Saven Disclosure (The Saven Series Book 2) (24 page)

My eyes skim the room quickly, desperately seeking something I can use as a weapon, but it’s devoid of objects. Swallowing my fear, I run through all of Haydn’s instructions, as I attempt to regulate my out-of-control breathing.

Jumping down on the other side of the bed, I glare at the approaching alien. The dark-haired one loiters uncertainly in the background. Perhaps I can appeal to his better nature. Assuming he has one.

The scary white-haired one stops on the other side of the bed and we face off. Supplanting my poker face on, I stand ramrod straight as I penetrate his eyes.
Don’t show any weakness. Never let your guard down.
I repeat the mantra over and over in my head as my razor-sharp eyes stay glued to his.
Watch facial expressions and bodily movements. Your opponent will always give himself away. It may only be a slight twitch or motion, but he’ll do something to betray himself.

Haydn’s instructions are imprinted on my brain much the same way Logan’s face is imprinted on my heart.

The alien’s leg trembles a smidgeon, but it’s enough to give the game away. I dart sideways as he lunges over the bed at me. While he attempts to straighten up, I raise my leg, and my foot connects with his ribcage, sending him sprawling backward on the ground. Weakened by his intoxicated state, he is too slow to react. I jump up and slam my feet full force into his torso. He twitches and the impact bangs his head off the floor.

Never let your guard down
, I recall too late. I swing around as the other alien pins my arms forcefully behind my back. Dammit! He’s releasing a string of foreign language as scary-face squirms on the floor. Without any time to waste, I angle my hand and grab the most delicate part of his anatomy. Squeezing my eyes shut, I twist my wrist. Hard. His hold on me loosens instantaneously. He staggers back, clutching his hands between his legs as he lets out an almighty roar.

Good to know their physiology is apparently similar to ours.

Sensing movement behind me, I whip around as would-be-assaulter number two climbs to his feet. He rotates his neck from left to right as he crunches his knuckles and steps menacingly toward me. Stepping back, I eyeball him as we circle each other.

I feint forward and he falls for it, leaping straight at me. Stepping sideways, I spin around and lash out with my arm, hitting the exact point at the ribs that Haydn showed me. Dropping to his knees, he clutches his side, clearly winded.

The other one is starting to recover, and I wonder how much longer I can fight them both off. They converse urgently, spitting words at one another while they shoot deadly glances my way.

I hop from foot to foot, my muscles tense and ready. Jumping up, they rush me together, but I’m expecting it. At the last second, I dive on the floor and scurry through their legs. I’m pushing up off my hands when one of them clasps my ankle and I face-plant the ground. A bone-crunching sting crisscrosses my cheek, and I bite my tongue to stop from crying out. Kicking, I fight the pull, but it’s too late. The white-haired scaremonger has both my ankles in a rigorous grip as I thrash about on the floor. He flips me over and my top rides up, exposing my naked belly. Something sinister flashes in his eyes.

Oh, God, no.

My upper body is hoisted from behind, and I’m tossed onto the bed. Pale face crawls the length of me as the other one holds my wrists over my head. Raw, naked fear accosts me and I quake all over. I’m bucking underneath him, but his considerable bodyweight has me pinned to the bed.

Launching myself at him, I head butt him, putting as much strength as I can into the motion. Stars explode behind my eyes as ratcheting pain scampers over my skull. Wet and sticky liquid leaks out of my nose.

Scary features slumps sideway, holding his head in his hands. My vision is sketchy as I elevate my lower body and somersault back. My feet thrust into the alien behind me and he stumbles back. Scrambling frantically, I stagger toward the main door and pummel on it. “Help me! Please. Help!”

Arms restrain me from behind, squeezing all the air out of my lungs, as I’m dragged to the other side of the room. The white-haired freak is furious as he traps me on the bed, slapping me hard across the face. The room spins. A secondary blow causes an outpouring from my nose, and I’m gushing all over the place. A heavy weight settles on top of me as hands shift the hem on my shirt. I want to fight, to push him off, but my body feels like Jell-O, and I can’t get my arms to cooperate.

The door flies open, and my eyes try to focus as an alien male in an all-black jumpsuit storms into the room. My two would-be-assaulters haul ass pretty sharply. The new arrival captures each of them by the collar and basically drags them out of the room. The door closes behind them, and air whooshes out of my mouth in grateful relief. Pressing my fingers to my nose, I attempt to stall the bleeding. My hands are shaking and covered in blood, so I head into the bathroom to clean up.

I’m shocked at my reflection. My hair is a tangled mess and my nose is pumping blood like it’s going out of fashion. Bright reddish-purple stains darken my cheeks from the impact of scary alien’s strike, and a nasty bruise is already starting to form in the place where I face-planted the ground. Prodding my cheek carefully, I wince as a soreness blankets my skin.

“You can use this to clean up,” a voice says from behind me. I scream, jumping about ten feet in the air. Nervously, I swivel around and eyeball the guy in the black jumpsuit. Snatching the towel from his hand, I start dabbing my nose. I don’t look away from him as we size each other up. “Don’t be frightened,” he says. “I won’t hurt you.”

“Are the others gone?” My speech trembles a little.

“They won’t bother you anymore. And the princess has placed two guards on the door. Nothing like that will happen again.”

I’m not sure that “bother” adequately sums it up. “And what if the guards share the same opinion?”

“I handpicked them myself. They are notoriously reliable. You don’t need to worry.”

I harrumph. That’s a bit rich. “That’s an oxymoron if ever I’ve heard one.” He tilts his head to the side, a puzzled look on his face. “And it’s not like I can trust you. I can’t trust any of you.” I set my mouth into a displeased line. He moves toward me, and I flinch.

“My name’s Win, and I am the princess’s personal bodyguard. I understand your reticence but I can assure you that Princess Dalitza doesn’t want you to come to any harm.”

“Why?” I dab the towel at my nose as I feel a small trickle start up again. “Why does she care?”

Warm brown eyes meet mine. “She’s a very compassionate person, and her people mean the world to her. There isn’t anything she wouldn’t do to protect them.” A river of gold, mixed with pink, washes over his skin.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask what emotion that reflects, but I stop myself in time. I don’t wish to get Dali in trouble, and considering no one outside their own race can detect the colors, I figure it’s smartest to keep the knowledge that I can to myself.

A triumphant blare of music distracts us both. I follow him out into the main room and hop up on the bed to gaze out the window. The spine-tingling feeling still lingers as the cord writhes and slithers around me.

“That’s the princess, isn’t it?” I ask, jumping to the obvious conclusion. He nods. “What’s going on? I couldn’t understand anything before.”

He gestures with his head. “Watch and you’ll see.” Glancing down, I notice his knuckles are bleached white at his side.

The princess and Logan are holding hands in the center of the stage. The gray-haired alien stands before them, spouting in alien speak, and they are repeating the same words after him.

My heart stutters. No! No way. It can’t be.

Logan tips down and presses his lips to hers. Though it’s brief, and chaste, my heart feels like it’s breaking apart. The crowd cheers timidly. King Adjani rises to his feet and says something. The crowd roars their approval.

Beside me, Win growls as his eyes narrow to pinpricks. Logan steps closer to the princess, slinging an arm around her waist. A bitter taste floods my mouth, and I know I should look away, but I don’t. I watch in horror as Logan kisses her again. This time he doesn’t hold back as his lips mold to hers and he kisses her passionately, again and again, like my worst nightmare on repeat.

A flashing announcement beams out of the screens as the crowd hollers, and my heart shatters into smithereens.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to block the visual from my mind. I slink down on the bed and bury my face in the pillow. A new layer of pain embeds itself into the innermost chambers of my heart.

Wordlessly, Win drops down beside me. I lift my head, studying his strained expression and rigid posture. “You don’t like that much either, huh?”

Slowly turning his head, he stares at me with a carefully controlled blank expression. He doesn’t answer, but words are redundant. Red and gold swirl underneath his skin, and I guess I have a fair idea what gold indicates now.

Though it kills me to vocalize this, I need it ratified. “So, they’re married now?” I sit up straighter, preparing my heart for the inevitable shredding.

“Not yet. That was the Ceremony of Intent. You don’t have that on Earth?” He looks genuinely curious.

“No. But it sounds like an engagement.” I scrape moist strands of hair back off my face.

“It’s a public statement to commit to marriage, but the marriage is only authorized when they have attended the Ceremony of Togetherness. And as outsiders, both of them will have to be sworn-in within their respective countries.” My brow crinkles in confusion, and Win answers my unspoken question. “Logan can’t marry the princess without swearing allegiance to the Amaretti Monarch. It’s the same for her in relation to the Saven. So they will have to attend the Ceremony of Allegiance as well.”

“When does all that happen?” I hug my knees, frozen despite the warm room.

“The Ceremony of Togetherness is scheduled for two days’ time, and the Ceremony of Allegiance will directly follow.” Win stands up. “I imagine you’ll be returned home after that.”

I’m starting to understand it.

Win walks to the door and turns to face me. “You should eat.” He gestures toward the table. “You need to keep up your strength.”

I want to ask him for what, but he’s already gone.

I flop down on the bed and try to organize my thoughts into a more orderly fashion. When Logan and I first expressed interest in one another, Neve tried to keep us apart by claiming Logan had a girlfriend. I clearly recall that conversation. While she deliberately lied, there are obviously parts of that conversation that were true. Like how Logan would at some point in the future have to marry for political reasons. I remember the fraught Saven-Amaretti negotiations and how upset Logan was with whatever was being proposed. Add that to Dali’s assessment that I’m insurance, and the pieces all fit together.

I sit bolt upright in the bed, awash with emotion. Logan didn’t end things with me because he couldn’t handle a long-distance relationship or because he fell out of love with me. He did it because he had to agree to marry the princess in order to get the Amaretti to withdraw from Earth. That is the only explanation that makes sense.

I’m sure my assessment is spot-on, and I doubt I could love him any more than I do right at this minute. However, my heart is split right down the middle because it doesn’t alter the fact that in a few days he’ll be lost to me forever. My heart throbs agonizingly. I wish I could be as selfless as he is, but I’m not.

I still love him. I still want him. Damn the consequences.

I’m so glad I told him I loved him, and I hope, in some small way, that it helped him come to terms with what he’d agreed to do. To know that he acted out of love for me, and humanity, and that my feelings aren’t unrequited, sends a flurry of warmth surging through my veins.

A tear slips out of my eye, traveling a lonely path over my face.

The door opens quietly, and Dali enters the room. She sits on the edge of my bed, her calm demeanor slightly ruffled. “You saw.” I nod. “You are sad.”

“Yes and no.” She tilts her head inquiringly. “I know why he did it,” I tell her although she won’t have a clue what I mean. “And I love him even more, if that’s possible.”

Her face contorts in a frown. “But he is marrying the princess.”

“I know.” I sniffle. “But he’s fulfilling his duty to his people and protecting mine. I was so angry with him. So hurt. And though I hate the thought of never having him in my life, how can I stay mad with him when he’s sacrificing his own needs, and our love, for the greater good? I can’t.” I smile, feeling more at peace than I have in weeks, which I know is off the wall, but it helps enormously to understand his motivations. I wish he’d confided in me, but I imagine he thought I’d try to talk him out of it. I’d like to think that I wouldn’t, but I can’t say that with absolute surety.

“You two are very much in love.” She takes my warm hands in her cold ones, and I try not to flinch. Gold streaks zigzag across her skin.

“I love him more than I’ve ever loved anyone before,” I admit truthfully. “And being with him was amazing, even if it was short-lived. The princess is a lucky girl.” It essentially kills me to say that. Visions of gouging out her eyes with toothpicks swim in front of me.

Dali looks away. A customary tingle shoots up and down my spine, and my head jerks up in recognition. Shouting erupts outside the room, and Dali is on her feet in a nanosecond.

I jump up.
“Logan!”

“Stay right here.” She cautions me with a serious look. Leaning in, she presses against my ear. “Don’t ruin things.”

“Sadie! Are you okay? Have they hurt you?”

Dali exits the room as my blubbering starts in earnest.

“I’m okay. I know what you’ve done, Logan, and why. I love you. I love you so much.”

Amplified sounds of scuffling resonate from the corridor outside.

“I love you, too. I’ve been totally freaking out. I didn’t know they were planning this or where they’d taken you until I felt your presence outside. I’ve been so worried. I’m so sorry, Sadie. This was what I was trying to avoid.”