Part 31
[I]Digging deep, I feel my conscience burn.
I need to know who and what I am.
Slumber jolts me from complacency.
It rocks me and makes me meet myself.
Cause your welcome to remind him
Of the greater gift of the greater one
When I fall back to my own resources
How can I carry your truth
If I can't crawl to you?
I want to feel something sweeter than this sin,
Cover me in leaves and roll me over again.
I've been everybody else
Now I want to be something
Closer to myself.
Bring me a different light,
Shed me yet another coat of skin
Mark me with ash until I'm coming in.
I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired
I know I can love you, I know that I can…
Kendall Payne[/I]
Isabel sat at the window staring out at the drizzle, sighing. Seeing the sun right about now seemed too much to ask for. Everything she had wanted since arriving in England the month before had fallen into her lap in the last three days. They had a way through the portal to save her brother and their friends and she had Michael eating out of her hand. One more desire met in a sunny sky - it just seemed unlikely.
And, yet, it grated, the constant oppressiveness of the gray sky in this country. She couldn't understand the restlessness, the fear the was causing her heart to beat an uneven tattoo under her breast. She [I]needed[/I] the sun today, needed it to reinforce that everything that was happening to her, to everyone she loved, was what was meant to be, what [I]had[/I] to be.
It had literally felt like her world was ending when she had walked into Alex's room yesterday and had found Jennetta in his arms. She knew that she had absolutely no right to be jealous, especially after the way she had been feeling and acting for the last few weeks where Michael was concerned. But it had still hurt. Alex had been the one she could depend on, the only one she still knew for sure was in this because he loved [I]her[/I]. He was her strength. He had been [I]hers[/I] alone.
Somehow, deep down, she had stupidly believed that he would give her time to explore whatever it was that was happening between she and Michael. That he would wait for her. He always had before after all. He had never tried to pin her down or control her, had never tried to make her something she wasn't. He had always been so good about all the alien chaos, had given her the space she needed to figure things out.
But, in the end, Jennetta had managed to weave her spell over him too, taking advantage of the situation, of Isabel's confusion, just like she had over first Max, stealing her brother's love away from Isabel, and then over Michael.
Isabel hated her. Deeply and in a way that she knew was not entirely rational. But Jennetta had become the representation of everything that had gone wrong in her life. If the other girl had never existed, none of this would ever have happened. Michael would not have been attracted to Maria at all, ever, because Isabel was almost sure now that whatever it was that had existed between the two of them had always been destined to assure Jenny's birth. In fact, all the events from when Max healed Liz on down could be traced back to the fact that Jennetta had been prophesied.
Jennetta was the reason that Michael had been unwilling to give into his true feelings for so long. But, finally, destiny and the bonding that had occurred between them in another lifetime had held fast.
Because, was he not, at this moment, sound asleep on her bed, where she had left him minutes ago?
Nothing had happened between them last night - nothing physical anyway. It had been enough that he had finally come to her, telling her that he wanted to sleep with her, wanted to try and remember.
She had been sitting exactly where she was now when the soft knock had come at her door. Her feelings had been in turmoil then too, more over Alex than anything else. She had been mourning his loss more than she had expected to, had been trying to tell herself that it was all for the best anyway, that she hadn't wanted to hurt him when she and Michael tried again, that maybe fate was helping events run their natural course.
Her heart had been telling her different though. Her heart felt as though it was about to break into a thousand pieces.
Even when she had opened the door, she had secretly been hoping it was Alex, that he had come to explain, that the cozy scene she had interrupted had been totally misinterpreted. It had dawned on her suddenly that had she found Alex like that with either Liz or Maria, she would have thought nothing of it, had been telling herself how silly she was being. But then, Alex had never given her cause to be jealous before. From the first moment that she had become aware of how he felt about her - when she had visited him in his dreams and they had danced during the heat wave in their sophomore year - she had known that she was all he ever saw.
It had been an eye-opener to realize that other girls might find him attractive, one she had found [I]very[/I] unpleasant, despite the fact that she had been about to hurt him herself. She had always considered him her little secret - the geek with the heart of gold and the patience of a saint. In all her dreams of Michael, it had never once occurred to her that she would lose Alex. She had been worried about hurting him, but she had never considered that she might [I]lose[/I] him.
Stupid and selfish, but true.
She sighed again as she heard Michael stirring behind her. Turning her head, she found him staring at her with his dark eyes, his expression unreadable. His spiky hair was more tousled than usual and he was blinking suddenly, as though surprised to see her. "Did you have a dream?" He asked quietly when he finally seemed to get his bearings.
She stared back at him, seeing Tristandor, seeing him waking in their bed in the Citadel. She could almost hear him even. "Yes," she replied. "Did you?" She wasn't being entirely truthful however. The dreams never ended anymore after all. They haunted her throughout the day, reinforcing more than anything, that no matter who she hurt - even Alex - that she was doing the right thing.
[I]Come back to bed my Miri. We have plenty of time before we must meet Jaxon. Let us make the most of it.[/I]
Michael's eyes shifted. He was no longer looking at her. "Yes." His voice cracked slightly. Isabel frowned. He sounded weird - almost like he was lying to her. But why would he lie? He had made his choice.
Isabel had been worried about how Maria would take everything, despite the fact that it would not have stopped her from pursuing things with Michael. She [I]did[/I] care about the other girl, in spite of everything. But when she had asked Michael about it, he had merely shrugged. "She'll get over it. She's always expected me to run out on her eventually anyway."
"What about Jennetta?" Isabel had asked, frowning in spite of herself. She knew that her hatred for Michael's daughter could still mess things up for them, had been trying to hide it at all costs.
Michael had looked more upset at that. "Maria said she'd deal with her. She'll have other things to worry about once we're back on Illyria anyway."
"Right." Isabel continued to stare at him. Why was this so weird? When she saw him as Tristandor, it all seemed so natural, made sense, but right now he was Michael and all she was thinking was that her brother was in her bed and it was just plain [I]wrong[/I]. "I guess we should get dressed. Jemma said that we had to plan strategy before we head out to Stonehenge - that we'll be going into battle as soon as we arrive, because of the occupation of the ring."
She jumped slightly when she briefly saw movement outside the window she was still sitting beside. Turning her head, she saw a dark-haired young man standing on the grass outside the safe-house. He was holding an umbrella over his head and was staring right at her. She frowned. Why did he look so familiar? And why was he standing there like he had every right to be there, like he wasn't embarrassed that she had just caught him playing peeping Tom? She pulled her robe more tightly around her shoulders.
"What's wrong?" Michael asked. He was standing behind her, clad only in the sweat-pants and T-shirt he had worn to bed. A frisson of desire ran down her spine.
Isabel licked her lips, looked back towards the man. He was gone.
"Nothing." She couldn't tell him. She didn't want him to think she was crazy. Not only was she having hallucinations about [I]him[/I] as Tristandor, she was also now imagining that other people were watching them. Besides, she had other things to think about.
Like the fact that he was standing two feet away from her, half-dressed, and all she wanted was for him to kiss her. She saw something flare in his eyes, like he knew it too.
She paused momentarily. Because whatever it was on Michael's face at the moment, it wasn't desire. She frowned when she realized it was fear. He was scared of her. Or, if not of her, of his feelings for her.
It was time to make the final move, play this game through to the end, reclaim what was hers. She took his hand, pulled him towards her. She could see a tremor pass through his body, felt it in her own. "Tris…" She barely breathed his name, felt the pull between them as though in a trance, could see the hypnotic bond of it crossing his face as well.
Isabel ignored the way her heart cried out for Alex as her lips met his.
******************************************************************
"This is a terrible idea." Kyle knew that the fact that he had already said it twelve times wasn't going to make the thirteenth any more effective, but he had to try anyway.
"There's no choice," Tess replied, not even bothering to look at him as she crawled into the bed. Milena stood near the door, watching them both, prepared to escape once Tess began the mind-warp.
"I'm not leaving you here alone Tess."
"Yes, you are Kyle. You need to sound the alarm that she's escaped."
"This doesn't make any sense." Kyle shook his head, glaring at her and extremely annoyed that he wasn't going to be able to change her mind.
"It's very simple. I'll mind-warp the guard, so that Milena looks like me. She'll leave the Citadel with you because you'll tell everyone that you're taking me into town to show me around, so that the people can see me - that we got the idea from Milena and it seemed like a good one, that no one knows about being queen better than she does. She'll head off after Max and then I'll drop the mind-warp and you'll pretend that you just found out what she had done - because everyone knows that Milena has some very small mindwarping capabilities - and then you'll come back for me. Easy as 1-2- 3."
"That's [I]not[/I] what I meant," Kyle told her impatiently, his arms crossed. He glared at Milena, who was listening to every word, and went to sit beside Tess on the bed. He lowered his voice. "What I meant is, it doesn't make any sense that you trust this woman. Max told us not to and you're going to anyway?"
"I trust that she hates Nasedo, which I can understand," Tess replied. "And this is the only way I can figure out to help Max. Milena's goal is to put Ren on the throne. Right now her priorities and Max's are the same - getting rid of Nasedo. Max for Jennetta's sake, Milena for Ren's. I think Max was letting his shock about who Ren is and about how his mother betrayed his father cloud his judgment. For now, he needs her. And I'm not going to let his own stubbornness stop him from having all the resources he can."
"Max isn't an idiot Tess," Kyle said through gritted teeth, knowing it was only the truth, as much as it galled him.
"He is when it comes to Liz. He wasn't really thinking about Milena at all Kyle. I think he just wanted to shut her away to deal with her after he got Liz back. And that's a wasted resource. I'm his queen and I have to do what's best for him." Kyle flinched at the [I]his queen[/I] part, but tried to ignore it. This wasn't the time for jealousy. This was the time to make Tess see sense.
"Well, why don't you just mindwarp us [I]all[/I] out of here? I think we should go with her. I don't trust her with Max alone. Because, after Nasedo is gone, Max and Liz are still standing in Ren's way to the throne. In case you've forgotten [I]that[/I] little fact," he added, not meaning to sound so sarcastic, but not displeased that he did.
Tess closed her eyes briefly. "Kyle, I'm still getting back my strength from all the mindwarping I did to get Max and I into the Ring without anyone finding us. I can't run around here [I]and[/I] help Milena make a strong enough warp for this to work. I need to stay in one place."
Kyle frowned. He didn't like this at all. She was going to drain herself to help a woman who had betrayed her own children. He stared at her, wondered briefly if she was under some sort of mind control.
"I don't have time to argue with you about this any more Kyle. Just [I]do[/I] it!" She slammed her blue eyes shut and he could no longer communicate with her. When she was mindwarping, she needed complete concentration and he could see from the look on her face that she was already well gone.
He could hear Milena pounding on the door. When he looked over at her, all he saw was Tess, calling to the guard to let them out. The door was already opening. He could no longer interfere because if the guard got any idea of what was happening, Tess would be seen as a traitor. Because, she was, in effect, going against one of Max's direct orders.
Stupid, stupid. He didn't understand all this monarchy crap, but he did know that wasn't a good thing. Nope. Not at all.
Kyle wondered briefly if the alien component of the Royal Four had been genetically programmed for inherent idiocy and stubbornness - or maybe it was just a lack of ability to recognize a [I]really[/I] bad plan. But then, with all those powers under their control, it was no wonder their over- confidence often resulted in disaster.
Add another point to his lengthy list of why he hoped his alien mojo didn't make another appearance anytime soon. Apparently having extra-terrestrial capabilities also dulled one's grey matter. He loved Tess, but that didn't mean he couldn't see when she was being [I]really[/I] dumb.
But it was too damn late. He scowled as he stomped out of the cell on Milena's heels.
They made it out of the Citadel without incident. Hamor actually appeared relieved to be rid of them. He merely waved his hand in the air dismissively while he pored over several maps spread across a table in the meeting hall. Kyle had seen that they were drawings of the Ring, wondered exactly how Hamor was planning to take it back.
But when the aging general had told them to go, he had high-tailed it out of there, ordering Milena in a tone he knew sounded pissed off, even if it was quiet, to keep her hood up.
"Stupid, stupid." It was what he was still muttering to himself an hour later as he stomped down the winding staircase to the dungeons, having taken Milena as far as the city gates. She had kissed him lightly on the cheek, telling him to go back to "the lovely child in the dungeons" to free her, that she could manage on her own from here.
Lovely child his ass. Stupid child was more like it. She was too damn trusting. That was the whole problem with Tess. First she had trusted Nasedo, clearly the least trust-worthy being in any galaxy and now Milena. Evans was going to blow a gasket when his loony mama showed up wherever he was.
If there was one good thing about Max Evans, it was that he didn't trust anyone on this planet. Kyle had seen it on Max's face when he had left with the Royal Guard to go after Liz. He had been using them to his own ends, but he still didn't [I]trust[/I] them. And he had been right. It annoyed Kyle that Max was [I]always[/I] right, but dammit, he was.
He had worked himself into a state of sheer irritation by the time he entered the anti-chamber near the dungeon where Tess was still ensconced. He frowned slightly when he realized that there was no guard. It was then that he noticed that the door to the cell was open.
Tess was gone.
To be continued…
[I]Digging deep, I feel my conscience burn.
I need to know who and what I am.
Slumber jolts me from complacency.
It rocks me and makes me meet myself.
Cause your welcome to remind him
Of the greater gift of the greater one
When I fall back to my own resources
How can I carry your truth
If I can't crawl to you?
I want to feel something sweeter than this sin,
Cover me in leaves and roll me over again.
I've been everybody else
Now I want to be something
Closer to myself.
Bring me a different light,
Shed me yet another coat of skin
Mark me with ash until I'm coming in.
I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired
I know I can love you, I know that I can…
Kendall Payne[/I]
Isabel sat at the window staring out at the drizzle, sighing. Seeing the sun right about now seemed too much to ask for. Everything she had wanted since arriving in England the month before had fallen into her lap in the last three days. They had a way through the portal to save her brother and their friends and she had Michael eating out of her hand. One more desire met in a sunny sky - it just seemed unlikely.
And, yet, it grated, the constant oppressiveness of the gray sky in this country. She couldn't understand the restlessness, the fear the was causing her heart to beat an uneven tattoo under her breast. She [I]needed[/I] the sun today, needed it to reinforce that everything that was happening to her, to everyone she loved, was what was meant to be, what [I]had[/I] to be.
It had literally felt like her world was ending when she had walked into Alex's room yesterday and had found Jennetta in his arms. She knew that she had absolutely no right to be jealous, especially after the way she had been feeling and acting for the last few weeks where Michael was concerned. But it had still hurt. Alex had been the one she could depend on, the only one she still knew for sure was in this because he loved [I]her[/I]. He was her strength. He had been [I]hers[/I] alone.
Somehow, deep down, she had stupidly believed that he would give her time to explore whatever it was that was happening between she and Michael. That he would wait for her. He always had before after all. He had never tried to pin her down or control her, had never tried to make her something she wasn't. He had always been so good about all the alien chaos, had given her the space she needed to figure things out.
But, in the end, Jennetta had managed to weave her spell over him too, taking advantage of the situation, of Isabel's confusion, just like she had over first Max, stealing her brother's love away from Isabel, and then over Michael.
Isabel hated her. Deeply and in a way that she knew was not entirely rational. But Jennetta had become the representation of everything that had gone wrong in her life. If the other girl had never existed, none of this would ever have happened. Michael would not have been attracted to Maria at all, ever, because Isabel was almost sure now that whatever it was that had existed between the two of them had always been destined to assure Jenny's birth. In fact, all the events from when Max healed Liz on down could be traced back to the fact that Jennetta had been prophesied.
Jennetta was the reason that Michael had been unwilling to give into his true feelings for so long. But, finally, destiny and the bonding that had occurred between them in another lifetime had held fast.
Because, was he not, at this moment, sound asleep on her bed, where she had left him minutes ago?
Nothing had happened between them last night - nothing physical anyway. It had been enough that he had finally come to her, telling her that he wanted to sleep with her, wanted to try and remember.
She had been sitting exactly where she was now when the soft knock had come at her door. Her feelings had been in turmoil then too, more over Alex than anything else. She had been mourning his loss more than she had expected to, had been trying to tell herself that it was all for the best anyway, that she hadn't wanted to hurt him when she and Michael tried again, that maybe fate was helping events run their natural course.
Her heart had been telling her different though. Her heart felt as though it was about to break into a thousand pieces.
Even when she had opened the door, she had secretly been hoping it was Alex, that he had come to explain, that the cozy scene she had interrupted had been totally misinterpreted. It had dawned on her suddenly that had she found Alex like that with either Liz or Maria, she would have thought nothing of it, had been telling herself how silly she was being. But then, Alex had never given her cause to be jealous before. From the first moment that she had become aware of how he felt about her - when she had visited him in his dreams and they had danced during the heat wave in their sophomore year - she had known that she was all he ever saw.
It had been an eye-opener to realize that other girls might find him attractive, one she had found [I]very[/I] unpleasant, despite the fact that she had been about to hurt him herself. She had always considered him her little secret - the geek with the heart of gold and the patience of a saint. In all her dreams of Michael, it had never once occurred to her that she would lose Alex. She had been worried about hurting him, but she had never considered that she might [I]lose[/I] him.
Stupid and selfish, but true.
She sighed again as she heard Michael stirring behind her. Turning her head, she found him staring at her with his dark eyes, his expression unreadable. His spiky hair was more tousled than usual and he was blinking suddenly, as though surprised to see her. "Did you have a dream?" He asked quietly when he finally seemed to get his bearings.
She stared back at him, seeing Tristandor, seeing him waking in their bed in the Citadel. She could almost hear him even. "Yes," she replied. "Did you?" She wasn't being entirely truthful however. The dreams never ended anymore after all. They haunted her throughout the day, reinforcing more than anything, that no matter who she hurt - even Alex - that she was doing the right thing.
[I]Come back to bed my Miri. We have plenty of time before we must meet Jaxon. Let us make the most of it.[/I]
Michael's eyes shifted. He was no longer looking at her. "Yes." His voice cracked slightly. Isabel frowned. He sounded weird - almost like he was lying to her. But why would he lie? He had made his choice.
Isabel had been worried about how Maria would take everything, despite the fact that it would not have stopped her from pursuing things with Michael. She [I]did[/I] care about the other girl, in spite of everything. But when she had asked Michael about it, he had merely shrugged. "She'll get over it. She's always expected me to run out on her eventually anyway."
"What about Jennetta?" Isabel had asked, frowning in spite of herself. She knew that her hatred for Michael's daughter could still mess things up for them, had been trying to hide it at all costs.
Michael had looked more upset at that. "Maria said she'd deal with her. She'll have other things to worry about once we're back on Illyria anyway."
"Right." Isabel continued to stare at him. Why was this so weird? When she saw him as Tristandor, it all seemed so natural, made sense, but right now he was Michael and all she was thinking was that her brother was in her bed and it was just plain [I]wrong[/I]. "I guess we should get dressed. Jemma said that we had to plan strategy before we head out to Stonehenge - that we'll be going into battle as soon as we arrive, because of the occupation of the ring."
She jumped slightly when she briefly saw movement outside the window she was still sitting beside. Turning her head, she saw a dark-haired young man standing on the grass outside the safe-house. He was holding an umbrella over his head and was staring right at her. She frowned. Why did he look so familiar? And why was he standing there like he had every right to be there, like he wasn't embarrassed that she had just caught him playing peeping Tom? She pulled her robe more tightly around her shoulders.
"What's wrong?" Michael asked. He was standing behind her, clad only in the sweat-pants and T-shirt he had worn to bed. A frisson of desire ran down her spine.
Isabel licked her lips, looked back towards the man. He was gone.
"Nothing." She couldn't tell him. She didn't want him to think she was crazy. Not only was she having hallucinations about [I]him[/I] as Tristandor, she was also now imagining that other people were watching them. Besides, she had other things to think about.
Like the fact that he was standing two feet away from her, half-dressed, and all she wanted was for him to kiss her. She saw something flare in his eyes, like he knew it too.
She paused momentarily. Because whatever it was on Michael's face at the moment, it wasn't desire. She frowned when she realized it was fear. He was scared of her. Or, if not of her, of his feelings for her.
It was time to make the final move, play this game through to the end, reclaim what was hers. She took his hand, pulled him towards her. She could see a tremor pass through his body, felt it in her own. "Tris…" She barely breathed his name, felt the pull between them as though in a trance, could see the hypnotic bond of it crossing his face as well.
Isabel ignored the way her heart cried out for Alex as her lips met his.
******************************************************************
"This is a terrible idea." Kyle knew that the fact that he had already said it twelve times wasn't going to make the thirteenth any more effective, but he had to try anyway.
"There's no choice," Tess replied, not even bothering to look at him as she crawled into the bed. Milena stood near the door, watching them both, prepared to escape once Tess began the mind-warp.
"I'm not leaving you here alone Tess."
"Yes, you are Kyle. You need to sound the alarm that she's escaped."
"This doesn't make any sense." Kyle shook his head, glaring at her and extremely annoyed that he wasn't going to be able to change her mind.
"It's very simple. I'll mind-warp the guard, so that Milena looks like me. She'll leave the Citadel with you because you'll tell everyone that you're taking me into town to show me around, so that the people can see me - that we got the idea from Milena and it seemed like a good one, that no one knows about being queen better than she does. She'll head off after Max and then I'll drop the mind-warp and you'll pretend that you just found out what she had done - because everyone knows that Milena has some very small mindwarping capabilities - and then you'll come back for me. Easy as 1-2- 3."
"That's [I]not[/I] what I meant," Kyle told her impatiently, his arms crossed. He glared at Milena, who was listening to every word, and went to sit beside Tess on the bed. He lowered his voice. "What I meant is, it doesn't make any sense that you trust this woman. Max told us not to and you're going to anyway?"
"I trust that she hates Nasedo, which I can understand," Tess replied. "And this is the only way I can figure out to help Max. Milena's goal is to put Ren on the throne. Right now her priorities and Max's are the same - getting rid of Nasedo. Max for Jennetta's sake, Milena for Ren's. I think Max was letting his shock about who Ren is and about how his mother betrayed his father cloud his judgment. For now, he needs her. And I'm not going to let his own stubbornness stop him from having all the resources he can."
"Max isn't an idiot Tess," Kyle said through gritted teeth, knowing it was only the truth, as much as it galled him.
"He is when it comes to Liz. He wasn't really thinking about Milena at all Kyle. I think he just wanted to shut her away to deal with her after he got Liz back. And that's a wasted resource. I'm his queen and I have to do what's best for him." Kyle flinched at the [I]his queen[/I] part, but tried to ignore it. This wasn't the time for jealousy. This was the time to make Tess see sense.
"Well, why don't you just mindwarp us [I]all[/I] out of here? I think we should go with her. I don't trust her with Max alone. Because, after Nasedo is gone, Max and Liz are still standing in Ren's way to the throne. In case you've forgotten [I]that[/I] little fact," he added, not meaning to sound so sarcastic, but not displeased that he did.
Tess closed her eyes briefly. "Kyle, I'm still getting back my strength from all the mindwarping I did to get Max and I into the Ring without anyone finding us. I can't run around here [I]and[/I] help Milena make a strong enough warp for this to work. I need to stay in one place."
Kyle frowned. He didn't like this at all. She was going to drain herself to help a woman who had betrayed her own children. He stared at her, wondered briefly if she was under some sort of mind control.
"I don't have time to argue with you about this any more Kyle. Just [I]do[/I] it!" She slammed her blue eyes shut and he could no longer communicate with her. When she was mindwarping, she needed complete concentration and he could see from the look on her face that she was already well gone.
He could hear Milena pounding on the door. When he looked over at her, all he saw was Tess, calling to the guard to let them out. The door was already opening. He could no longer interfere because if the guard got any idea of what was happening, Tess would be seen as a traitor. Because, she was, in effect, going against one of Max's direct orders.
Stupid, stupid. He didn't understand all this monarchy crap, but he did know that wasn't a good thing. Nope. Not at all.
Kyle wondered briefly if the alien component of the Royal Four had been genetically programmed for inherent idiocy and stubbornness - or maybe it was just a lack of ability to recognize a [I]really[/I] bad plan. But then, with all those powers under their control, it was no wonder their over- confidence often resulted in disaster.
Add another point to his lengthy list of why he hoped his alien mojo didn't make another appearance anytime soon. Apparently having extra-terrestrial capabilities also dulled one's grey matter. He loved Tess, but that didn't mean he couldn't see when she was being [I]really[/I] dumb.
But it was too damn late. He scowled as he stomped out of the cell on Milena's heels.
They made it out of the Citadel without incident. Hamor actually appeared relieved to be rid of them. He merely waved his hand in the air dismissively while he pored over several maps spread across a table in the meeting hall. Kyle had seen that they were drawings of the Ring, wondered exactly how Hamor was planning to take it back.
But when the aging general had told them to go, he had high-tailed it out of there, ordering Milena in a tone he knew sounded pissed off, even if it was quiet, to keep her hood up.
"Stupid, stupid." It was what he was still muttering to himself an hour later as he stomped down the winding staircase to the dungeons, having taken Milena as far as the city gates. She had kissed him lightly on the cheek, telling him to go back to "the lovely child in the dungeons" to free her, that she could manage on her own from here.
Lovely child his ass. Stupid child was more like it. She was too damn trusting. That was the whole problem with Tess. First she had trusted Nasedo, clearly the least trust-worthy being in any galaxy and now Milena. Evans was going to blow a gasket when his loony mama showed up wherever he was.
If there was one good thing about Max Evans, it was that he didn't trust anyone on this planet. Kyle had seen it on Max's face when he had left with the Royal Guard to go after Liz. He had been using them to his own ends, but he still didn't [I]trust[/I] them. And he had been right. It annoyed Kyle that Max was [I]always[/I] right, but dammit, he was.
He had worked himself into a state of sheer irritation by the time he entered the anti-chamber near the dungeon where Tess was still ensconced. He frowned slightly when he realized that there was no guard. It was then that he noticed that the door to the cell was open.
Tess was gone.
To be continued…
