We walked the remaining distance to my room, where she paused as if unsure what to do. “Thank you for escorting me to my room.” I smiled at her. “Princess.”
“Don’t you start.” She rolled her eyes. “Between the two of us, you definitely look more like a princess.”
“You can have the nickname.” I smirked. “Pretty sure the Alphas would be pretty firm about you keeping it.”
Her expression fell. “We’ll see. Sleep well.”
“Good night,” I said as she started to walk away. My hand hovered on the door to my room. “Rynn?”
She halted halfway to her room, her back to me.
“Am I safe here?”
Remy had assured me I would be, but my gut told me to trust Rynn. Besides, she had more experience with the Alphas.
“Yes,” Rynn replied with no hesitation before starting to walk again.
“Are you?” The words jumped out before I could think better of them. Rynn barely knew me and I was prying into things that, well, technically were my business, given that I was in the same situation as her. But I wouldn’t have answered something so personal in her place, not with any real details.
Rynn hovered for a moment, like prey who thought they sensed a predator nearby but weren’t entirely sure.
“Good night, Selene,” she finally said before slipping into her room.
I stared at the empty space in front of her room for a long moment before heading into my own and leaning against the door. What have you gotten me into, Remy?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rynn
Thunk. Thunk. Crack.
“Damn it.” I stared at the pieces of the target board now scattered on the ground, one of my axes lying in the debris. Half a thought from me, and the axe vanished, reappearing in my hand.
“That’s nifty.”
I turned to see Selene walking down the narrow pathway that led to this little courtyard. There was a far larger one on the other side of the castle that had a sparring area and better targets, but the Alphas were currently using it, and I really didn’t want to see a bare-chested Cade wrestling Ryker, who would also no doubt be sans shirt. Or Bastian sinking dagger after dagger into a bullseye with infinite ease.
Liar, an unwelcome thought whispered in my mind.
With a grimace, I dismissed my axe and set up another wooden target. I’d been venting my frustration for the better part of an hour and only had two left. Which was probably for the best because I needed to retreat inside before Ryker came looking for me.
The trick to dealing with him was to make sure there was always someone else present. It kept him from pinning me against the wall and kissing me until I gave in to him.
Or me from doing the same.
Turns out, a side effect of being intensely frustrated was my libido taking off like a runaway horse.
I had a tendency to hyperfixate on things, which meant I was barely sleeping these days. Every time I shut my eyes, I just thought of all the potential places I could look for the crest. The easiest way to get my brain to shut off for a while was to throw some orgasms at it.
Unfortunately, all my attempts to see to my own needs hadn’t been working, which had only led to me getting more frustrated.
Hence the axe throwing and broken targets.
It’d been two weeks since I’d learned about the existence of the crest, and I wasn’t any closer to finding out where it could be. There were only so many books here for me to go through. A trip to Drudonia was likely in order, but that would require negotiating with the Alphas . . . and likely being alone with Bastian and Ryker on the road again.
Because even if Cade forbade Ryker to come, I knew he’d disobey. It was getting more and more difficult to avoid him around the castle. Bastian had been intervening here and there, but this couldn’t continue for much longer. My skin was practically itching with the need to shift and go for a run, but I knew the second I set foot outside the stronghold that he would be there. We’d end up in that damn cavern and I’d lose myself in him again.
Because I missed him. I missed the way he didn’t back down when we argued. I missed his feral and unhinged grins. And I missed the way his lips felt against my skin.
