Five
As soon as Lumea showed me me to my door and left, I instantly shot off in the opposite direction to find Kenji's. I recounted my steps back and paused at the intricate carvings on the walls. This was the hall, right? Did I take a wrong turn? This place was so easy to get lost in, especially for someone who had grown up in a one-room hovel. I rapped my knuckles on the wooden door and whispered a silent prayer that it was the right one. The candle flickered in my grasp. "Who is it?" his small voice called out.
I rolled my eyes. "Who else would it be, you oaf? Open the door!" A gust of wind blew outward when he cracked it open. I pushed my way in with a quick glance over my shoulder. He shut the door firmly behind me and scurried back under the blankets. I limped over to his bed and sat down on the edge of it. "How are you feeling?" I pressed my hand to his forehead as he sat down beside me.
He shook out from under my touch. "Who are these people, Ada? What are they going to do with us?" His eyes searched my own, and my heart twisted painfully with the fear I saw breathing inside them.
It pained me to be honest, but he already knew when I was lying. There didn't seem to be a point in trying anymore. I sighed, tilting my head back against the grand headboard. "I don't know," I said quietly, my voice sending a shiver down my spine. His hand slid under mine. We sat in silence for several moments, watching the candle flicker and dim. The room was something from a fairy tale: the large, double-stuffed canopy bed with white curtains, a beautifully crafted table and bureau. The hide of a black bear was spread out on the cold stone floor just at the foot of the bed. A shelf of books laid to our left, its contents layered with a coat of dust. It isn't very often we get guests, Lumea had said. From the state of the room, it looked as if not for some time. I wondered why that was.
A light snore rumbled out from his throat. I turned. His chin rested on his chest, his eyes closed. Looking at him, I could feel the same exhaustion washing over me. My eyes drooped lower on my cheeks. "Kenji," I whispered. His eyelids fluttered drowsily. I pushed at his shoulder and moved him down to lie on the pillows. I pulled the thick blankets up to his chest and stood.
His warm hand clamped around mine like a vice. Panic and fear mingled in his green eyes. "Don't go. I don't want to be alone." I frowned down at him. "Please."
Sighing, I pulled my hand from his grasp and planted it on my hip. I was half tempted to tease about still being afraid of the dark, but stopped when I realized that, in this situation, so was I. "Move over."
He shuffled to make room for me. I slid in beside him and snatched up the blanket from the bottom to cover myself. "What do you think they did with Hendric?" He studied my face seriously, his lips thinned in a tired pout.
I bit the inside of my cheek. How could I tell him a reasonable answer? It'd been years since someone in our village had contracted the blood rose; not since Mother. I don't remember exactly how it reached within our walls, but soon people were dying in drastic numbers. Gabriel's entire family died within two years. Bromm and the other men of the village decided to separate those that were infected to keep the disease from spreading. I supposed these people did the same with Hendric— taken him away so he wouldn't infect anyone else. They had contained the problem. If they were anything like the villagers back home, he would remain there until he died. Then they would burn his body.
But I couldn't tell Kenji any of this. I had to keep hoping for the best, even if we were damned. "Go to sleep, Kenji. We'll talk in the morning."
If we live to see it.
Something about this place didn't feel as perfect as it looked. It wasn't the way the paintings watched me as I walked, or the way the halls echoed when no one walked them; nor was it the whispers crying out when no one spoke. No, it was none of those things. It was them. The petite Lumea, her terrifying brother— whose name still remained an eerie prize in a game I didn't want to play— and all the other occupants of this enormous palace. It was how they talked in hushed voices and exchanged secret conversations with their dark eyes. How they never seemed to actually mean what they said. How they watched us. Just this morning I'd been the hunter staring down my prey. Now it felt like I had become the hunted.
❄
As much as I hated it, my stomach rumbled painfully the next morning. I hadn't eaten since the afternoon of the offering and my body was punishing me. My belly and chest ached, my mouth dry and my tongue aching and swollen. I peeled my eyes open to the sight of Kenji's back. A knock sounded at the door. I started with a jerk, stirring him from his sleep. The cold metal of the knife pressed into my wrist, surprisingly still concealed in my sleeve. I pulled it out and slowly tossed my feet over the bed. Kenji sat up. Another knock pounded against the wood. He looked to me, panicked. I lifted the knife.
"Who is it?" Kenji demanded.
"Lumea," said the light voice from the other side. He turned to me, unsure. I tucked the knife back into my sleeve and nodded. He crossed the room toward the door and flung it open. She smiled at him warmly before her gaze flickered to me. Her blue eyes flashed with something darker, but it disappeared before I could place it. "Breakfast is ready." She looked me over once again and then turned to my brother, her smile returning. My suspicion grew— the way her emotions changed so quickly was startling.
I stepped in front of him and glared at her. "Where is my brother?"
She smiled as if she'd expected my question. "He is being tended to. The blood rose hasn't completely dug its claws in just yet, so we will watch him for now." She spun on her heel and walked down the hall. After exchanging dumbfounded glances, we scrambled to follow her. "Now, Mrs. Potter has made another excellent breakfast for you two this morning. She was up all night making cakes and scones and—"
"We aren't going anywhere with you until we see him."
She arched her brow at me. For a moment she didn't say anything, just stood back and regarded me in calculating silence. I crossed my arms over my chest to prove my point.
Then she nodded. "Of course." She led us down another hall. It didn't occur to me to look at any other part of her other than her cold face, but now that my nerves had settled, I noticed the sound of heels echoing on the floor. She wore tight black pants and a dark crimson shirt that hung from her shoulders and flowed at the wrists. The shirt hugged her form perfectly. A part of me envied her. Not her beauty or her expensive-looking clothes, but the confidence and grace she exuded from every pore on her flawless, tan skin. She floated like a goddess on the floors, her white hair blowing gently over her shoulder, half braided into an elaborate plait. I refused to trust her, but she was at least less threatening than her brother.
The corridor we stepped into was much darker than the others. My footsteps slowed with hesitation. I could feel my heart start to race, my skin prickling and my hair standing on end. I gripped the knife tighter in my hand. The few torches that did burn on the walls hardly illuminated the hallway, leaving most of the passage drenched in shadows. My heart rose into my throat. A single door glistened at the end. Lumea walked right up to it and pushed it open with a soft nudge.
My breath hitched. Hendric lay on a smaller bed, an ivory-colored canopy draped over the bedposts that distorted the sight of him. His name left my lips in a crying whisper. I rushed to his side and pushed the curtain aside. My fingertips brushed against his temple. I stared at him in shock. For the first time in nearly a month, his skin didn't feel like ice. He was clammy and pale, sweat trickling down his forehead, but he was warm. His lips even had a tinge of color to them.
Tears burned my eyes. I glanced back at her. "How... ?"
A kind, easy grin spread on her face. "Shall we head to breakfast? Your brother was given an opiate earlier this morning; he won't be awake for another couple of hours." She waved us out and showed us the way back to the dining hall. Kenji gripped my hand and squeezed, a rejuvenated smile plastered on his face. The fear in his eyes had retreated, colored by a new look of hope. Our brother was healing. We didn't think there was a cure, but he was proof there could be.
Maybe these people weren't so bad.
When we pushed through the doors, our eyes landing on the buffet of exquisite platters laid out for us, my mouth fell open. Kenji dived for the table with a giddy laugh. Lumea paused beside me. Her eyebrows met in the middle with a disturbed look. "Before we sit, I'd like to apologize for my brother's behavior last night at supper. He isn't very fond of strangers." I snorted. She met my gaze. "You aren't what we were expecting. I guess you just surprised him." She smiled kindly and headed off toward the table.
I surprised him?
We piled our plates high with food we couldn't even pronounce, and we didn't care to as we stuffed them into our mouths. I found myself glancing at the door, waiting for them to swing open and the tall shadow of the man to waltz in. The memory of his silver eyes made me shudder, a trail of heat slithering around my stomach and squeezing it.
Lumea caught me staring. "Beast won't be joining us this morning," she said. I turned my head toward her, my heart lurching at his name. "I thought it best to let you warm up to idea of this place before he formally introduced himself."
I swallowed the jelly-centered pastry and furrowed my brow. "Not to seem ungrateful, but why exactly are we here?"
Her smile turned sour, forced. "We wanted to help. Isn't that what you were doing when you ran out to save your brother?"
I stopped chewing.
Her words were confirmation to the question I'd been tossing around in my mind since we awoke. I swallowed. The sudden thought from when I'd first seen her shouted in the back of my head. My breathing faltered. The white wolf standing on top of Kenji in the snow, her white hair. Deep blue eyes. My blood chilled. "You're the white wolf." She stiffened. "Aren't you?" Her smile disappeared. Kenji froze beside me, visibly tensing. Slowly, he took the bun from his mouth and put it back down on his plate. I slid the knife from out of my sleeve. "You attacked us." It had been a suspicion until now, an annoying itch that wouldn't leave my skin. But her words were the assurance that tipped the thought in to a reality.
She frowned. "Yes."
My heart stilled. In the deepest part of my mind, a voice screamed at me to run. I told you, it shrieked. And it was right. From the moment I'd seen her white hair and dark sapphire eyes, I knew it was her. She was Kenji's attacker. And he was mine.
Beast.
The name fit him well.
I abruptly pushed my chair back from the table, standing with the knife pointed at her. "I think it's time we left." I motioned for Kenji. He snatched another roll from the table and stood behind me.
She fisted her hands at her sides. "I can't let you do that."
"We weren't asking." I moved slowly around her and toward the doors, keeping the knife aimed at her chest. I pushed Kenji's back. He wrenched open the doors and slipped out, calling after me. I measured Lumea carefully, waiting to see if she would do something. She sat on the edge of the table and sighed defeatedly. She didn't look angry, but rather sad and disappointed.
We bolted down the hallway and turned corners to find Hendric's door. Our feet slapped the stone with painful thuds. We paused at a fork. "Which way?" he panted. I glanced at both and chose the right, turning the corner. A figure stepped directly in front of me. Without thinking, I clenched my grip tighter on the knife and plunged it into their chest.
A hand wrapped around mine as the blade sank into the skin directly over his heart. My eyes went wide, glancing up at him. Silver eyes. Beast. His face contorted, but not in pain: amusement. Still trapping my wrist, he curled his fingers around the handle and jerked the knife from his chest. Red coated the tip. He examined it for a moment, then turned to me. "My, aren't you a determined little thing?" he said, his tone both rich and dark and perfectly calm. It sent chills throughout my body. "That's no way to thank someone who saved your life."
I tugged on my arm, but he didn't even budge. "After you tried to end it," I spat. My mouth curled in a sneer. "Beast."
He leaned forward, his lips nearing my ear. His breath caressed my skin when he spoke. "Yet here you are, Adaira." He released my hand with a hard shove. My back slammed into Kenji, who pulled me upright and backed us away. "Shall we return to breakfast? All of this excitement has increased my appetite." His eyes burned into my face. I swallowed. He wiped the blood on his black sleeve and pointed the end back in the direction we came. "After you."
Kenji and I exchanged looks before turning on our heels and walking back toward the dining room. I kept him in front of me the entire time we sulked back, keeping Beast in the corner of my eye at all times. Lumea leapt from her perch on the edge of the table when we entered. Her nose turned up at her brother. She narrowed her eyes at him. Kenji and I took our seats and watched him stack his plate. Our stomachs were wound too tight to continue indulging ourselves.
Minutes passed before someone broke the silence. Kenji straightened in his chair and slit his eyes at them. "What do you want with us?" he asked. When their cold eyes fell on him, he recoiled back in his chair, regretting his decision to speak.
Lumea and Beast exchanged glances. He set down his fork and sat back to stare at him. "I'm still figuring that out," he said lightly. As if all of this was just a game to him. And maybe it was. A sick, twisted game of predator and prey, and he knew he was at the top of the food chain. "We rarely have company, and when we do it isn't for very long. It never tends to... work out." He drank from his glass. "Think of this as a favor to you both. Your eldest brother is being treated as we speak."
I shifted. "What's the price?"
His eyes slid to me. The light from the chandelier shifted his silver irises to the color of glistening snow. My breath hitched. "You'll see." His lips curved. He set down his glass and studied us for another moment. "My sister believes that your presence here would be beneficial to us both." I dared to look at her. She nodded gently. "I disagree. I think you're a waste of my time." She growled at him under her breath. He held up his hand. "But it seems that I am running out of both time and options. We will continue to treat your brother, and in return you remain here. You get the better end of the deal, it seems."
"Why?" I snapped. "Why are you helping us? Why didn't you just kill us back in the forest like you usually do?"
He chuckled, exchanging a glance with Lumea. She shifted uncomfortably, her gaze returning to me. He leaned back in his chair and studied my burning face. "You're a clever one, aren't you?" He didn't wait for me to answer. He sighed and folded his hands. "Yet you stupidly risked your life to save your brother's even though you knew he was dying." His peculiar eyes flashed with something that made my heart jump. "You fascinate me." His red lips quirked.
The tips of my ears felt like they were melting under his scrutinizing gaze. I squirmed. The silver irises glowed brighter in the lighting. He began eating again, and after more physical punishment from my clenching bowels, I did as well. Kenji was already on his fourth serving.
When breakfast was over, the four of us stood. I adjusted my sleeves. Lumea began to walk us back toward our room, but not before he called out after us.
"Miss Young."
I tensed and forced myself to turn around. He crossed the room toward me, a smirk on his red lips. He stopped within a breath away from me. His hand reached and took up my own. Shards of hot ice fired rapidly inside my veins. His fingers probed along my palm. Then he flipped it up to the ceiling and reached into my sleeve. He retracted the new knife with a chuckle, smirking. "You may want to find a new hiding spot for your weapons if you want to kill me one day." His hand lingered around mine. A thrill of fear pumped my heart as he turned it over and ran his thumb along my knuckles. For a brief second, something settled on his face, an expression different from the cold ones I had only seen him wear. Then he bent down and brushed his lips against the pale skin.
Burning ice spread out from his touch. I bit back a gasp at the unexpected sensation and tore myself from his grip, glaring at him. I turned and followed Lumea out toward my room, my face burning as his mocking laughter followed me out of the room.