Pariah (The New Covenant Series) (5 page)

Faric watched the door, makin
g sure Altair didn’t sneak back in. When he was certain that he wouldn’t return, he turned to me and grabbed my shoulders. “Are you okay? What were you doing with him? What did he say to you? He’s going to punish you when you are married? Why would you let him touch you like that?” he roared, jerking me forward toward him.

A tear fell down my cheek before I could even breathe as
reality slapped me in the face. Its sting was hot on my cheek. He was angry with
me
for what had happened.
What a jerk.
I threw his arms off of my shoulders and walked away, pausing only to take off the ridiculous heels. He caught me by the arm and spun me around to face him, his anger dissipating when he saw the charcoal tears that had undoubtedly now streaked down my face.

The realization of what he’d just said to me and the fact that I
hadn’t garnered such attention from Altair must have registered with him. His expression faded from anger and frustration aimed solely at me to concern for me and fury aimed solely at Altair.

“I’m going to kill him,” he said, gr
itting his teeth, jaw clenched, striding away from me. Pointing back at me, he yelled, “You stay right here. Better yet, come over to the bar, and I’ll have one of the others walk you back.” He dragged his fingers through his hair, walking toward the bar, expecting me to follow. When he realized I wasn’t going to cooperate, he stomped back toward me.

“Don’t touch me, Faric,” I said
softly before he could grab my elbow or hand. “I didn’t want him to touch me. How dare you scream at me as if this were
my
fault! And I don’t want you to kill him. I just want to go back to my room please. I want you to take me back to my room now please.” I exhaled, finally calming myself down.

His
eyes carefully appraised me, and he relaxed his shoulders and exhaled loudly, dragging his hand through his short hair. “I’m sorry, Solara. I wasn’t angry at you. I knew what was going on or I should have. It just looked like you and he...and I just reacted. I was angry with myself for not watching you close enough. How long did he have you back in this corner? Did he hurt you?” he asked, raising his eyebrows and squeezing them together, still maintaining the distance I created.

“I’m fine. Just walk me
back, and you can come back and enjoy more of Aria’s company,” I said, both defeated and pissed.

I walked around and past him with my heels in one h
and, the other holding my beautiful dress up off the floor. I quickly wiped my cheeks, my fingers stained with the charcoal that had earlier rimmed my eyes so beautifully. As I exited the building via the nearest door, I glanced back at my friends, who were still busy having the best night of their lives. I was happy for them and jealous at the same time. My magical night had been stolen by Altair.

F
aric followed me outside, staying
a few careful paces behind. As we cleared the building and started down the cobblestone street, he matched his pace with mine and placed his hand on my lower back. “I’m really sorry, Solara. I don’t care about Aria. She just wouldn’t leave me alone, and I was trying to be nice because I knew she didn’t have anyone to dance with and was trying to save face. I should’ve been watching you. I just thought you were busy dancing. You had been all night, and I assumed you were fine. I was wrong. I am so sorry.” He stopped, and I followed his lead. The cobblestone was cool and grainy beneath my bare feet.

“It’s okay,” I said softly, lo
oking up at his clenched jaw, a sincere apology visible in his eyes. I glanced away, trying to take in the village around us. I wanted to commit it to memory so that I would be able to recall every detail when I was placed back into my room in the tower tonight. Then a thought crossed my mind.

“Hey, wanna pay me back?” I g
rinned, lifting one eyebrow and pursing a tight-lipped smile.

He looked warily at me a
nd grinned and said, “How can I earn your forgiveness?”

“Well, everyone is still out and a
bout, so I don’t suppose I have a curfew tonight. Could you maybe show me around the village? I’ve never seen it.”

“I can show you a little, but if we’re discovered, you will
likely be sent straight to the fortress. If you want, I can show you my favorite spot, and we can hang out for a bit. You’ll get to see some of the village on the way,” he offered, holding out his hand to me.

I clasped his hand and grinned, and he led me
through the shadows dancing along the street until we came to a small iron gate along the roadside. He unlocked it and pulled me down a small stone path that wound through a beautiful garden that summer had begun to awaken. Small buds blinking snippets of color among vibrant green leaves peeked out from crawling vines.

I followed him until we ducked
through some pines and entered a clearing on the other side. Two weeping willow twins guarded a small brook that sung as it glided effortlessly over and around smooth stones of varying sizes. “Wait here, okay,” he said, letting go of my hand. He ran back in the direction we’d just traveled, emerging ten minutes later with a few items in hand.

He threw a large blanket towar
d me and asked that I spread it under one of the willows. I obliged, and we plopped onto blanket.

Glad to finally rest my aching fee
t, I sunk into the warm fabric, careful of my dress. He knelt down with one knee on the blanket and opened a fabric bag, pulling out a bottle of wine and two plain glasses. “Care for one last glass, milady?” he asked, holding the bottle up for me to see.

“Sure!” I recalled how wonderfu
l the crimson liquid felt on my tongue as it infiltrated my nostrils. I grabbed the half-full glass and stared down at the blood-colored liquid contained therein.

“It’s not the best bottle in the vil
lage, but it’s all I had in the house,” he shrugged.

“Wait, this is your house?”
I asked, raising my eyebrows in amazement. The small stone house with the wooden roof encircled by the scrolled iron gate we’d passed through was beautiful. This was his yard. This was his favorite spot. How intimate.

He nodded, pouring
a glass for himself as well then sat next to me one knee bent with his arm propped on it, holding his glass out in front of him comfortably. A cool breeze blew through, and a cold chill crept up my spine as my hair was blown around to my left shoulder opposite him, revealing the bare skin of my right. I caught him looking at the same, and he quickly averted his gaze to the contents of his glass as he swirled it around and inhaled the scent and sipped the wine with his fuchsia lips.

He handed me his glass and shru
gged off his jacket, sliding it around my shoulders. His warmth and spicy scent wrapped itself around me. “Thank you,” I said, softly, handing over his glass. He nodded, and we sat in comfortable silence, slowly sipping away the contents of the beautiful bottle, listening to the brook and watching the wind gently sway the willow’s draperies.

“As much as I’d love to stay
here, Solara, I need to get you back. The others are probably there by now, and I’d hate to have them send out a search party.” He smiled, helping me to my feet.

“Thank you for letting me stay out a bit longer. You’ll never
know how much it meant to me.” I grabbed my shoes, and we took off toward the path, back toward the fortress, my room, and my containment—at least for the next few weeks.

Nearing the fortress wall,
a familiar shape came bounding toward us, making my heart leap. Rachel. What was she still doing out here? Did she come home by herself? Did she know how dangerous that could have been? I should have asked her to leave with Faric and me but thought she was okay with Lil and Aria and their guards.

“Lara,” she heavily breathed, catching me by
the shoulders, “you have to help me!”

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“It’s not me. I’m fine. I’ve been back in the room waiting for Wes to show up, but he never did. So I went looking for him. He’s...at the pub...with Aria. She’s draped herself around him, and he refused to leave with me. If he gets caught, you know, with his pupil, he’ll be fired and probably worse. You have to help me get him out of there. She’s got her claws buried deep. Stupid slut!” she exclaimed, still catching her breath.

“Let’s go,” I said, grabbing her hand. “Oh! Here, Faric.” I
shrugged off his jacket and handed it back to him.

“Oh no, you don’t,” he says,
grabbing my hand and pulling me back toward him. “I have to get you inside.”

“No. I’m going to get Wesley. H
e’s too good to have his entire life and career ruined by Aria.” I pulled away and Rachel started guiding me in the direction of the pub.

I ground to a halt when Far
ic challenged. “Maybe he enjoys her company. Most men do.”

I glared at him, remembering
watching him with Aria earlier in the evening when Altair pinned me against the wall. “Perhaps he does. You certainly aren’t immune to her charms. But Rachel is my friend, and I respect Wes too much to let this happen.” I jerked Rachel forward and away from Faric.

F
aric followed, grumbling the entire
time about how we should get back, how much trouble I would be in, he would be in, Rachel would be in, and how dangerous the pub was at this hour with all of the drunks.

I ignored him and trudged o
n until the pub appeared in the distance, lit by glass lanterns encircled with loud music and yelling patrons from behind its thick wooden door. I paused outside, and the two halted beside me. “We need a plan to draw Aria’s attention away from Wes,” I said, wondering what could possibly retract her claws from his flesh. Rachel shrugged. She had no idea. Neither did I. “And once we get her away from him, we need to get him out of here and back home.”

Faric surprised me with his cunning as he offered, “I’ll distract
Aria. Solara, you get Wesley to leave with you anyway you can, and Rachel, wait out here to the side of the pub out of sight until Solara gets Wes out of here so you can help her get him back to his room. She won’t be able to carry much of his weight by herself.”

“Wait, I get the part where A
ria would be distracted by you. She’s obviously into you, but how can I get Wes to leave if he doesn’t want to? I think Rachel would have the best luck with that. She’s his sister,” I argued, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“No. He won’t leave with her. H
e already refused to leave with her earlier. He’s drunk. He’ll want to stay that way. He’s also aroused due to Aria’s attention. Better bring out the sultry side again, Solara. Work your magic, and he’ll be putty in your hands. If needs be, ask him to go to your room with you, if you know what I mean.” He winked and smirked. “He’ll definitely leave with you.”

Rachel nodded and said, “He’s right. This will work, Solara. I
know it’s an act. So does Faric, and we don’t know anyone else in there, so who cares what they think. Just get my brother out of there before he does something with Aria that he’ll regret.”

I took in a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and clench
ed my fists. Rachel moved to the side of the building, cloaking herself with the shadows of a nearby oak. Faric opened the heavy wooden door, motioning for me to go in first. He grabbed my waist, whispering, “Stay back here and give me five minutes. I’ll get her away from him. Then do what you have to do. If you aren’t back in your room in twenty minutes, I will come back for you, regardless of his decision to stay or not. You
will
leave with me then. Understood?”

I nodded and watched as he sneaked a path through the
chairs and bodies of the rowdy crowd. Drinks freely flowed into glasses from the bar. Wes was perched on a barstool with the slut beside him. Aria’s knees were positioned between his legs, his hand was on her waist, her arms on his shoulders. She tossed her hair back and laughed at whatever he’d said. Heat spread through my body. I envisioned marching over, knocking her off the barstool, throwing Wes over my shoulder and stomping out the door with him while she tended her bloody nose.
That could be my backup plan.

Faric approached and put his
hand on Aria’s back and leaned in and whispered something undoubtedly naughty as Aria’s surprised sexy look crept onto her curled pouty red lips. She said something to Wes and took Faric’s hand, leaving Wes alone at the bar. Faric ushered Aria to a back room of sorts out of sight from where Wes remained. I went in. Wes had turned back to the barkeep, waiting patiently for a refill of whatever libation he’d been downing. His stern gaze focused on his glass. His knuckles turned white as they squeezed the crystal.

I moved through the crowd, g
aining glances, probably at the strange dress I was in. Everyone here wore simple cotton garments of varying colors and some wet with drinks that fell past their mouths onto chests and round bellies. Several of the men’s gazes lingered on me as I squeezed through. Some of them made brave enough by their drinks to even paw at my hips, one grabbing the cheek of my butt as I tried to claw a trail through the partiers. I finally broke free and sat down on the stool next to Wes—the one that Aria had vacated only moments ago. He continued to focus on his glass until I nudged him, and he looked over.

Anger faded from his face, and
his lips curled in a beautiful smile. His slightly curled hair grazed his dark eyelashes, revealing glassy green emeralds that stared back at me. “Solara,” he said, straightening up. “What are you doing here? You should be back in your room.”

The bartender fin
ally noticed him and filled his glass with an amber liquid, then he leaned over on elbows to speak to me. His greasy black hair and dark-chocolate eyes squinted as he smiled at me. “Haven’t seen you in here before, love. What can I get ya? On the house.” He winked. I smiled back and asked what he recommended. He quickly poured some sort of honey-colored beverage into a beautiful glass and placed it in my hand, rubbing my fingers purposely as his met mine. Wes noticed and slammed back his drink, demanding another. The barkeep obliged and shot Wes an evil look before stalking down toward the other end of the bar. “It’s not safe here for you, Solara, you need to go.”

“If it isn’t safe here, it’s not safe outside either. Will you walk me home, Wes?” I pleaded, trying to give him a pretty smile. I prayed that our plan remain clouded by his drunkenness.

“No,” he said sternly. “Now leave.”

“Wes, what’s wrong? Why are you here? I didn’t know you drank.” I asked, leaning into him a bit, placing my hand on his.

“Well”—he shrugged off my h
and—“Solara, there’s a lot that you don’t know about me,” he slurred.

“Like...” I tried to lead, hoping
that this conversation wouldn’t take too long because I was on Faric’s clock.

“You lied to me,” he blurted
, glancing at me with his brows knitted together. He was really drunk. I hadn’t lied to him. What was he talking about?

“Wes, I didn’t—”

“You did. You promised to save me a dance. I waited until the last guy left, and you were just gone,” he said, staring down as he swirled the contents of his glass.

I took a sip of mine. It was strong, whatever it was but then
left a sweet coconut flavor in my mouth that lingered long after I drank it. Yum. First wine then coconut liqueur. I licked my lips to extract more of the sweet drink that lingered then caught Wesley staring at the motion, longingly.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “There was an incident with the last
gentleman I danced with, and Faric thought it best that I leave to avoid any further problems.”

He grabbed my hand and raised one brow, clenching is teeth.

“What happened? I’ll kill him if he hurt you.”

“It’s okay. It was just better if I lef
t. He was last in line so...” I explained, hoping to push the conversation along. “Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to lie to you. Can you please walk me back now?”

“No. I won’t leave until yo
u dance with me,” he announced, stiffening his back.

“Seriously? This isn’t exac
tly dance music, Wes.” I nodded toward the crowd, who was bouncing their heads and rocking their bodies to a fast-paced number the band was putting out.

“I’d have no idea what to do,” I
nervously admitted, grabbing my lower lip with my teeth.
Please, Lord, don’t make me dance to this music. I’ll make a fool out of myself.

“Come with me,” he staggered as he stepped off of his stool
, grabbing one of my hands and pulling me off of mine too. He started toward the back room that Faric had led Aria into.

“
I don’t think this is such a good idea, Wes.”

“Trust me, Solara, please,” he sa
id, glancing back with a smile. We entered a candlelit back room that thankfully was now empty. Faric had no doubt snuck Aria out the back door to our right.

Wes led me over to the small
window, lined with overflowing cream candles much like those from the introduction earlier tonight. He looked at me with big green eyes and a drunk half smile and pulled me into him. I placed my hand on his shoulder and stuck my other out in the air, waiting for his to meet mine.

He just laughed and put his othe
r hand on the small of my back, pulling me in even closer to him. I sighed, gave up, and put my outstretched arm on his other shoulder as well. It took him a minute to find his rhythm in his inebriated state, but soon, we were swaying together slowly in the candlelight-filled room, paying no attention to the loud music and boisterous noise filtering in from the main room of the pub.

Wes was surprisingly quiet. I
thought how strange it was that he didn’t want to talk even though he had wanted to dance with me and wondered if he got the opportunity to dance with Lil as well. No doubt Aria had danced her way around him. He seemed very irritated after Faric took her away. The thought of Aria’s hands on Wes and his hands on her body was enough to make bile rise in my throat. But the thought of her hands now on Faric enraged me.

I pulled away and grabbed my
glass of coconut perfection and erased the acidic taste from my mouth. “Okay, Wes. We’ve had our dance, so we should really get back now. If I’m not back soon, I’m sure there’ll be trouble,” I veiled the threat as best I could. He grabbed my glass and set it back down.

He leaned close and said, “Our d
ance isn’t over yet. We’ve just begun. I haven’t danced for half of the time allotted for the other men tonight.” He raised his brows in protest. I wondered where Faric was. Was he on his way back to get me? My twenty-minute limit was surely to expire soon.

I searched for a logical response and retorted, “Well, those
gentlemen tonight were appraising me as a potential wife. They needed extra time to get to know me in the event that they would like to apply for my hand. Since you aren’t applying, your dance is shorter, so let’s go.” I tried to pull him toward the back door, toward Rachel, and probably Faric by now, but he planted his feet and refused to budge. I yanked harder but to no avail. “Come on, Wes, it’s really late, and I’m going to be in such trouble. Please walk me home.” I prayed that he would listen to reason, though

I had never attempted to reason with a drunk before. He had
stopped slurring his words and staggering and was speaking and moving more naturally, so I just hoped the fogginess in his brain was clearing.

He pulled my hand back toward him and put it on his shoulder
again, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist. I craned my neck back to put a few inches between our faces. He was taller than me but not by much. He leaned down toward my face, and I could smell the sharp alcohol rising from his tongue. “Come on, Solara. Relax. It’s just a dance.”

“Were you
just
dancing with Aria before I came in?” I asked, stiffening and trying to pull away from him. I was determined to get him out of the door now, even if it meant being mean. He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him.

“I don’t
care
about Aria, Solara,” he groaned.

“It looked like you were having fun with her, Mr. Wesley. Her
hands were on you, her knees between yours, and your hands on her hips, and that’s all I
saw
. I imagine there was more that occurred prior to my arrival.” I scoffed, finally able to break free from his gaze and grasp.

“What?” he shook his he
ad as if trying to remember the episode with Aria.

“Look, it’s fine. I just wanted you to know that your job and
reputation is more important with any fling she might offer you. Just wait another month, and then go for it, but don’t make a stupid mistake because she shows an interest in you now.” I sipped the coconut magic, marveling at its flavor and the fact that it seems to be making me bolder with every sip.
Crap
. Faric leaned against the door facing, giving me the look that indicated that my time was up.

I glanced at him and said, “Excuse me for a minute, Wes.” I
exited into the main room, dragging Faric behind me. He said he’d taken Aria back to her room and instructed her guard to make sure she stayed there, found Rachel and took her back to Wesley’s room, checked to make sure Annette was still asleep— which she was—and came back to get me.