Aligning Stars (Fate's Intent Book 1) (36 page)

“Jaylyn? Are you—?”

“I’m fine.”

“I don’t want you to feel out of place here.”

“It’s not that exactly. This is just still too unbelievable, being here during war and being treated like a guest. It’s just been a little hard for me. I never saw our meeting to be like this.”

“Well, I told you this wouldn’t be your end and I meant every word.”

“I know. I’m still just trying to register all of it. I’m really enjoying it but Adele is completely against it. I know somewhere I should be too but that’s not what I feel and I don’t know why.”

“I know why.”

He brought our hands together, lacing our fingers and I smiled while watching. “Okay. Maybe I have always known why but—” My mood changed again and I lowered my head and my hands.

“Don’t think like that.” Troy lifted my head so I would focus on him. “I want you to think about something else. The duel will be soon and you have to be ready. I don’t want to lose you to something like that.”

He was so sweet to me. I couldn’t help but smile and went with it, pulling him back towards the bed to sit down again. “I am pretty excited about that. It’s been awhile since I’ve gotten to kill someone and I can’t wait to get back into it.” He laughed. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just unusual how you get excited about killing people. I don’t see it that much, especially in a woman.”

“That doesn’t bother you, does it? I’ll understand if it does. Most of the guys I know like to use that against me.”

“What? No. They all must be crazy. I like it.”

“Really?”

“We have something in common, you and I but I have never found anyone who shared my passion until now.”

He couldn’t have been sweeter. I saw the window reflecting off of Troy’s eyes and it made me drift into a trance. “Me either.”

He started to lean in and I leaned in the rest of the way. Our lips touched and I wrapped my arms around his body but he reacted differently.

His pulse started to rise and his grip became tight around the back of my neck and he pulled back suddenly, looking in my disguised eyes of brown. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I can control myself much longer.”

He got up, turning away and I smiled as I did too and stepped up behind him. “Troy, you don’t have to worry.” I put my hands on his back and wrapped them around the front of him. “I feel safe with you.”

He rubbed my hands and I laid my head against his warm back. “And I want to keep it that way. I’d never let anything happen to you.”

“I know. I love that. I’ve never had anyone so protective of me, well, in a good way.”

He turned around, looking in my eyes in the most caring of ways. “That’s because there’s no one like me. I’d really like you to consider staying with me tonight. The safest place you can be is with me and I’d never forgive myself if I let you stay in here and something happened.”

I wanted to cry. This was still too unbelievable. He was so perfect and everything he said to me was like a dream. I could never refuse.

“I’ve already considered it. I accept.”

He smiled when I agreed and kissed me one more time, very gently. I let it stay that way. I didn’t want him to be afraid of hurting me. I knew he never would and looked forward to when I would get him to realize it.

Chapter 48

Adele

This place was evil. It only brought out the weakness in me. I couldn’t stay here much longer but the sight was still beautiful. This was such an amazing city but I’ve never seen it like this before. I was high on the balcony, just about as high as I could get without being on the roof and I could see everything. The city stretched out beneath my feet and my weakness for it was growing. I knew I had to get out soon before it was too late.

“Ah—Adele?”

That voice using my name caused me to swing my head around to see it. Zayden was in the open doorway and stepped out onto the balcony.

“I don’t mean to bother you. I’m just letting you know that someone will come get you soon for the duel and to wish you luck because I won’t be there.”

“Why? Don’t want to see me get hurt because I won’t.”

Zayden didn’t laugh back or even return a smile. He kept his look completely emotionless and I didn’t understand it. It didn’t seem like him. “Ah, no. It’s not that. I don’t want your stay here to be in depression or anger so I’m going to be staying out of your way. You’ll be in and out of here quickly like you want without any more interference from me. I’ll make sure of it.”

My heart began to pound hard. I could hear it in my ears and something was pushing me to cry but I kept it in. “What would seeing you make you think I’d be like that?”

“Recent events. I just thought it’d be better for you this way.”

“Oh.”

He was thinking of me I suppose but I’m not quite sure I knew what to think about his decision just yet and watched him start to back himself inside the room. “Well—ah—it’s been—interesting. Good luck later and I hope you figure out what you’re going to do when you get home.” He turned his back and walked away.

That was it. He was just gone.

The second the door closed behind him, my pounding heart crashed down into my stomach and tears fell out of my eyes. I hoped he wasn’t serious. I rushed back inside to the door and opened it just slightly without making a sound to see Zayden walk all the way down the long hall to the corner room, closing himself inside.

I closed my door and leaned up against it as tears were still falling. I never saw it ending like this. After all Zayden’s smart comments and advances to be with me, he just gave up.

My heart felt broken, ripped completely from my body as I collapsed to the floor and sat there alone while the events of the last few days flashed in my mind.

If only I behaved differently, Zayden wouldn’t have left. He would still be with me now, trying to get me to see his way. It made me laugh if only for a moment but I found myself left in darkness. I couldn’t move. My body was frozen from despair and surrounded by my mistakes. There was so many it was almost drowning me. I didn’t know what to do or how to change it and so I sat, lost in my mind, trying to determine what it is I truly needed and how I could come to get it.

I couldn’t go without seeing him. He’s kept me alive all this time and I couldn’t let that change now. It was then when I finally realized that I would have to fix it and found my feet again after almost an hour of self-deliberation.

I was determined.

I left my room and had my eyes locked on the door Zayden went through and slowly traveled down the long hall. I stopped just a foot from it and froze again. I was hesitant about what to do but brought up my hand and knocked, hoping he was still inside.

I waited there anxiously for a reply, trying to keep my thoughts focused on what I came to do.

The door opened. It was Zayden just in a towel but he seemed surprised to see me and quickly glanced back inside the room. “Adele! W—what are you doing here?”

My voice was low but the expression of sadness portrayed was clear. “Can I talk to you?”

He quickly glanced back inside again. “Ah—I’m not sure if this is a good time.”

“I don’t care that you’re in a towel, okay?” I pushed my way inside, ready to do this whether he was ready or not.

“Won’t you come in then?”

“I’m sorry. It’s important.”

He seemed a little jittery, flickering his eyes between me and a doorway in the back of the room. “Did something happen?”

I sighed. “Yes. Me.” He looked confused and had a right to be. I didn’t fully understand this myself but tried to explain as best I could. “Okay, look, I’m sorry that I’ve been acting a little off lately with the anger towards you and it’s just what I thought I wanted but—”

I stopped. Someone walked out of that open doorway Zayden kept looking at. It was a woman wearing a tight dress, carrying a folded jacket over her left arm. Her hair was wet like his; it didn’t take a genius to figure out what that meant.

“Okay, I’m leaving so—” She stopped when she saw me. “Oh, I’m sorry. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Ah, no. Of course not.” Zayden said.

The woman smiled and stepped in closer, clearly flirting with him in front of me by grazing her fingers down his arm. “Shall I come back later for your nightly send off?”

“Ah—” He paused and looked at me. “I’ll let you know.”

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek while grasping his arm. “Okay, have a nice evening, your majesty. Hope I see you soon.”

Zayden just smiled back and nodded as the woman opened the door and left.

I was completely—I don’t know, hurt on some level? He was already with someone and I couldn’t stand there another second. “I’m sorry. This was a mistake.”

I quickly stepped to the door but Zayden followed. “Wait, Adele!” He pushed the door shut before I could make it out, keeping me inside, trapped in this conversation I no longer wanted to have. “Please. It’s not what you think.”

I put my head up against the door and tried sucking my tears in while I kept my eyes off him. That would have only hurt more. “What made you stop calling me Love?”

He took a breath like a deep sigh while he remained in close behind me. “I don’t know.”

“I do. It’s because you gave up.”

“Gave up?”

“On me. You said you’d never leave.”

“You didn’t give me much choice. I’ve tried everything. I’ve never had to work this hard to be with anyone and
I
shouldn’t have to.”

“That’s so like a Prince. Maybe it never occurred to you but that’s not what I cared about.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was never the status of
who
you are, Zayden. It’s
what
you are that’s been my problem.”

“And what’s that?”

A tear hit my cheek. “Kalu’s biggest threat. It doesn’t matter how much I want it because of that.” I moved away from the door, keeping my back to him and went out onto the balcony as the only resort to escape him but he followed.

“You should know that’s not true.”

I huffed, trying to stop myself from crying harder and making this any worse on me. “Even if it wasn’t, you couldn’t have even waited for me to collect my thoughts before you fuck some whore. In other words, it really didn’t matter who it was like I said.”

“I’m sorry, Love. I didn’t want you to see that. I didn’t expect you to ever be at my door.”

I quickly turned to him; my anger and sadness mixed into one emotion to hear him call me that again. “You think you can use it now and everything will be fine?! Well, it’s not! I did want you, Zayden but it took me just that long to realize it and I was too late!”

He stepped out the door towards me and I couldn’t move. “I only didn’t wait because I thought it was what you wanted. I didn’t want you to be this way whenever you were around me but if that’s not what you wanted you should have told me. So tell me now.”

He got right in close to me and put one arm on each side of me, leaning himself forward on the stone railing behind me. I had to lean back just so I could see his face. “Tell you what?”

“I want to know what you want. No lies.”

My breath shuttered and I was still looking in his crystal blue eyes but my thoughts were mixed. “I don’t know what I want anymore. Things change.”

He laughed and put his hand around my back to lean in closer. “Then let me help you decide.”

He brought his lips towards me but I resisted, putting a swift hand to his chest. “No. You know what that will do to me.”

“Ever think that was my plan?”

“Maybe we should just—let it go.”

“Why?”

I sighed and pushed him away so I could move freely on my own and spoke the truth. “Because it’s wrong.”

“What’s wrong? I’m here. You’re here. This is real. What I feel is real. Why won’t you just let it happen? You’re messing with Fate here.”

I couldn’t believe the words that just escaped his mouth. I snatched my head in his direction and bellowed out in anger. “I’m messing with Fate?! Do you even hear yourself, Zayden?! This is not Fate! We live hundreds of miles apart! Our stars can never be aligned!”

“We can change it.”

I sighed and turned towards the railing. “You can’t move the stars.”

“This isn’t about aligning stars, Love. It’s about you and me. It’s about why you’re here. You came to me because you wanted something and I’m not going to let you leave until you get it.” He turned me right around without warning and pressed his lips to mine.

I wanted to collapse from the feeling. The taste of him was so sweet that it made me let go of my feelings of doubt. It was only us. That’s all that was on my mind.

My hands found their way to his body and he slowly pulled away but I didn’t move. How could I after that? My eyes were still closed and I was breathing steadily through my open mouth. I tried to remember it but forgetting about it would have been better for me.