Deviation: Altera Realm Trilogy Book 2 (28 page)

“You OK?” Adam asked.

She looked at him and nodded. “Fine. Just tired,” she said with a yawn.

Noelle echoed the yawn. “I’m going to go lie down for a little bit. Almost dying is exhausting.”

“You sure you’re OK?” Adam asked. “You might want to go to the infirmary and get checked out.”

She shook her head. “I feel great. Better than before I got stabbed, actually.” She stood up. “I’ll come by later.”

Syney nodded as Noelle and Gabe left the room. She looked at Adam, who sat down on the bed. “Exciting day.”

“And it’s not over.”

Syney took a sip of water and sat next to him. “I have to go down there to talk to him.”

“The Shifter?”

She nodded. “The only way we’re going to get anywhere is if we talk to the other races. Two days with Hadrian, and so much was revealed. The Shifter may know a great deal.”

Adam looked at her. “He tried to kill you.”

“He might have a reason.”

He stood up. “If he tries to hurt you again, I’ll kill him.”

Syney looked up at him and couldn’t help smile. “My hero,” she said quietly.

Adam rolled his eyes as someone knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Syney called out.

Helen walked into the room, her face filled with concern. “Syney! We heard you were attacked.”

“I’m fine,” Syney said quickly, with a smile that fell the moment the youngest princess walked in behind her sister. “Cass,” she said flatly.

Cass smiled at her tentatively. “Syney. It’s good to see you.” She looked at Adam. “Hello.”

“Adam, this is Princess Cassandrianna. Cass, this is Adam,” Syney said.

Adam shot her his brilliant smile. “It’s a pleasure, Princess.”

Cass gave some nervous giggles. “Uh-huh.”

“They said it was a Shifter,” Helen said, sitting beside Syney.

She nodded. “It was. A snake.”

“A snake?” Cass asked, her smile finally falling.

“Big, black, bad attitude,” Adam said.

Helen shook her head. “This is horrible. Mother is calling an emergency council meeting to decide on his fate.”

“But we just brought him here. We need to talk to him, get information. He might help with war,” Syney said. It was just like Mellisandrianna to get rid of a good source of information. But then again, that meant he might know something that could be bad for the queen, which meant it was good for Syney.

“I agree!” Cass exclaimed.

Syney stood up. “Come on.” She led the way out of the room and bid Adam good-bye as they hurried to the council room. Syney just prayed she could sway some votes to keep the Shifter alive. She needed to talk to him and get as much information as she could. She was sick of not getting her way. She looked at Cass as they entered the room. As much as it pained her, she needed the princess to win this battle. The choice words she’d been gathering for Cass would have to wait until after this vote.

Syney and Cass both fought to spare the Shifter’s life, but nothing they said was going to make a difference to the council. They voted to put him to death as soon as possible. It took a special request by Syney to delay the execution for a week. The only members of the council who were allowed special requests were the queens, seated and head of house. Mellisandrianna tried to block the request, but Syney won out and the Shifter now had one week to sit in the windowless, ventless, solid-walled room that was made to be his cell. Leaf was curious about Syney’s motives. Most people wouldn’t try to save a man who’d just tried to kill them. But the one thing he’d learned about the young queen was that she had reasons for everything she did. So when he went to the Shifter’s cell, a modified interrogation room, and saw Syney pacing in front of it, he wasn’t surprised.

“I’m not letting you in,” Leaf said, walking up to her.

“Yes, you are. I need to talk to him,” Syney said.

“I figured that, but not yet.”

She stared at him for a while before sighing. “When?”

He stepped closer to her. “I want to help you, but I can’t if you don’t tell me anything.”

“I can’t. Not because I don’t want to or because I don’t want your help, but because I don’t want you to be involved. I don’t want any more people I care about in the line of fire.”

Leaf didn’t like her answer. He had a feeling something had been going on with Syney that was dangerous. He wanted to be involved if only because of his instinctual protection of her. And now she had just about confirmed that something was going on and that it was dangerous. He had two options: He could demand she tell him what was going on, or he could back off and let her do her own thing. Neither appealed to him. He was worried about Syney, but he also had a responsibility to his guards. He feared that helping Syney would put him in a situation where he would have to choose loyalties.

“OK,” he said finally, “but you’re still not going to talk to him right now.”

“I need you to trust me,” Syney begged.

“And I do. He’s not going to give you anything right now. He still thinks we might let him go. The best time to get anything out of a prisoner is after they’ve been incarcerated for a while. They start to get desperate.”

Syney nodded. “How long?”

“Give him a few days, and I’ll let you talk to him.”

She looked at the door. “OK. Thank you.”

He nodded. “I’ll let you know if he says anything.”

Syney gave him a small smile and went to leave but walked straight into Cass. “Oh, sorry,” Syney said. “Cass?”

The princess stared at her, wide-eyed, then glanced at Leaf. “Oh, hey, everyone. I, um…um…”

“What are you doing here?” Syney asked, a little hostility clouding her voice.

“I…I got lost,” Cass said with a nervous laugh. “Lived here all my life, and I still get turned around sometimes. I’m a ditz.”

Syney stared at her oddly before shooting a look at Leaf then heading away.

Cass watched her go then eyed the door behind Leaf. “Is the prisoner in there?”

“It was a snake that kidnapped you, right?” Leaf asked.

Cass looked up at him and slowly nodded.

Leaf stared at her for a moment. Hunter’s report didn’t include everything, but he had sent a letter to Leaf with everything he had left out, most of which involved Cass. Hunter’s report did talk about Cass’s kidnapping but left out any mention of Cass and the Shifter’s relationship. Hunter hadn’t wanted everyone knowing what had happened to Cass, and for good reason. Leaf wanted to reprimand Cass once he’d read it. Not for having inappropriate relations with a member of another race but for actually telling someone about it. She could have gotten into a lot of trouble. “I suggest you don’t get too lost again, Princess.”

She sighed and nodded. “OK.” She slowly walked away, casting one last look at the door to the interrogation room.

Leaf wasn’t comfortable with the trend he was seeing. A Magic User and a Lycin together was bad enough, but Cass and a Shifter? He shook his head. He thought about having Helen talk to her, but that would mean talking to Helen himself, which he had avoided doing lately. He was happy for her in her new role as priestess, but he missed her. It was times like these when he had found solace in their talks.

He sighed and walked to the door, outside of which he had two guards posted. He wanted to keep as many people outside of the room as possible. Shifters were known to talk a lot, and the last thing he needed was this one filling his guards’ heads with whatever he was spouting. He nodded to both guards and unlocked the door after taking a pile of clothes from one of them. He walked in and eyed the naked Shifter, who sat in the corner of the room. Leaf threw the clothes to him and sat at the table in the center of the room.

The Shifter picked up the clothes and pulled them on. At least he wasn’t prideful enough to remain naked, Leaf thought. The Shifter got up from the floor and plopped down in the seat across from Leaf. He was young—too young to be anyone of importance but just young enough to kidnap a royal princess then try to kill the seated queen.

“You’re a wolf, right?” the kid asked. “Are you, like, head lapdog?”

Leaf crossed his arms and stared at him.

“You got that stare down pretty good. Only…”He leaned in. “I’m not scared of you.”

“Do you know why you’re here?”

The Shifter sat back. “Because I got caught.”

“You kidnapped a royal princess.”

His face changed, and he shifted in the chair. “What princess?”

“Cassandrianna.”

“Is she…here?”

Leaf narrowed his eyes at him. “You tried to kill the seated queen.”

The Shifter laughed. “And yet she’s not dead, and neither is that blonde who jumped in the way. You should ask about that. Very interesting.”

“I’ll try to remember to do that. What’s your name?”

“What’s yours?”

“Leaf.”

The Shifter stopped and stared at him. Leaf knew the kid hadn’t expected any kind of honesty. It was always good to get your prisoner off guard. “Weston,” he said, his attitude dropping a little.

Leaf uncrossed his arms and put his hands on the table. “The council met and decided that you’ll be executed for your crimes against the royal family and the Village.”

“That was quick. What would I have gotten if I’d actually killed the bitch?”

“Her Protector would have killed you on the spot. Also, that bitch has fought in your favor, along with Princess Cassandrianna.”

“So she is here.”

“You’ll be executed a week from today. I’ll come back, every day, and any information you’d like to give regarding position, defenses—or anything else that can be of use—I will take.”

Weston looked at him, his face turning hard again. “My land was destroyed by these people. I won’t give you anything that might help them.” He sat forward again. “But you should think about something. Lycins and Shifters are so similar. We both have a human side and an animal side. Almost like brothers. But you—you serve them; you’re like pets. You put your own lives on the line for them. Why? They aren’t superior. They aren’t even nice half the time. Am I right? Screw your sense of duty. Because there is no honor in dying for people who care so little about you.”

“The destroyed lands—that was in a report I read. You claim the lands are cursed,” Leaf said.

“They are.”

Leaf stood up. “Some of my guards will bring you food. I suggest you eat.”

“I suggest you think about what I said.”

Leaf left him and told one of the guards to get Weston a tray of food. “Go in and out,” Leaf told him. He had been right to keep his guards out of the room. There were some that would agree with some of the Shifter’s comments. Being a member of the Royal Guard and a Protector used to be an honor and a privilege, but since the war, it had become compulsory. There were many Lycins, especially young guards, who disagreed with the entire system. Not that they would say anything to Leaf, but he heard grumblings during trainings.

Leaf started toward his room but stopped in one of the hallways and sat on a bench that lined the wall. Much of what the Shifter had said was exaggerated to prove a point, he knew, but he couldn’t help shake the feeling that he agreed with the underlying sentiment. Until last year there weren’t any Magic Users he could even stand; he had stayed away from them as much as he possibly could. It wasn’t until Syney came, and he had begun his relationship with Helen, that he saw the good side of the race. There were still many that he avoided at all costs, mostly in the royal families. No, he didn’t think the relationship between Lycins and Magic Users was very fair, but the Shifter had made one mistake. As much as Leaf didn’t like the Magic Users, he wouldn’t align himself with the Shifters, ever.

“Are you OK?”

Leaf looked at Helen. “I’m fine. You just caught me thinking.”

She gave him a sad smile and tentatively sat next to him on the bench. “I’ve seen you think. This is more than that.”

Leaf sighed. He had missed her. Just being this close made his chest tighten. He looked at her, ready to say that it was nothing, but he stopped. This was actually bothering him, and talking would help. This was something he would have gone to Hunter about, and the two would have talked through how they both felt, but his friend wasn’t here, and there wasn’t anyone he trusted with his feelings. Except maybe Helen. “Can we talk?”

She hesitated, rubbing her arm, which used to be bare, and nodded.

Leaf led the way to his room, the only place he knew they could be alone. He avoided sitting on the bed and opted for the small desk along the wall where two chairs were. He looked at her, but her eyes drifted around the room, a small smile on her lips.

She finally looked at him. “Sorry. I…miss this room, to be honest. It’s more…comfortable than the others.”

Leaf looked around. “It’s dark.”

“It’s warm.”

“Only when you’re here.” He regretted it the moment it was out of his mouth, but there was no taking it back.

Helen shifted in her seat. “What’s on your mind?”

Leaf took a deep breath and shared what the Shifter had said and his own thoughts on the topic. She let him talk, and even ramble a little, for which he was grateful. When he was done, he expected Helen to make some comments; he didn’t even care if she disagreed, as long as she talked to him. But she didn’t say anything. Instead she stood and played with her fingernails. She walked over to his dresser and ran her finger along the few toiletries he kept there. She suddenly turned to him, her face sad. “We’re not that different, are we?”