Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (29 page)

Helen fell back onto her favorite pink couch in her room and opened the old book she had pulled from one of her many bookcases. It was a romance she and Cass had snuck out of their mother's library as kids. She had read it as a teenager and then again a few years ago, but she wasn't kidding Syney when she said she didn't get romance novels. It all seemed like silly girl stuff. When she had first read it, she imagined herself as the likeable heroine who falls in love with a handsome prince. The whole idea made her giddy, and she couldn't wait for her own pairing to happen, but as the years went on, she started to feel as though love wasn't something attainable. Being the oldest, she had seen her parents' marriage for what it really was. She loved her father, but he was never around for their mother. She didn't like to think about it, even going as far as to tell everyone she didn't remember him so that she wouldn't have to talk about him. She sighed and tossed the book aside. Love wasn't something she ever would understand. When she told her mother a few years ago that she planned on preparing for the high priestess job, it had been out of frustration, but she quickly had settled into the idea. She had thought she felt something for a boy and even went as far as spending time with him and kissing him, but he wasn't royal; he was a valet to one of her cousins. She wasn't sure who told on her, but she was pretty sure it was Adanna. Her younger sister was many things, and a snitch was definitely one of them. Helen wasn't quite sure what she was thinking, spending so much time with a non-royal.
I knew exactly what I
was doing
, she thought. She figured the more time she spent with him, the more Venus would send down the pairing, royal or not. Her mother had pulled her aside and talked to her about fraternizing with non-royals, and the next week he had been paired with a nice handmaiden. It was all perfectly fair according to the system they believed in, and Helen believed in that system with everything in her heart. But that didn't mean she liked it wholeheartedly.

Helen sat up and picked the book up again. She thought of Syney. Helen had no doubt that she would like the girl, even before she had met her, and she really did. But whenever Helen was with Syney, Helen started to think about things, even question things. Syney had that effect on her, and it only took one comment or look. Just this evening she felt herself questioning the purity of race law. What would happen if a Magic User wanted to marry someone of another race? They wouldn't really put someone to death for it, would they? She thought of her mother and those tests she had put Syney through and answered her own question. She really did believe her mother didn't mean too much harm, but she lived for this palace, and that said something about her actions.

She sighed and got up. She needed a distraction to unwind a little, and there was only one place she could do that. She quickly changed into her swimsuit and headed to the Magic User pool in the west wing of the palace. She stopped herself in the doorway, however. The pool was packed. She saw a whole group of royals all splashing water at one another and playing around. There was no way she could relax in all of that. Deflated, she started back to her room when she had a thought. The Royal Guard had its own pool, but it was usually empty. The Lycins preferred weights and running. But going there was against the rules. She stopped in the Great Hall. If she turned left, she would be back in her room. If she turned right, she would be by the Guards' pool. The only thing she could think was,
What would Syney do in this situation?

The pool was empty, just as she had thought. She pulled off her coverall and jumped into the warm water. All of the pools were kept at a temperature somewhere between bathwater and chilly. Helen did a few laps, counting them in her head as she turned. Her father had taught her to swim a few months before he had died. This was the only place she could let everything go and just be. After ten laps she stopped and took several deep breaths by the one wall. She felt a little better and definitely more relaxed.

"Pretty good form."

Helen gasped and turned to Leaf, who stood at attention at the door in front of her. "Oh, my. You scared me."

He stepped forward. "Sorry."

"It's OK," she said, looking him over. He wasn't wearing his customary black clothes but rather tight brown swim trunks. "Um, now I'm the one to be
sorry. I shouldn't be here." She looked away from him and glanced around for the ladder that led out of the pool. She realized there wasn't one at the same time he reached his hand forward. She took it unsteadily and allowed him to pull her from the water. "The other pool was so crowded, and I didn't think anyone used this pool, so I came down and started doing laps," she rambled.

"I'm the only one who uses it."

"Right. So you can use it...now." She reached for her coverall.

"No, please stay."

Helen looked at him, trying unsuccessfully not to look at his sculpted chest. There wasn't an inch of fat on it. It was amazing. "What?" she asked.

"Stay. I'll leave."

"That's unfair. You're supposed to be here," Helen said with a laugh.

"We could both stay. Seems to be the only fair thing."

Helen forced herself to hold Leaf's gaze. "I guess that would be OK."

He gave her a short bow and sat down with his feet in the pool.

Helen slowly followed and sat next to him. She had never been entirely comfortable around men, especially half-naked ones—not that she had been around a lot of half-naked ones. But she was usually able to push forward with conversation and just be herself. Something about this moment, however, was different. They sat in silence for a while, their feet making some waves in the water.

"So why are you the only one who uses the pool?" Helen asked, breaking the silence.

"It's a wolf thing. Most Lycins don't like the water because they have an instinct to stay away from it."

"But you don't?"

He shook his head. "I don't have to think about anything when I do it. It's just me and the water."

"That's exactly it," Helen said excitedly. She didn't realize she had put her hand on his until he slowly pulled it away. "Do you, um, want to race?"

Leaf shook his head. "That's not a good idea."

"Why? It's just a fun race, nothing big."

He gave her an odd look, as if he were fighting an internal battle. Finally he sighed. "I'd beat you, and that wouldn't be good."

"Ha! You really so sure you'll beat me?"

"Yes, Princess. It's more of a fact," he said, completely seriously.

"Well, then..." She stood up. "I'd better prove you wrong. Come on. Let's go."

Leaf reluctantly stood and looked down at her. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, yeah." She smiled up to him and took a couple of steps back. She looked back at the pool and shook out her arms and legs. She glanced at Leaf, who was doing the same thing. "You ready?"

He nodded, and they both took starting positions.

"On three. One...two...three!" she yelled, and dove into the water. She swam with more urgency than she ever had. Her arms and legs sliced into the water as she moved across the pool. After she flipped by the wall, she dared a look over to Leaf as she went for air. He seemed pretty close to her, so she pushed even further. When she tapped the wall, she automatically looked over at Leaf. He was already at the wall.

"How much did you beat me by?" she asked, out of breath.

"A second or so. Less than I assumed."

Helen gave a laugh and pressed her chin against the wall. "OK. Not too bad then."

Leaf pushed himself up and out of the pool then helped pull Helen out as well. "You're good...fast."

"Thank you," Helen said. She smiled up at him and felt her pulse pick up a bit. Maybe the race hadn't been such a good idea. She felt her face burn a little as she grabbed her coverall. "The pool's all yours," she said, heading for the door.

"Princess..."

Helen stopped and waited for a moment before turning around to face him. "Yes?"

He handed her a towel. "Rematch soon?" Leaf smiled as he asked the question, and she saw a side of him she never had before. It was intoxicating.

She took the towel and returned the smile. "Absolutely. Good night."

He gave her a short bow.

Once she was back in her room, Helen picked up the romance novel again. Maybe she needed to reread it, just in case.

Noelle

"You shouldn't always be such a jerk. Syney's having a really bad day and could use a break," Noelle chastised Gabe.

He looked back at her with his patented bored expression.

"But you don't care, do you?" She sighed in frustration as she stood up from the dining table. Shaking her head, she went over to dispose of her dishes. All he ever seemed to want to do was play, and it was infuriating. She wasn't exactly sure what was wrong with Syney, but she was pretty sure it had something to do with Hunter—in an intimate way. She meant what she had offered to Syney. God knows she could keep a secret. She had kept her own all her life. Besides, she might have a pretty good perspective on the situation—not that she wanted to share it. She liked Hunter and Syney and thought they seemed like a good couple. But she also knew the laws in the Village, and if they wanted that relationship, it would be an uphill battle, one that could end in death instead of happily ever after.

She turned around and right into Gabe, causing her to gasp.

"I do care. But Syney's fooling herself if she thinks anything good can come from what she's doing," he said with a pointed look.

Noelle gave him a pointed look back and pulled him out of the crowded room. She stopped once they were alone in hallway. "You need to be discreet. Do you know how much trouble Syney could get in?"

"A slap on the wrist?"

"Interracial relationships are punishable by death, you jerk."

For the first time, Noelle saw a pained expression pass over Gabe's handsome face. "Since when?"

Noelle shrugged. "Since the Great War. This is serious."

Gabe rolled his eyes, and he was back after his momentary lapse of character. "Then Hunter should keep his wolf parts away from her magical spots."

She finally gave in the urge she'd had for a while and punched him in the shoulder.

He grabbed the spot. "Ouch."

"You deserved it," she said, heading toward Syney's room. Syney had left in a hurry, and Noelle assumed she had headed back to her quarters.

"Syney needs to not get distracted. A forbidden romance is a major distraction," Gabe said, falling into step with her.

"If it's fate, then they shouldn't fight it."

"Spoken by a true romantic."

She stopped and looked at him. "So what if I am? My parents loved each other. It's a good feeling."

Gabe stared at her for a moment. "And where are they now?" he asked softly.

Noelle felt tears spring to her eyes. She shook them off and started walking again. "Gone. But not because they loved each other."

"Sometimes love isn't enough. These are harsh times."

"I'll never believe that. If you want something badly enough, you'll get it."

"Like the answer to a question?"

She glanced at him. "What?"

"You've been trying, for weeks, to see if I can read your mind."

Noelle stopped again and stared at him, her anxiety rising. She swallowed. "Well, can you?"

Gabe narrowed his eyes at her. "No."

She gave a sigh of relief, which quickly died as he stepped within inches of her. She stepped back and hit the wall. He stepped closer, close enough for a lot of things—say, a kiss or to kill her. Her breathing picked up as he pressed his mouth next to her ear.

"I want to know what you're hiding," he said quietly.

"No, you don't. It's boring."

He moved his face so their noses were touching and their mouths were inches apart. "Nothing worth hiding is boring." He closed the distance and touched his lips to hers but didn't kiss her; he only gave her a little touch before backing off. "Gotta find Syney, right?" He started down the hall before turning back to her. "Coming?"

Noelle took a deep breath as she realized she hadn't actually been breathing for the last few moments. That man was going to be the death of her. She pushed off from the wall and hurried after him.

They found Syney out on her balcony, sitting on a swinging bench Noelle had found for her in a storage closet a week ago. Syney didn't smile at them, not even when Gabe fell onto the bench beside her.

"You OK?" Noelle asked, standing across from her.

"Uh? Oh, yeah. I just... I'm thinking. I need a plan," Syney said.

"The plan should be to find yourself a nice stupid Magic User, not your wolf," Gabe said.

Syney looked at him. "Once you go wolf, you never go back."

"Oooooh, nasty girl."

Syney finally smiled and gave a short laugh.

"Oh, so, you guys...yeah...OK," Noelle stammered.

Syney sighed. "No, we did not. Something happened and it scared him off, and now he's ignoring me. And neither of you knows this, by the way."

"Like I would want to repeat it." Gabe shivered in disgust.

"Your secret's safe with me." Noelle smiled and caught a pointed look from Gabe.