“We will be too late, won’t we?”
Ilyan’s face made it clear that he didn’t know. Our eyes locked together in some silent agreement that we would try, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that trying wouldn’t be enough anymore.
Ilyan would say no more; he simply laid me back down in his bed and put me to sleep with his magic. I was probably more grateful than I should have been, considering all I dreamed about was chasing a bloody trail through the golden hallways of the LaRue mansion.
TwentyFour
The following morning, I realized the downside of the white-on-white scheme of Ilyan’s room. The moment the sun began to creep over the horizon and the gray light of dawn had begun to fade away, the room became supercharged with light. The beams of golden sun shone through the window that Ilyan had pushed his bed up against. They bounced around and increased in brightness as the white walls and carpet reflected them back. Once the light had infiltrated my troubled sleep, I sat upright, sleep leaving me much quicker than I would have liked.
I was still in Ilyan’s bed, still in Ilyan’s rooms. I felt uncomfortable and scared. I shouldn’t be here. Not only was he some sort of king in this place, he was awfully friendly.
I sat there trying to plan some form of escape. Even if I made it out the door, I wasn’t sure I could remember which door led to the brown and orange room. I was having trouble focusing; a subtle buzzing was taking over my body, causing my mind to bounce around. It felt like the warm heat I had always felt from Ryland and Ilyan, but more alive, more electric. I brushed off the feeling, trying to focus on my escape again. The buzzing under my skin grew steadily, making me feel jittery and anxious.
I threw the blankets away from me, intent on just storming down the hall in the hopes of at least finding Wyn, when a loud grunt issued from the foot of the bed, followed by a large thump that shook the room. I looked toward the noise, terrified in my jittery state, that some explosion had gone off. Instead, I was treated to Ilyan yelling, or perhaps swearing, in Czech before he crawled on hands and knees into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
I stared at the door in bewilderment; I wasn’t sure whether I should laugh hysterically or not. I could hear him thump around in the bathroom, random foreign words filtering through the ivory-colored doors. I sat up, fully intent on making my escape when Ilyan’s thumping and yelling was joined by another voice, from someone running rapidly down the hall toward me. My heart sputtered as the door flung open and a very agitated, while still perfectly poised, Ovailia burst through the door.
“What in heaven’s name...” She froze at the sight of me, her eyes bugging out of her head as her jaw worked mechanically in place.
Seeing Ovailia there with such a terrifying look on her face sent the energy into overdrive as it buzzed and vibrated through me. I grabbed the covers and pulled them up to my chin, realizing too late that that was probably not the best action to take. Ovailia’s jaw only dropped more. I looked down; I was wearing one of Ilyan’s light colored, button-up shirts... great.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” I said, desperately hoping she would believe me and not question any more. After all, I had absolutely no idea what I would say. I needed Ryland.
The energy under my skin increased, and I felt a desperate need to get rid of it.
“What are you doing here?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. I could feel my cheeks turning a deep shade of crimson. Ovailia rushed to the bathroom door without saying another word to me, her eyes never leaving my blush stained face.
The door to the bathroom slammed behind her and my head dropped into the white cotton blankets. Great. This was not the way I wanted to start my day. The yelling in the bathroom increased as Ovailia joined in the fray. I could make out the two voices distinctly, even though I couldn’t understand the words they were yelling at each other. I was secretly glad I didn’t understand Czech. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know what they were saying.