Aligning Stars (Fate's Intent Book 1) (13 page)

He looked back at me like he was going to say something else but Ruby finally started to wake up completely and distracted his attention. She opened her eyes, taking an instant notice to being up against Darius and quickly sat up to see Troy and I together. “How long was I out?”

“Not that long.” I smiled.

“Are you sure? Because something seems—
wrong
here.”

I looked back at Troy and laced my fingers with his. “Well, I surely don’t know what you mean, Ruby. What would ever give you that idea?”

Ruby still looked muddled through the short silence then looked down to see her corset open. She pulled it back together, hooking the three open hooks while she got up. “Are you sure I’m not dead because this is weird.”

Zayden sighed. “You’re not dead yet but if you’d like to be then that can be arranged.”

“I think I’ll wait until our scheduled time, thanks but are you telling me that you’re fine with this? Not a moment ago or more like the last time I remember, you seemed to forbid it and now—”

“Well, you don’t have to, you know? You must not be good enough, Darius.”

Ruby’s eyes got wide and she fell into Darius’s lap. Her legs straddled him and she hauled his head into her chest. “Don’t listen to him! He’s completely insane! I can handle this for the next few days. It’ll make dying worth it.”

Ruby still had a tight hold around him and Darius tried pulling her back. “Well, glad I can help make it worth it for you.”

She leaned into him, rubbing her nose on his before kissing him. Darius kept one hand on her waist with the other at her head as they continued, something I’ve seen before.

The rest of us were just sitting by until Zayden cleared his throat.

Ruby backed off with a gasp. “Sorry! Was that not part of the deal because I’m sure I was passed out when those terms were established.”

“No. Just making sure that you know we’re still here and you’re not going to get that kind of privacy out here.”

Ruby understood and leaned on Darius bringing his arm around her. “Well, sorry you’ll be missing out, Zayden. If only there was something we could do.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”

He glanced up at the shelter where Adele was and Ruby and I smiled. “You could probably get her to come out here again, you know?”

“What?” Zayden quickly turned his head towards me for saying it.

Ruby laughed. “Adele. We can tell you want her to be. Can’t hide that!”

Darius and Troy looked at each other and we all eagerly waited for Zayden’s response.

“Yeah right. That’s the last thing I’d want. She’s a real mood killer.”

“That’s her specialty cover actually. She’s just too proud to admit that she wants you.”

Ruby laughed again. “I think you’re taking her words out of proportion just a little.”

“Or maybe it’s the hidden reason for saving him.”

“Wait a second. What are you talking about?”

“She’s just pretending.” I said.

“Well, not necessarily
pretending
.” Ruby cut in. “She just has a problem with authority because she’s so used to being the dominant one. If she was going to submit and be fun, she’d have to feel like she was in charge when clearly that’s not going to happen.”

Zayden glanced back over at the shelter for a moment and I was getting that changed feeling from him again. “I see. That’s why she’s being so stubborn.”

“Yeah, sorry. She’s just not—” I paused to try and think of the right word. “Well, she’s tough. We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for her but she has a hard time letting people in due to the level of stress it causes.”

“Good luck in trying if you’re going to. She has a steel box around her heart and regrettably there is no key. At least I don’t think so. I’ve never seen it.”

Zayden looked back at the shelter again and I looked over at Ruby with a smile. We could tell that he felt something and I wondered what would happen when he finally realized it. “You could go back in there. She could use the company. Trust me. She always gets like this while we’re away from home.”

Zayden turned his eyes back in my direction. “Like what? Incredibly rude and violent?”

“Well, kind of.” Ruby laughed. “It’s brought on by
tension
as she calls it and it only gets worse when we travel.”

“Why?”

“Lack of sex.” The men immediately looked at each other and struck their faces blank, cute. “We’re not exactly used to going that long without it, especially lately because we’ve been home a lot and Adele takes it differently than we do. She’s just having withdrawals.”

“So, whenever you go somewhere, she’s like this?” Troy asked.

“Yup. We get used to it because we have to. It’s not like we can help her. We’re missing a key factor which
you
happen to have.”

Ruby looked over at Zayden and smiled but he immediately held his ground, still denying it. “Forget it.”

“Forget what, Zayden? I never said anything.”

“You were thinking it.”

Ruby lifted her eyebrow and shared a look with me. It seemed we were both surprised that he didn’t want her even a little. “Are you actually refusing if I did say it?”

“Would that be so unusual?”

“Well, yeah. She has everything you could want. Beauty, intelligence, many talents like cooking and oh, you should hear her sing. It’s really—”

“She can sing?” Darius interrupted.

“Yeah. We’ve fallen asleep to her singing countless times when we’re on the road. It’s one thing we can get her to do to actually relax but it has been awhile. I guess I just never really noticed since we haven’t been away from home in months.”

“That’s interesting. We happen to know someone that has a pretty good singing voice too and it has also been awhile.”

“Really? Who?”

Troy smiled then leaned into my ear and whispered the name.

I gasped and quickly turned my head. “You!”

It was not what I expected at all and I was sincerely amazed but Zayden sighed to it. “Well, thank you for that.”

“Can you show us?!” Ruby asked. “Please!”

“I don’t think so! Forget it!”

“You have to get some wine in him first.” Darius smiled. “Then he’ll do it.”

“No, I won’t.”

“But Adele would just love it.” Ruby went on with her happy tone. “You might not actually be as big of a stiff as I thought.”

“All right, that’s enough. None of this is about me.”

“Don’t like talking about yourself?”

“Not one of my favorite topics.”

“That seems odd.” I said. “Most people rather enjoy it. I know I do!”

“I’m more of a listener but you two—” He pointed at us. “You two talk
a lot
.”

“Minor flaw in our design.” Ruby smiled. “But she’s the one that talks most.”

I laughed. “Maybe. Ruby’s more of a visual being.”

“Look at me. I kind of have to be, don’t you think? Adele’s our—”

“Hateful.” Zayden cut in. “Simply put.”

“Kind of but it’s not like she’s showing you any kind of special treatment. She hates everyone. It doesn’t matter that you’re Senian.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. It’s hard for her to tolerate anyone. She only minimally tolerates us because she’s known us for so long.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about it.” I said, using a whisper. I was nervous and flickering my eyes around. “What if she hears you? You know that she—”

“Heard it.”

I froze in panic and looked up. Adele was standing by the entrance of the shelter, her face maddened and I feared the worst, moving away from Troy. “Adele?”

She didn’t say anything but she was clearly filling with rage.

“Oh, shit.” Ruby muttered.

Adele held herself back from unleashing her wrath at us by starting towards the river.

Ruby and I shared a quick look with each other and got to our feet with the decision of what to do.

“We’ll be right back.” I said.

Ruby nodded to agree with me and we walked away from the fire after Adele. We knew she would be mad and approached cautiously from behind while she was kneeled down by the river’s edge. “How could you?”

“Adele, we—”

She stood up but spoke in a low-key yet frustrated tone so no one else could hear. “How could you betray everything we were sent to protect for them? Do you know what they’re doing? Do you remember at all that they’re the enemy? They’re taking us to our deaths and you two are acting like we’re on a damn vacation!”

“Adele, we know what’s going on.” Ruby said. “We’re just making our last moments worth it and you should too.”

“I can’t believe what you’re saying! Don’t you dare think for one second that I’ve forgotten why we came here but it seems you and Jaylyn have! It was clear to me that ever since we’ve been in this mess, right from the start, you both were going to abandon your country for them!”

“Do you even hear yourself?” I tried not to raise my voice like I was mad but I was. I knew she was feeling the same way and this exterior she was showing everyone was a lie. “We can see that you’re trying so hard to hide it but we’ve made the connection and we’ve seen the truth behind your attitude!”

She said nothing but I didn’t stop there.

“You’re afraid. Afraid that you’ve found what it is you’ve been looking for but can’t seem to face it. You know what it is I speak of. How can you even stand there and ask yourself why when the answer is sitting right over there? It’s waiting for you to give him a single sign showing you feel what he does. We all see it but it’s you that’s choosing not to.”

Adele looked up at the fire and led us through a pause. I was hoping she was seeing our way but she looked back and her voice proved she still hated it. “You’re wrong. I do see it but I would much rather see it dead.”

“How can you say that?” I just wanted to understand how she could be this way. It was Fate that we were here but she wouldn’t embrace it. “We’re your friends, remember? Sisters even. We’re just trying to make you see what we see. They’re not bad guys. This is just their job.”

Adele’s anger level only increased. It would have been better if I had just said nothing. “They’re not bad guys? They’ve brainwashed you with their good looks, haven’t they? You’re falling for them. I can see it but let me remind you who they really are.”

She pushed her way passed me and started walking over to the fire.

We quickly followed, worried when Adele confronted Zayden. “The truce is off. Our agreement has been compromised.”

“What? When?” Zayden stood up in a hurry, his body tense and eyes clearly on Adele.

“When you let that happen!” Adele raged her voice towards him but her eyes pointed to the rest of us.

“It was never in the agreement we made and I wasn’t about to deny my men the spoils of war.”

“Oh, I see. So, that’s all we are? We’re disposable objects that you can get rid of the second you’ve got what you’ve wanted?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Well, you haven’t gotten anything out of me yet, Zayden. I belong to you now, remember? Don’t you want it?” Adele got closer to him and started to open the front of her corset.

Darius and Troy stood up next to us to watch this more carefully but I was only gritting my teeth. This was not good.

“It’s a trap.” Ruby muttered.

I agreed but said nothing. I couldn’t interrupt this, knowing she wouldn’t listen.

Adele got closer to Zayden and pulled open the front of her corset all the way. My mouth wanted to fall open. I knew she didn’t have anything on underneath and he was seeing her breasts right up close while she spoke. “The flesh of a real woman. To want it bad enough you can almost taste it. It’s torture, isn’t it, Zayden? Just take it. No one’s stopping you.”

I watched Zayden just look at Adele. His eyes only opened just a little wider but it was hardly noticeable to anyone actually looking. I wasn’t sure what he would do either.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to take it?” Adele got right in close to his lips but has yet to touch him.

It was like she was just teasing him to take her and we all thought that he would have when his hands raised but he did the opposite. His hands reached for her shoulders instead of her breasts and he carefully guided her back with a line I didn’t want to think to be true. “No. We don’t mix with your kind.”

It was incredibly offensive but Adele laughed while she started to close her corset and looked back at Ruby and I. “Our kind? Hear that? Our kind. Now, let me show you what we should have done with
their kind
.”

My worry meter couldn’t go any higher. Adele acted in a way she said she never would. She immediately brought up her hand and a force pushed Zayden down into the dirt when she looked back to him. Then she moved her hand up and roots came up out of the ground, tying him down.

The other two took a defensive stance but Adele turned back. “Uh ah. No interference, please.”