted it, saying he was probably only double checking his people's reports. Not to mention that Lilly was there, but that was irrelevant to her as well.
In the late afternoon hours after the lunch break, Paige was reading about a battle that had been fought nine months prior. Zane was only half paying attention since he recalled his first-hand knowledge of the battle, but when Paige stopped suddenly, he looked up, wondering what had stopped the steady flow of her even voice.
She was staring at the paper in her hand with a deep crease between her eyes, her teeth digging into her lower lip.
Everyone else in the room looked up, confused.
"Paige?" Zane asked.
"Leave." Paige stood abruptly and leaned on the table. "Now, everyone."
The ones there on behalf of the other royals and the members of her guard, who were there for the sole purpose of taking notes, all stood, exiting the room without question. Even Lilly complied quickly with her request. All that remained were her personal guard, Ryder, and Zane.
"That means all of you. I wish to be alone." She turned away, walking to the window.
Her guard left to hover just outside the door, giving Paige the illusion of being alone.
"Paige, what's wrong?" Ryder asked, but Paige just shook her head. Zane was glad to see it appeared the two were trying to not purposely upset each other.
"Please, Paige, tell us what you found." Ryder tried again, but this time Paige turned on him, her face more angry and ferocious than Zane had ever seen her.
"By all that burns, if you don't leave right now, I will banish you from my kingdom."
Ryder left without another word, and Zane followed quietly, but reluctantly, moving slowly. Just before he got to the door, he heard a crash, followed by Paige yelling in English. He turned back to check on her, but Ash stopped him from returning to the room.
"Leave her be."
Zane was able to just get a glimpse of her throwing a vase at the wall before her guards blocked his view. He was grateful they blocked him, because he didn't know what to do to calm her. He turned away and was almost to the door when Dean came in.
When Dean heard Paige's ranting, he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes growing wide. He didn't listen long before he quietly backed out of their suite and out into the hall.
"What was that all about?" Zane asked when they were safely out of earshot of any prying ears.
"Regan," Dean said, glancing nervously at the door.
"Your brother," Zane confirmed, remembering how fond of him Paige was.
"Paige's twin."
"He was her twin? I thought he was older?" Even Dean's guards were shocked by the news.
Zane gave Dean a hug as he looked up at Ryder, wondering what he thought of the news. Ryder sighed, running his hand over his face. Zane could understand. If he were to join hearts to become Paige's companion, he would share in the pain she felt over the loss of her twin. Twins were rare among dragons, so the loss of one was known to be extremely devastating to the survivor. It was rumored that many went insane over the pain of their loss. Zane wondered if her dual-nature gave her the strength to endure the pain better than an ordinary dragon.
"Why was she so upset? What was she saying about Regan?" Zane rubbed Dean's back as his little body leaned into him. He was grateful he could offer the boy some small measure of comfort.
Dean was about to answer, but Lavender came around the corner and immediately took all the attention off the boy when she asked what was going on. Ryder leaned over to quietly explain what they'd just learned, and Zane watched as her face went slack with shock.
"Well, you already knew entering the Desma with her wouldn't be a cool breeze on your wings. Are you sure you really want to be tied to that sort of pain?" she asked Ryder.
"I'm not sure the title and power would be worth it," Ryder replied.
"I don't know. There is a lot of gold in that vault." Zane could hear her practically salivating over the thought of how wealthy Paige was. For the first time, he felt disgusted with her. He purposely turned his face from her when she tried to catch his eye, and focused on Dean instead.
"Dean?" Paige's voice made them all jump, and Zane looked up as Paige approached. She reached out for Dean, lifting him into her arms. He was too big for a girl the size of Paige to be carrying, but Dean clung to her the way a small child clung to their mother, and she held him just as a mother would. Zane saw that her arms had small cuts on them from the broken glass. He reached out to stop her from leaving.
"Are you okay?"
She raised her chin defiantly. "Yes, I'm feeling much better now. Thank you for your concern, Lord Prince."
She turned back toward her suite. "Paige, wait." He started after her, but Lavender reached out, stopping him. He shook her off, trying to follow Paige, but it was useless. She slammed the door tight as soon as she was in her quarters.
"Let her go, Zane." Lavender huffed.
"You don't even care that she overheard what you said? You should apologize to her."
"You're right, it was a rather inappropriate statement," Lavender agreed, though Zane could see she was only going to apologize because it was the appropriate thing to do, and not because she felt bad about hurting Paige's feeling. That sort of apology would be totally lost on a dragon with the power of a Yellowback.
"Never mind. I can see you don't really care." He turned and walked away. He didn't visit Lavender in her rooms that night, wanting her to come to him to apologize for the way she was acting, but she never did.
Zane arrived early the next morning to Paige's room, hoping to speak with her privately before the room became full of avid listeners. But he found she had a visitor, and the woman was a commoner. She was older, around his father's age, but she was striking with bright eyes that contrasted her dark hair and lashes. There were some commoners that were so attractive, he could see why there were so many Dyads in the realm. This woman would certainly register as a temptation to almost any royal.
She and Paige had their hands clasped together, as if they were longtime friends. They both had tears in their eyes. He was only able to catch a snippet of their conversation as he passed. He watched Paige, hoping she would look up to see him so he could signal to her that he was there to speak with her, but she never looked his way.
"My father spoke of him often," she was telling the stranger.
"It would have pleased him to know that." The stranger's voice was saturated with gratitude. Zane wished he could linger and learn more. Like with all things that concerned the Bluescales, his curiosity was insatiable. Yet etiquette dictated that he walk promptly to his seat in the next room, so that's what he did.
The only evidence of Paige's outburst from the day before was only evident to anyone who'd known there used to be three vases in the room that were not there now.
Paige came in late after everyone else had been assembled, strolling in with her head held high, moving more assuredly than she'd done since the first day Zane had met her. His hopes were rising that the cure for Fire Ivy was working.
Zane didn't dare try to bring up the topic that plagued him most in front of everyone, but he did try to catch her eye. He wanted to ask if she was all right, to let her know he was still on her side. He didn't want what Lavender and Ryder said to cause her to think less of him, but she adamantly refused to look his way. She didn't acknowledge him in any fashion. Even if he made a comment about something she read, she would keep her eyes on the paper she was translating until the talking stopped, or his comment was redirected to another member of the note takers.
She ignored Ryder just as thoroughly, though he didn't seem to mind her cold shoulder. He didn't bother to make challenging remarks to her, and if he happened to say something, she didn't try to negate his comment. In fact, she didn't try to provoke him in any way.
Ryder may not have cared that she was giving them the silent treatment, but Zane was feeling distressed and unfocused. He hardly took any notes, even though she was reading about a meeting Drake had personally with Balaan. He kept watching her, willing her to look his way, but she never did.
After hours of translations, she let everyone know they could take a break. She sat in her chair for a moment, seeming to catch her breath. Was she not doing as well as he had thought?
Ryder was one of the first to leave, making no effort to talk to Paige. When all that remained was Paige, Zane, and their personal guards, he tried to speak to her, knowing it was as close to a private conversation he was going to get.
"Paige, please talk to me."
"You should get something to eat," she advised, walking toward her bedroom. "Don't let him in here," she told her guard before closing the door. She didn't return to translating that afternoon. Her guards informed everyone that she would meet with them the following day.
That night, he sought out Lavender, hating the time apart from her, but she still had not apologized for what she'd said to Ryder about Paige. He could feel a strain in the time they spent together, eating a near silent dinner. He returned to his rooms with a heaviness growing between them he didn't know how to close.