Dangerous Lovers (27 page)

“Then you should be fine.”

I studied him for a moment, wondering if he knew about the incident with Victoria, but his face gave away nothing. Then, he reached up to adjust his collar and a red satin bracelet on his wrist caught my attention. It was small, with a red cloth was wrapped around a silver chain, and it sparkled in the sunlight. It wasn’t a delicate
or
a masculine piece of jewelry. It was just interesting.

“That’s pretty,” I commented, pointing at his wrist.

He looked down at his hand and snorted. “Yeah, I guess.”

My brow furrowed at his reaction. “What is it?”

“A marker. We wear them when it is our turn in the Arena.”

I thought back to when Tommy asked me to see the fight with him this weekend. He’d told me that at the end of every month, there was a fight between the Warriors. My stomach clenched as the realization settled over me. I liked Mark. I didn’t want him to get hurt over the sake of entertainment.

“You’re the one fighting this weekend,” I said, more to myself than to him.

He nodded. “We wear the bracelets so that people can observe the contestants. So that they can place their money on who they assume is the strongest fighter.”

My jaw dropped as I processed what he was saying. “People place bets on the fighters?”

He glanced at me and nodded again. “Yes.”

Everything that went through my head to say to that involved multiple curse words, so I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.

Of course there would be bets on the fights, why wouldn’t there be?

“I’ll be rooting for you then,” I said, as we continued our walk.

He smiled. “You’re going to the fight?”

“I wasn’t going to, but if you’re fighting, then yeah, I’m coming.”

He gave a curt nod. “Want to see how it’s done, huh?”

I laughed. “No, but
someone
has to cheer for you.”

He laughed as we ascended the stairs of the Council building. Like always, I got nervous as we entered the enormous silver-trimmed foyer.

Just like last time, he led me to the queen’s office and gave me a small smile. “Good luck.”

I hated when people feel they have to say that to me. I thanked him and took a deep breath before opening the door. I wasn’t excited about this meeting. The last time I’d been here, she’d given me the worst news of my life. That knowledge actually comforted me, though. There wasn’t much else that could hurt me as bad as learning of my mother’s death.

I entered the room and found the queen sitting in the same chair as last time. She was drinking a cup of tea again and wearing a professional-looking grey skirt and jacket with a silver shirt underneath.

I wondered if her attire always included silver. Probably.

“Young Warrior,” she said in greeting.

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. “Your Majesty.”

She gestured to the couch. “Please, have a seat.”

I sat down and waited for her to speak. When I was met with silence, I remembered how she annoyingly always made me ask questions before giving answers. I bit my lip and clenched my fists. “You wanted to see me?”

She studied me over her cup for a moment, and I felt my irritation grow. Why couldn’t this woman ever just come on out and say what was on her mind? You would think a queen would have better people skills. She was just skilled at pissing me off.

Finally, she cleared her throat and said, “Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

I shifted a little, but managed to hold her gaze. “Um, I don’t think so.”

Her sharp eyebrows shot up. “I see. So, you didn’t choke Victoria Talis yesterday in the school cafeteria?”

I swallowed hard, but mostly I was just grateful that this wasn’t about Soraya and the village. It had hit me upon walking in her office that she might be calling me in because she knew about my trip through the forest. I could handle being in trouble myself, but I would have never forgiven myself if I’d gotten Soraya in trouble.

I nodded slowly, pretending to think about it. “Oh, actually, yes, I did.” No point in lying.

She took another sip of tea. “I see.”

God, that was annoying. I wanted to tell her that she didn’t need glasses then. Instead, I asked, “Am I in trouble?”

She set her teacup down on the table beside her chair and folded her hands in her lap. “Well, that depends. Would you mind telling me why you did so?”

I took my time in answering.
Because she poured a drink on me
didn’t sound like a good answer, so I picked the only other one I had. “She made me mad.” Okay, that answer kind of sucked too, but it was true.

“Do you get angry often?” she asked.

I narrowed my eyes a little. I hate being patronized. “Sometimes… but only when it’s warranted,” I replied stiffly.

She pretended not to notice my tone. “And you feel Victoria deserved to be choked in front of all of her peers?”

Yes.
“She deserved something,” I said. “She came looking for a fight.” As I said this, I realized I was right. I still felt like a monster for what I’d done, but at the same time, I wasn’t the one who initiated the confrontation. I just finished it.

To my utter astonishment, the queen agreed with me. “True. She should have known better than to make enemies with a Warrior.” I nodded. “But,” she continued, and I sighed—there’s always a
but.
“Even a Warrior should be careful as well of whom she chooses for enemies.”

I almost snorted, but caught myself. “You think Victoria could take me?” I know that sounded egotistical but… seriously?

She gave me a look that seemed to suggest a little modesty. I raised my eyebrows and waited. I wasn’t about to take lessons on being humble from a woman who sat with a silver spoon in her mouth.

“No, I don’t think she could harm you physically,” she said, her words clipped, “but because Victoria is the daughter of Lady Talis, she requires certain… finesse.”

That gave me pause. “Her mother is on the Council?”

The queen nodded gravely. “And you can imagine the outrage her mother was in yesterday when she found out her daughter was humiliated in front of the entire student population.”

I looked down at my hands, but she continued. “She wanted to have you severely punished. I told her we would do no such thing.”

My head jerked up, and I’m sure my face looked utterly surprised. I didn’t think it was the wisest thing, but I asked anyway. “Why did you do that?”

She smiled then. “Because, you are more important than a spoiled little brat like Victoria. You are the last Sun Warrior left and should be treated as such, by everyone, even the daughter of a Council member.” She paused, then added, “You also saved my life, and considering the suggestions put forth by Lady Talis for your punishment, I would say this makes us even.”

I was absolutely shocked. Not just because the queen had called Victoria a “spoiled little brat,” but because she had stuck up for me against someone on her own royal Council. Maybe I should save people’s lives more often.

“But should happen again, you will be on your own,” she added.

I nodded my understanding, still too floored to say anything.

“Also, I want you to take today off from your studies. You need to take a day to just relax and enjoy your blessings instead of dwelling on the things that have so upset you over the last couple weeks.”

I didn’t want to miss school, but I agreed. I had to take what I could get. “Thank you.”

She smiled again, and I couldn’t help a small smile of my own. She had done me a huge favor, and I wouldn’t forget it. When I stood to leave, she called out to me before I stepped through the door.

“And Warrior?” she called.

I turned back. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Let’s try and keep a hold on that temper, shall we?”

I nodded and left. No need to tell her that I was
always
trying, and that it seemed to be getting harder and harder to hold on to.

Chapter Forty-Eight

As I left the queen’s office, I found Mark standing at his post outside the door. He smiled upon seeing my completely astonished expression.

“Just a slap on the wrist then?” he asked, grinning broadly.

I shook my head. “More like a pat on the head.”

He chuckled, making his usually serious face even more

handsome. “You are one lucky little lady.”

“Guess so,” I replied. If you could call all the things that had been happening to me lately
lucky
. I didn’t really agree.

“The fight is on Saturday.”

I gave a reassuring smile. “I’ll be there.”

I exited the Council building, trying to decide what to do with my day. I had planned on visiting Kayden so that I could demand some answers from him, but if I had the whole day to myself, I knew where I should go if I
really
wanted answers.

So, I headed to my room and retrieved the compass Soraya had given me. As I went to use the bathroom before I left, I caught a glance of myself in the mirror. I looked like I felt. I hadn’t eaten for over a day now, and it was starting to show. My skin was pale, and my eyes had dark circles under them. I felt like I could devour an entire cow. I knew I required a lot of food to keep me going, but I hadn’t known that it would suck this bad. I wasn’t even sure if I was up to the trip, but I had to try.

I splashed some water on my face, pulled my hair back into a ponytail and headed out with my compass in hand. I went to the spot that I had entered the trees before and checked the compass to make sure that it pointed south. I wasn’t entirely sure if this would get me back to the village, but I figured that if I started in the same spot and headed in the opposite direction I’d taken to get back, I wouldn’t be that far off.

I tried to move quickly because I knew that it was a long trip, but the heat of the day seemed to be more suffocating than it usually was. I felt light-headed and a little nauseated as I pushed through the trees. After about an hour, I realized that I should have packed some food for this trip. It had been foolish of me to think that I could use so much energy on an empty stomach.

For some reason, I couldn’t recognize any of the forest, even though I had just been here yesterday. I was relying completely on the compass to tell me I was heading in the right direction. I kept going, though, and eventually, I came upon the lake. I sat down on the fallen tree that Soraya had led me to the other day. Resting my forearms on my knees, I bent my head between my legs and started dry-heaving.

Spots danced before my eyes, and I felt as though I might pass out.

“Alexa? Are you okay?” said a sweet voice behind me.

I turned my head to see Soraya standing there. She had on the same clothes as yesterday, but the dirt that had streaked her face had been washed away. Her big black eyes were filled with concern, and her sharpened stick was clutched in her hand.

I tried to give a smile, but it was difficult in my current condition. “I’m fine. Came to see you.”

She smiled then, a smile made a little crooked due to her harelip. She came over and wrapped her small arm around my waist, trying to lift me to my feet. “Let’s get you to the village. You look awful.”

I rose to my feet a little unsteadily. “Thanks.”

She took my arm and began leading me toward the village. “You stopped eating the food, didn’t you?”

I nodded. Talking was taking more energy than I had at the moment. Soraya was a strong little thing, because I leaned on her for support most of the way to the village. We crossed the rickety bridge, and its swaying made me want to start dry-heaving again. When we reached the hill overlooking her village, she told me to sit down. I fell to the ground and lay on my back. Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths and tried to regain some strength. Soraya ran off down the hill, calling to me that she would be right back.

A few minutes later, she returned with a woman with curly dark brown hair like Soraya’s and big light brown eyes. The woman bent down to examine me. Her stunning eyes also reminded me of the little girl. Her skin was tanned from the sun, and her hand was rough when she reached down and felt my forehead.

“Can you walk?” she asked me.

I pulled myself to a sitting position, then pushed to my hands and knees, and eventually made it to my feet. “Yes,” I said.

She studied me. “I can have someone carry you, if you’d like.”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to be carried through the village like some injured duckling. I just hoped we weren’t going very far. “I’ll be fine,” I told her.

She gave a small nod and a smile that said she’d expected me to say this. Then she wrapped an arm around my waist. “I’m Catherine, Soraya’s mother. Let’s get you to the house so you can rest.”

I let them lead me to the hut that Soraya had pointed out the other day. As we descended the hill, the people who were moving about the village stopped and stared, their faces filling with wonder. The smell of dirt and body odor was almost overwhelming this close to the people. I tried not to look at them as they stopped in their tracks and let us pass. It made me so angry to see people living this way. Silently, I renewed my vow to help them. I couldn’t believe that I had almost forgotten how horrible the conditions were here. I wouldn’t forget again.