Madly (5 page)

But I couldn’t do that. Not only was it inappropriate to feel such forbidden things, but my soon-to-be fiancée was standing not a foot from me, staring at me with all the concern in the world.

“
Are you alright? You fainted,” he said, worry etched on his face and evident in his tone.

“
Well that wasn’t very Princess-like, was it?” I teased, pushing my hair away from my face. I felt flushed and overheated.

“
Don’t be so hard on yourself. All of this would be a lot for anybody to hear,” Aidan said kindly.

“
Yeah, lucky for you, you’ll have Aidan here to take care of all this hard stuff when you’re ruling the roost,” Jersey kidded.

I found that my eyes were drawn to Jackson where he’d stopped across the room to talk to another Sentinel. At Jersey’s words, his head snapped up and he turned to look at me, his face an inscrutable mask.

I laughed uncomfortably.

Aidan tugged my hair and assured me, “Well, we’re here to help, whatever needs to be done.”

Dragging my eyes away from Jackson’s, I smiled up at Aidan, reaching up to squeeze the hand at my hair.

“
Thanks, Aidan.”

Aidan’s offer brought to mind things I’d been told right before I passed out so indecorously.

“
Commander Jessup, was Jackson right? Am I their only hope?”

Just the thought of such an awesome responsibility, such tremendous pressure, made me want to run as far and as fast as I could.

Jessup nodded solemnly. “I’m afraid he was correct.”

“
What does that even mean? How can I be the only one…”

“
Who could save them?” he supplied.

“
Yes.”

“
Because you are in possession of the only bracelet that is not trapped inside Atlas. You hold the key to capturing the escaped Lore and unlocking the city.”

At his words, my head swam, making me feel faint all over again. It was just so overwhelming. Too much was happening too fast.

“
And how am I supposed to go about accomplishing that? No one has had to use the bracelets like that in decades.”

“
Princess, you alone hold the power to wield the bracelet. Only royal blood can imprison a spirit in the pearl, just like only royal blood can set them free.”

“
You’re saying that whoever is doing this has forced one of my parents to open the cells?”

Jessup looked suddenly uncomfortable. “That or the traitor is of royal blood.”

My stomach dropped into my shoes at the shock of such a betrayal, the horror of it. I never would’ve even considered a royal. That must’ve been why Jessup looked so uncomfortable. It was treasonous to even suggest such a thing. And yet, he’d taken the risk because it needed to be said. And he was all too right—it could very well be a royal.

“
How will I- I mean, I don’t know how to—” I stammered, more flabbergasted as the seconds ticked by.

“
Fear not, Princess. Just as in the days of old, you will have the help of the Sentinels. And it is a gift of the fates that you are in the company of one of the greatest our race has ever seen.”

Once more, my eyes strayed to Jackson. His back was turned to me as he talked and gestured with another Sentinel. Just then, he threw his head back and laughed, a dark, rich sound that sent cold chills racing down my legs.

“
Jackson,” I whispered.

“
Yes, Princess. He’s arguably the best there is. In all my years, I’ve never seen a warrior such as him.” Pride, mingled with something I couldn’t identify, bubbled in my stomach. “And he is yours.”

At those words, my heart leapt in my chest.

Not that way, you ninny! That would be positively scandalous!

Determinedly, I pushed those thoughts aside, putting Jessup’s last declaration out of my mind.

You would never want that anyway,
I reminded myself.

Taking a deep breath, I hopped off the table.

“
So when do we start? How do we know?”

Jessup sighed, his brow wrinkling in worry. “Well, it will only be a matter of time before the loosed spirits find their descendants and awaken them. And with the shield down, their powers will be fully functional. Hopefully we will be able to spot their activity and set them up for capture before lives are lost.”

I thought of all the kids in my school. I had no idea which ones were which, though history tells us that they are each marked in some physical way by their heritage. Though I didn’t know them well, I found that I still didn’t want to see harm come to any of them. And that’s what would happen if I couldn’t stop it in time.

“
Right now, Princess, I require your help in ensuring your safety while we figure this out. I’ll need your word that, for the rest of the night, you will stay in your rooms. We will have additional Sentinels dispatched to you, but until we can formulate a plan, I need to know that you are safe.”

Everyone who knew me knew how much I hated restrictions. I liked to come and go as I pleased, and, until recently, that hadn’t been much of a problem. I’d always taken pride in outwitting and outrunning my Sentinels.

In fact, it was for that reason that, since arriving at Slumber, they’d been very careful to assign me Sentinels that blended in so seamlessly that I rarely knew who they were. And that’s the way I liked it. But these circumstances were different.

“
Yes, sir. You can count on me.”

“
Good. Thank you, Princess. I know this is a difficult and very stressful situation, but Sentinel Hamilton and I will meet with the High Council and determine the best plan of action for a quick and satisfactory resolution to this debacle.”

“
And I appreciate that, but as this so directly involves me, I’d like to be present for the discussions.”

“
I understand your position, Princess, but I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

“
Commander Jessup, you—”

“
I’m sorry, Princess. This is simply beyond my control. These are measures that were developed and written into law by those who dealt with the Lore in old times, and they are non-negotiable.”

I could tell by his expression that, though he showed me much respect, he would not bend on the law. With a sigh, I abandoned this battle, realizing that at some point in the future, it could help me to win a larger war.

“
Then I will wait in my room to hear from you. You’ll let me know what the Seers found?”

He nodded, his bow a fractionally-greater gesture, this time involving a bit of his body.

“
Yes, Princess.”

When Jessup straightened, he stepped back and three Sentinels materialized, seemingly from out of the shadows, to escort me back to the dorm.

Though I felt an almost physical tug that urged me to find Jackson, I resisted, keeping my eyes trained forward as I ascended the building to the human world outside.

CHAPTER SIX

I was standing by the window in my room, ear buds pumping loud music from my iPod into my ears, as I awaited word from Commander Jessup. Night had fallen beyond the glass and I was getting more anxious as the minutes ticked by.

I had given my word not to leave my room and the hallway outside was littered with Sentinels disguised as students, Sentinels there to ensure that I didn’t change my mind.

Jersey had long since ceased to provide any kind of distraction. She had quickly found that it was too frustrating to keep repeating herself, so she was reading from her human history book and listening to her own tunes.

I was listening to a song about love being like an ocean that would take me down to the depths and steal my heart away. It seemed to mirror the one thought that kept creeping up in my head, the one thought that I kept pushing away—Jackson.

Although I knew it was wrong in so many ways and that it was pointless to think about him
at all,
my mind kept coming back to him—the strange things he made me feel, the disturbing way he seemed to almost hate me.

I asked myself why I even cared, but I couldn’t find an answer and I couldn’t stop the hurt that I felt at his coldness.

My God, she’s beautiful in the moonlight.

The words sounded inside my head in a deeply familiar voice, one that I was finding inescapable. But where had it come from, that voice? My music was so loud…

Warm fingers on my bare shoulder caused me to jump. I whirled around ready to give Jersey a tongue-lashing, but all thought left me when I saw Jackson looming so close behind me.

My stomach fluttered excitedly, which only irritated me, so I struck out with that emotion instead of all the other things he made me feel.

“
Ever hear of knocking?” I spat, jerking one ear bud out of my ear. “You scared me half to death.”

Jackson’s lips thinned.

“
I
did
knock. Several times in fact.
You
just didn’t hear me,” he sniped, pulling the other ear bud out with one quick yank.

Though I probably owed him an apology, I refused to give it.

“
How did you even get in here? The door is locked.”

“
Not the one to my room.”

At first I was confused, looking about the small space at the only two doors that occupied the walls. One led out into the hallway, like every other dorm room on the hall. The other led to Lady Sheelah’s room, the handler who had been stationed next to me via an adjoining door so she could better ensure my safety.

My mouth dropped open and my pulse quickened as understanding dawned.

“
Your
room? They’re giving you Lady Sheelah’s room?”

A smug smirk tipped one side of Jackson’s mouth. “You’re looking at your new Resident Advisor.”

“
But- but that’s- that’s—”

“
That’s the best way to keep you safe? You are exactly right.”

“
But you- they can’t- you’re a-a—”

“
Right again. I’m the most capable Sentinel on dry land,” he said, his grin illustrating just how much he was enjoying my discomfort and what he undoubtedly perceived as his victory.