And for the first time since she’d arrived at the castle, Scarlet genuinely smiled.
“We had a plan, Gabriel!” Raven’s black hair swung around her head as she turned around to yell at him while he stood in her family’s garden.
Gabriel stepped forward, trying to calm her down. “I promised Tristan—”
“You promised me!” Raven’s gray eyes looked deadly. “You and I together,” she gestured back and forth between them, “are unstoppable. You and that peasantgirl? That is just pitiful.”
“I promised my father that I would marry Scarlet—”
“Ugh! Do not say her name.” Raven paced for moment, her eyes catching on him every few steps. Then she stopped and took a deep breath. “There is still time to fix everything. Maybe we could send the peasant away, have her join a nunnery or something.”
Gabriel shook his head. “I cannot send her away. Tristan asked me to take care of—”
“No.” Raven set a finger against Gabriel’s lips, halting his words. She brought her exotic face in close to his and looked at him from under her lashes. “Take care of me, Gabriel. Do not take care of a girl who will not hold you,” she walked her fingers from his mouth to the back of his neck, “or want you,” she ran her other hand down his chest, “or kiss you….” Raven set her mouth to his, cupping the back of his neck as she pulled him down closer to her.
Gabriel kissed her back, placing his hands on her hips and bringing her closer to his body. He loved the way she tasted and the way her hands roved his back and lower….
Pulling back from their embrace, Raven nipped at his lower lip for a delicious moment. “Gabriel?” Her voice sounded small and delicate. “Do you not want me anymore?”
Gabriel licked his lips, hot from her mouth. “Of course, I want you.”
“Then you will find a way to be with me, won’t you?” She pressed her mouth to his neck.
“Yes,” Gabriel answered automatically. He would not break his promise to Tristan. But how could he resist Raven? Why would he want to?
He would find a way to be with Raven, yet still take care of Scarlet.
Somehow.
Raven kissed him more fully. “Mmmm.” She pulled back again, this time more abruptly, and smiled. “You and I will be unstoppable.”
43
Tristan winced as he tried to stand up straight in the little shack. The pain was almost unbearable, keeping him from walking or standing without wanting to scream.
It felt like he was imploding, his soul pulling at his skin from the inside out.
He stood in the kitchen, looking down at an untouched plate of food. Lifting a fork to his mouth was too taxing and chewing made his ears throb and pop. He hadn’t eaten all day, but his pain far outweighed his hunger.
He thought about going back to where Scarlet was, just to relieve the aching for a few hours.
He would, he decided, if it carried on for another few days. If there was no reprieve from his torment soon, he would make his way closer to Scarlet. Just close enough to breathe easily. Or breathe at all.
Until then, he would just grit his teeth through the pain.
He picked up his uneaten plate of food and emptied it into the trash, wincing with every movement.
44
Later that week, Scarlet and Laura sat on the couch together watching an old movie. Laura had been especially worried about Scarlet lately, always asking where she was going and what she was doing.
And sometimes, just sometimes, Scarlet swore Laura was looking at her eyes. But that made no sense. How would Laura know? And if Laura did know, why wouldn’t she tell Scarlet?
Maybe for the same reason she didn’t tell me she knew about Tristan? Or her weapon fetish?
Scarlet was so confused. She didn’t know what to think of her guardian’s secrecy. But she also didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. Laura had been great since Scarlet’s breakup with Gabriel. She’d taken Scarlet out to dinner and movies and distracted her as best she could.
Scarlet and Gabriel had almost every class together, so Scarlet couldn’t help but see him all day, and their conversations had been clipped and limited.
They didn’t hate each other. Not at all. They just didn’t know how to act around one another. Scarlet ran a hand through her hair and looked around the room.
Piles of folded, clean laundry were stacked up around the couch, making cloth towers in the living room. If there was one thing both Laura and Scarlet were bad at, it was putting laundry away.
The movie came to an end and Scarlet looked over at her guardian, who was sound asleep with her head on the arm of the couch. Her red hair fanned out against the pale fabric of the sofa, looking soft and flawless as it settled on top of a short tower of Laura’s clean shirts.
Scarlet turned the TV off and gathered a few piles of clothes from the floor. She tiptoed upstairs and dropped her own laundry off in her room, before walking into Laura’s room to do the same. Her joints burned as she moved and Scarlet winced. That had been happening a lot, lately. Maybe Scarlet needed to take up yoga or something.
She set the clothes on Laura’s bed and turned to leave Laura’s room, when something caught her eye.
Peeking out from the double doors of Laura’s closet, was a suitcase. The same suitcase Laura had been so weird about when she’d come home from Europe.
Scarlet stared at the closet, twitching her lips.
She never invaded Laura’s privacy.
In fact, she’d only been in Laura’s room one other time and that was when Laura first showed Scarlet the house two years ago.
She had no business being in Laura’s private space, let alone looking inside her luggage.
No business at all.
Nagging curiosity poked at Scarlet as she stared at the suitcase. Were the Bluestone weapons in there? Was that what Laura was hiding?
A minute passed.
Scarlet scolded herself as she made her way over to the suitcase.
It was wrong. So wrong.
But did that stop Scarlet? Nope.
She looked behind her to make sure Laura hadn’t followed her upstairs, then eased the closet door open and knelt beside the suitcase.
Slowly unzipping it, Scarlet felt her nerves begin to jump. She didn’t know what to think of Laura carting around a collection of knives.
Lifting the flap of the unzipped suitcase, Scarlet blinked.
Not knives.
Inside, carefully tucked into black casing so as not to be jostled, was a single yellow flower, roots and all.
What the…?
Footsteps on the stairs had Scarlet quickly shutting the flap and zipping the suitcase back up. With her heart pounding, Scarlet stepped out of Laura’s room and tried to act casual as Laura reached the top of the stairs.