A Grim Love: Can't Fight Time (11 page)

“What are you doing in my room, Uri? You’re acting like a creepy stalker,” Nina grumbled as she rolled over on the bed and popped open an eye to look at him.

Uri’s smiled back like he hadn’t been watching her sleep. “I came to get you.”

Groaning, Nina shifted just as a pressure decided to push against her bladder and remind her that she was still human. “Help me up. I need to pee,” Nina uttered to Uri and held out her hand.

Uri looked at her and shook his head ruefully. “You know, whenever you talk to me it always sounds like a command.”

Smiling, Nina reached for his hand while keeping the sheet firmly in place over her breasts. “And whenever you talk to me, I’m pretty sure you’re either hitting on me or just messing with your brother.”  

Nina cocked a brow that dared Uri to contradict her. When he didn’t, she gave him a victory smile, tied the sheet toga-style, and marched to the bathroom.

It had been a couple --what weeks? day?-- Nina couldn’t remember. Being in Grim’s bed pretty much blocked out time for her, night and day no longer being her time markers. But it
had
been a while since she’d seen Uri, and that in and of itself surprised her. From the way Grim had made it seem Nina had expected Uri to come blasting through the doors and demand some kind of duel.

That hadn’t happened.

“So, why haven’t you come to meet me sooner? Grim was pretty sure you were going to come and try to beat him up,” Nina yelled through the bathroom door.

She heard Uri move around the room, his footsteps quiet on the rugs scattered around. “I had some business to take care of. That and I always knew it would end up this anyway.” Uri shrugged, and cast her his killer smile. “But I never forgot about you, Nina; and if you ever want to mix things up...”

Nina could practically see the eat-shit smile on his face as she washed her face. Shaking her head, Nina smiled fondly. Uri was just... incorrigible.

It was still strange--after a few weeks in the Bloodspurn kingdom, she hadn’t really seen the castle and she didn’t really know what was behind its walls. Grim had told her there were several balconies, but the place was so massive that Nina could walk for hours and feel like she was in the same place she’d started. It all just looked exactly the same: stone walls with ornate tapestries draped over them and big, thick wood doors. Nina had opened the doors a couple of times, but after her third door and the horrifying discovery of some kind of weird BDSM trap, she’d given up on her curiosity.

But she wanted to see more, to explore and to meet people that weren’t guards that hated her guts. Nina missed the human component of it all, missed talking with someone other than Grim or Uri.

If she was being honest, she missed Nicole. “Uri,” Nina began as she exited the bathroom and walked towards the wardrobe where Grim had set some clothes aside for her. “I was wondering if we could go to the human world for a few minutes. I really want to see my friend, Nicole, make sure she’s alright.”

Nina could still remember the conversation she’d had with her father, the palpable anger and disgust in his tone in regard to her friend. She was worried about the Nicole, about what her father might do to her.

There was a long pause as Nina pulled out some clothes and tossed them over her shoulder and on the bed. It was so long, in fact, that she turned around and found Uri looking at her with the most curious expression. He looked like he was trying to see past her, or inside of her--the type of look someone gives his reflection.

Raising a questioning brow, Nina tried the same tactic with Uri. The reaper was a complete mystery to her. While he seemed like he was a laid-back guy who really just wanted to piss off his brother, there was something just beneath the surface. Sometimes it felt like he didn’t care about any of it, like he was completely removed from it all.

“How ‘bout I check on her later. Grim would kill me if I took you to the human world,” Uri finally said as he pivoted on his heel and turned his back to give her some privacy. “And besides, we have plans today.”

Nina rolled her eyes and threw off the sheet. She had a feeling he wouldn’t sneak a peek, but just in case he did, she dressed quickly. “Plans?”

Uri gave her a thumbs-up over his shoulder. “I thought you might want to get out of the castle and explore the town. It’s a decent size with tons of places to shop, you might like it.”

Nina nearly jumped for joy at the thought of finally leaving the creepy castle, but her mood sobered immediately when she remembered Grim. The man hadn’t let her get five paces from him before he, or one of the new guards he’d assigned to her, was there. She always had a shadow in the castle.

“And what do you get out of it, Uri?” Nina asked as she pulled her hair back and secured it in a ponytail.

“You decent?” Uri asked before looking over his shoulder and turning around completely. “Having your company for the day is pleasure enough.” He smiled suavely at her, the epitome of a fairytale prince.

Rolling her eyes, Nina snorted and looked around the room for her shoes, spotting them at the foot of the bed. “Bullshit. What’s the real reason?”

“Well, there is the small matter of Grim touching you even though we’re contracted. And seeing as I won’t fight him...” Uri shrugged. “Whisking you off is the next best thing.”

“That sounds more like it.” Nina nodded as she sat down and laced up her shoes. “But at least leave him a note. He’s been a bit paranoid about my safety lately.”

Nina felt a shift in the air and then Uri was suddenly in front of her, bending down to help her tie her other shoe. “I think I can do that,” Uri acceded as he pulled the laces taut.

“Now come on, I have a carriage waiting for us.” Uri announced and held his hand out like a gallant prince.

In a pair of bleach-washed denims and a light gray V-neck sweater, Uri looked like everything but a prince. His half-assed hair style didn’t help, the red tresses looking like they’d just been finger-combed.

Grasping Uri’s hand, Nina squeaked when he pulled her close and wrapped her in his arms. “Hey!” she said indignantly, but whatever else she was going to say was stolen by the wind as Uri ran--flew?--down the hallways with a speed that a bullet probably couldn’t match. They were outside in a courtyard of sorts in about thirty seconds flat.

As soon as they stopped, Nina turned her head and gagged, wondering if she would throw up. She detested flying of any kind, especially the kind that reminded her of theme park rides.

“You okay?” Uri took a big step back from her as she wiped some spittle off her cheek.

Nina shot him a quick glare. “Little warning next time you’re going to fly!” Nina tried to scream, but gagged again.

Around her she could hear people moving, and Uri relaying a message for Grim to someone. After a few seconds of deep breathing, Nina was finally able to feel her stomach settle back into place.

Lifting her head, she looked around and her eyes went wide at the horse-drawn carriage a few feet from her.
Uri hadn’t been kidding.
The thing looked like something out of a fairy tale, except the horses were jet black. The carriage was also black, and what looked like a crest with a pendulum with two swords crossed was emblazoned on the side of it.

“Is that the Bloodspurn coat of arms?” Nina asked as she moved to the coach and ran a hand over the crest.

Uri was beside her in a second, hands stuffed in his pockets. “Yeah, but you won’t really see it anywhere. Grim hates it and had most of the things bearing the coat of arms put in storage. But it’s my carriage.”

Nina turned her head and rolled her eyes at him. She would never ever forget that the two were brothers. Sibling rivalry aside, they both had possessive tendencies that could not be missed.

Shaking her head, Nina climbed into the carriage without his hand and settled into the seat. It was nice, the velvet fabric soft and supple against her fingertips. Nina had never been in a carriage before, but so far she liked it. It sort of reminded her of Cinderella, except she wasn’t going to a ball and her life was the farthest thing from a fairytale.

“Nice, right?” Uri said as he hopped in and shut the door behind him. “Cars are impossible because we don’t have gas or electricity. Most people either take bikes or carriages to get around.”

Nina nodded and felt her knees brush against Uri in the confines of the carriage. With a jerk, the carriage began rolling, and Nina could hear the soft commands of the driver and the disgruntled snorts from the horses. Nina clutched onto the seat and mentally curse every movie that made riding in a carriage look easy.

“Not used to carriages?” Uri asked around a smothered laugh.

Turning to glare at him, Nina squeaked as she bounced up on the seat. “I’m a city girl. The closest I’ve been to a carriage is in a book.”

Nina turned her head and looked out the small window flap to the rolling countryside they were traveling through. Everything really did look straight out of a fairy tale, complete with roaming cows and ancient, gnarly trees that appeared out of nowhere. It all seemed to reinforce how out of her element Nina really was.

Gnawing on her lip, Nina turned back to Uri and prepared herself for the question that had been burning her tongue for the last few days. She’d heard the maids and guards whispering about it. “Uri, why didn’t you tell me Grim had a fiancée?”

Uri quirked his head and crossed his legs calmly, drawing out the moment. “Because she’s his ex-fiancée.” He drew out the word ex-fiancée.

Nina’s smile was sardonic. “Does anyone else know that besides you and Grim?”

Sighing as a sudden burst of exhaustion hit her, Nina watched the countryside roll by. She didn’t even know why she brought up Grim’s fiancée, it only reminded Nina of what she couldn’t have.  

Turning her mind away from Grim’s impending marriage, Nina thought about Nicole again.
How long has it been since I’ve seen her?
She wondered somberly.
Feels like forever.

Nina was just getting into a good ol’ pity party when the shout of the driver and the rearing of the horses interrupted her.

The carriage jerked, and Nina went flying across and right into Uri’s arms, forehead bumping his chin. “Ow!” Nina swore under her breath as she rubbed her head and stared daggers at the closed carriage door.

What the hell happened?
She wondered as she watched Uri move with preternatural speed to the door, and then outside. Nina was only a few seconds behind him as she stepped down from the carriage to see the commotion.

“Get back inside, Nina!” Uri commanded in the most authoritative voice she’d heard him use.

Cocking a brow that clearly said: “Who do you think you are?” Nina strode past Uri and to the source of the problem. A woman was lying with her hand on her calf, surrounded by scattered bay leaves. It took less than a second for Nina to figure out what had happened.

Crouching down near the woman, Nina lent her a hand. “Are you okay, Ma’am?” Nina asked politely, the manners her mother had drilled into her coming to the surface.

The woman looked up at her with large dove-grey eyes, her mouth parted slightly, and her cheeks pinkened. She looked around forty, with wisps of gray hair in her auburn bun.

“Thank you,” the woman said in a slightly accented voice, that sounded strangely British. Her entire appearance sort of made Nina think of an 18th Century governess.

Nina mentally rolled her eyes and blamed her thoughts on way too much British television. “We’re so sorry,” Nina mumbled as the woman took her hand and stood up. “Let us help you with your bags.”

Turning, she sent menacing glares to both Uri and the driver, until the pair slunk over and began helping pick up. Nina turned to make sure Uri was actually doing something, and not goofing off, when she saw him pause and look over at the woman. Uri stared at the woman for a long moment, so long that Nina thought he might know her, but then he turned away and began picking up again.