Page 89 of In The Dark
My eyes narrow. “I want a mission without you tagging along. Where’s Ezra? You seem to be giving him everything anyway. Let him go with me. I’m just shocked you’re giving me anything at all. Plus, I thought I was being punished. Can’t punish me if I’m not here.” I smirk.
He chuckles, looking off to the side when he spots my tornnight slip. His brows pinch as a question forms on his face, but he doesn’t ask. “You weren’t my first choice, but Ezra is still gone on his mission. He won’t be back for another few days. King Elion wants to use yourexcellentinfiltration and disguise skills. But you can count this trip as a part of your punishment. What better way to train your stealth than to do it on a mission with me?”
Gritting my teeth, I roll my eyes so hard I’m surprised they don’t fall out of my head. “Glad to know I’m such a valuable asset when no one else is available. I’ve had weeks of nothing. Training, sitting around, and twiddling my thumbs,” I say sarcastically.
“Don’t you think that’s why I’m here?” he snaps finally, tossing the envelope on my bed. “I’m giving you something, but you already know that it’s not up to me—Elion gives the final say.”
I clench my fists. “Gods, you frustrate me.”
“Good. I’d hate to be boring and easily forgotten,” he bites back. “Now get dressed. We leave in two hours.”
“Fine. I’ll meet you in the stables,” I mutter under my breath, turning away with a shake of my head.
Ren strides to the door, then stops, pivoting to me as he grabs the knob. “Oh, and Isa?”
“What?” I ask, not bothering to hide the frustration in my voice as I reach for a glass of water.
“Take a bath. You reek of sex.” He quietly chuckles just as I throw the glass at his face before he quickly slams the door, glass shattering against it.
“Ugh!” I scream, hands clenching.He’s infuriating.
Suddenly, I’m not so sure he’ll make it back from our trip in one piece. I might leave him out there and return alone. Then I remember—the ground is frozen. Burying him would be too much of a hassle. Perhaps I’ll just leave him out in the snow.
Rydian steps out of the Veil, dragging me from my darkthoughts. He’s fully dressed, and I suddenly realize that I prefer him without clothes. There’s nothing to see now, no glimpse of the body I had my legs wrapped around just last night. Still, I stare, hoping that his clothes will just… vanish. My eyes drag over him in silence.
“Stop looking at me like that, little fawn, or we’ll be doing something other than get ready for this journey,” he says.
I blink, registering his words. “No, notwe. You’re not going.”
“I’m going. And I won’t be waiting around while Ivy and Orin are in Aurelia.”
“Then meet with them in Aurelia if you need to. Study the map while I’m gone. You can’t stay in the Veil for eight days, remember? I’ll go with Ren to finish this mission and meet you at the loft after. This will give you enough time to plan with Orin and check in with Ivy. I’ll be here when you get back. I promise.”
Yet as I say those words, my chest tightens. I don’t want to go on a mission, and I definitely don’t want to be without Rydian for so long. I sigh, knowing that this is our best option even if I don’t want it.
He strides to me, cradling the back of my neck. “I don’t want to leave you alone with him. I can’t tell if he’s in love with you or if he wants to kill you. Regardless, I don’t trust him.” He sears me with his intense, possessive stare.
I’ve been a trained weapon my whole life—sharp and efficient. Yet for some reason, the way he approaches this feels different. Like something in him shifted between last night and this morning. Softer. Warmer. And I can’t quite put my finger on why.
“You think everyone is in love with me,” I scoff, thinking of what he said about Silas, leaving me to believe he’s jealous and doesn’t want other males near me.
“That’s because they are. If they aren’t, they probably enjoy male company rather than that of females,” he mutters.
A sharp laugh of disbelief escapes me. “I’ll be fine. Ren may have trained me when I was younger, but I’m far more agile than he is. I can handle myself.” I step away because he’s distracting, and I need to bathe.
He rubs his hand over his jaw, lost in thought. Then he nods after a moment. “Fine. I would like to test the distance of the Veil now that you can travel.”
I halt mid-turn, slowly pivoting. “What did you say?”
“You can travel in the Veil. Last night when you were sleeping, you met me in the Veil at the castle in my chambers, don’t you remember? Why did you think I showed up when I did?” He furrows his brows, and then a sly grin slowly forms on his lips at the realization.
“That was real?” I ask in disbelief. Embarrassment coats my veins at having thought it was a dream. “How is that possible? I was asleep but ended up in the Veil with you? I thought we couldn’t travel from realm to realm unless we crossed the border.”
He smirks, crossing his arms, as he realizes I didn’t know I wasn’t dreaming. His cloak flares, revealing the dark tunic underneath, spread thin across his muscled chest.
“There are different ways to access the Veil. We can do it through communication like we do when we talk to each other. Then there’s the physical and not physical aspect of it—allowing us to access it in a dreamlike state. Like last night, we can continue to stay in one location while we visit another in sleep. It’s still very real, just not there physically. Think of it as a state of in between. But this means that your power continues to grow, and I want to test it while you’re gone.”
The dark castle must be where Rydian lives, near the ocean, and I wasin his chambers,somehow traveling to Aurelia without knowing exactly where I was.