“Except for me,” Julian said.
Levi leaned forward, helping Raven up into a seated position. “I don’t like this, but it’s up to you darlin’. Do you trust him?”
Her deep, glacier-blue eyes met Griffin’s. It was an immediate five hundred feet drop down into a crevasse, his heart rushing up his throat. He had attempted to not let his feelings control him, but they were doing exactly that.
Raven inclined her head. “Levi? Help me get dressed?” The cotton-thin dress she wore had been put on her by Levi days prior—aftera near-physical altercation with the doctor.
“There’s a white gown under the bed, please dress in that.” Griffin chose to adhere to her wishes, he needed to prepare for what was to come, for what he was about to do.
Julian didn’t argue, accepting Raven’s choice and getting off the bed, but Griffin clocked the slight stumble, the pasty whiteness of his face.
The aftereffects of the drugs.
Oleks stood in the passageway watching the entire scene play out in silence. He was the only one who didn’t seem influenced but that made sense. The man had grown up taking microdoses of poison.
Griffin had, on more than one occasion, found Oleks face down in a pile of his own vomit, fearing the worst but realizing he was just unconscious. Oleks had pushed his body to the limits and then past them, but it had eventually paid off.
“You need to stay out of sight with the others, but that doesn't mean I don't want you near us, do you understand?”
Oleks inclined his head, but didn't speak, creeping down the passageway towards the deck.
Griffin knew that he would be in the shadows in case anything went awry. He didn't want to admit how much it calmed his nerves that Oleks had become his family in more ways than ever before. That the two men had grown side by side, enduring countless pains and suffering; Oleks had never ever betrayed him, even when Griffin wouldn't have blamed him for doing so.
Griffin cared for Oleks like a brother, but that did not mean he forgave Oleks for his infatuation with what was his.
“What is the plan here?” Julian asked.
But before Griffin had to make up some excuse, the door to Raven’s room opened, distracting him from his thoughts, and his mouth dried as he took in the sight of her. She was in a long white gown that covered nearly all of her skin, and yet it seemed to highlight what remained. Even though she had just woken up from her near deathbed, she didn't appear as such. Her dark hair was partly behind her ears, but the rest spilt forward onto her shoulders. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were bright and clear, and her chin was jutted up in determination. This was the woman Griffin pledged would be a formidable foe.
He willed his own desires and crippling emotions to settle. He would need to have a clear head for what was to come. Griffin would be making himself the enemy of every man in Raven's orbit, but he had to do it—there was no other way. Either he would tell the priests what he had to say, or they would take her from them. It was the law. It was how their countries worked.Cherishedwomen were to be “protected,” unless they had…
“You look a worthy opponent.” Griffin bared his teeth in the replication of a smile.
“Can you at least explain to me what's happening? Levi already told me we’re going to a different country, but why? I want to return to Violencia.” Raven stepped back as Griffin reached for her wrist, but he still managed to catch it.
He covered the scars there, his nostrils flaring at the awareness of them under his fingers.
Levi stood at her back, his arms crossed. “This is what your brother was talking about, isn't it? The Isles of…sucrose, sacrass?”
“Sa-SARE-dos,” Julian advised, but then the siren blared around them again.
It was louder, more urgent, and Griffin knew they had run out of time. Further evidenced by their entire ship rocking harshly as another grappled theirs. They only had minutes.
“We must gonow.” Griffin used his hold on Raven to tuck her behind him. “Levi, I promise this is to keep Raven safe. You need to find Enzo and Maverick and stay hidden, you are all wanted men.” Griffin cast over his shoulder not caring if the man listened or not as he led Raven up to the deck.
His heart pumped in his throat, in anxiety and unease. He hoped this would work.
If it didn't, a war would start now, and not the one his brother planned on.
If it did, it would buy them at least a little bit of time before the people of Luscinia could fight against his claims.
He heard Julian’s heavier footsteps trailing behind them, but didn’t look back as he pushed open the door to the deck.
The sight nearly froze him in place, but he forced his feet forward, being gentle in the way he tugged Raven behind him.
There were over a dozen priests, dressed in elegant garbs even as waves crashed up onto the deck and water crept towards the gold-lined hems. The gowns were bright white but in the center of their chests was a vivid red hibiscus.
The flower of fertility.
