Chapter 13

Thirteen

~ Princess Blake ~

Isuck in air greedily as I flop on to the cold stone, and the chest of provisions drops beside me. I’m still gasping as I send a message to the fish. Thank you. You can leave him alone now. The monster can’t get to us now that we’re out of the water, and I hope he hasn’t killed too many of the fish. Dozens of voices reply in my head, “Still lost. Forever lost.” I don’t know what it means, but before I can question them, the swell of power in my chest fades and our connection is cut off.

Lifting my head, I peer at where Prince Callan has collapsed nearby, his golden lips paler than usual and his hair plastered to his head.

“You all right, gorgeous?” Nate asks, crouching over me with concern etched into his features. Burn marks still cover his body, the wounds only just starting to heal, but he’s wearing his clothes again, and he doesn’t look nearly as bad as I thought he would. “You were down there for a long time.”

“I’m okay,” I wheeze.

A hint of guilt touches his eyes. “I’d have jumped in after you if I’d thought I would be much use down there.”

My lips part. I’m not sure what to respond to that, but I’m distracted when Shade appears above me, her beady eyes staring into mine. “Girl, what the hell happened? I nearly just died of a heart attack!” She paces on my chest. “First, I couldn’t connect with you, and then the prince disappeared as well, and neither of you came back?—”

“Everything is fine,” I say, though the words don’t exactly sound truthful, even to my own ears. I’d always known that one day I might have to face the lake monster again, and I’d thought I would be more prepared, but he nearly had me. I shudder, and Shade’s feathered face moves closer to mine.

“Liar!” she accuses. “You’re not okay. Are you going to tell me what happened down there?”

Sitting up, I bring her close, crushing her against me. I tell myself the hug is for her, but the truth is I need it, too. “You’re right, I’m not really okay. But I will be.” She quiets as she leans against me, and my blood warms just a little.

“Wake up, dammit,”Prince Callan growls as he checks on Saphis. He lifts the archangel onto his side, rubbing the male’s back, and after a long moment, Saphis starts to cough and wretch, vomiting up water. Relief softens Prince Callan’s eyes, and his gaze meets mine for a heartbeat before he turns his attention back to the archangel.

“Where am I?” Saphis croaks, his skin still deathly pale. “The creature. The others?”

Prince Callan gives him a somber look. “You’re alive. That’s all that matters.”

Saphis’s expression droops, but slowly, the color returns to his cheeks, and he lets out a long breath that makes his chest sag.

Letting go of Shade, I rise to my feet, and Nate helps to steady me when my head spins. For a moment, I swear I can smell the faintest trace of chocolate. Which is weird, but I shake it off and pick up the chest of provisions.

“So,” I say with a smile. “Shall we get these supplies to your guys?”

Prince Callan’s gaze roves over me, and if I didn’t know better, I would think he was searching for wounds. Eventually, he lifts his eyes back to my face and nods, then he pulls on his armor. “They’ll be waiting.”

My sodden wings are too heavy for me to lift, so I let them trail behind me as I stride toward the corridor that leads outside. Shade flies up to my shoulder, and I hear the others following behind.

We’re almost at the front door when Shade calls out, “Blake.”

I pause, peering in the direction that she’s looking. Just behind me, a long black feather sits in a puddle of water on the stones. I hear it”s not uncommon for angels to lose feathers, but it”s the first one I”ve ever lost, and I frown. “Well, that’s new.” Ignoring the feather, I turn forward again and keep walking.

I”m not sure if it”s because of the encounter with the water monster, but the moment we’re on the street again, that familiar sensation of being watched makes my skin crawl. I only have two daggers left after losing blades in the water, but I”m tempted to grab one of them out when Prince Callan moves to my side, distracting me.

“There had better actually be medicine in there,” he mutters, his eyes locked on the chest I’m cradling, and I give him a reassuring smile as I place the chest down and pry open the lid.

“Plenty,” I say as I pick out a leather pouch and open it to reveal numerous orange capsules.

Theon and the other archangels look even worse than I remember, and we’re quick to make the rounds, administering the medicine. I make sure to check every archangel to see if we’re fated, but none of them are my mates.

Saphis visits the archangels in turn as well, only using his strength to heal the worst burn marks inflicted by the fish. He even heals most of Nate’s burn marks as well.

It’s not long before the archangels look like they’re in much better health, and Theon suggests we stick together for a while, but there’s no point in them following us. After taking two blades to replace the ones I’d lost, I instruct them to take the provisions and find somewhere to relax and recover while they wait for this ordeal to be over.

Prince Callan has a private word with the archangels, and I expect him to remain with them, but when Nate, Shade, and I start walking down the street, he follows.

“You can stay with them, you know,” I say, when he catches up to us. “When I find my other mates, we’ll come back for you.” I don’t bring up the fact that he doesn’t want to bond with me. I’m still hoping that by then he will change his mind.

“If the archangels were that bad, I can only imagine what the other alphas in the city must be experiencing now. They’re going to end up killing each other,” Prince Callan says, instead of acknowledging what I’ve said.

“Or us,” Nate comments, twirling a blade in his hand. One that he also snagged from the chest.

Prince Callan’s expression is unreadable. “I think it’s better if I stay with you until this ordeal is over.”

I’m silent as I think about what he’s really just said. That he’s going to stick around to make sure I don’t die a true death. Because if I do, he’ll have to endure emptiness for the rest of his life. I sigh. There was a brief moment when we were in the water that I told myself he was there for me. Not just because he knows what will happen if I die, but that he was there for me. That was, until reality sunk in, and I knew he was just there to avoid my death and for the medicine. I can’t even be upset at him for it. As a royal, I understand what it’s like. Having that responsibility for your subjects. In any case, if it weren’t for him, I might not have made it out. If it weren’t for him, I could still be trapped down there.

“Thanks,” I say softly. “For a moment there, I didn’t think I was getting out.”

Something flickers in Prince Callan’s eyes. Anger, maybe? I can’t tell.

“That monster,” he replies, moving closer beside me. “I’ve heard tales about it. They say it can’t be killed. That it’s some kind of spirit from the shadow realm.”

“Something like that,” I mutter.

“Why would the king bring it here? Why would he make you face that?”

“Who knows why the king does anything?” I say wearily, though I’ve been wondering the same thing. I’d been so sure that there must have been a weapon in the chest that would have helped me defeat the monster, but there wasn’t. So how had Dad expected me to best that thing?

Prince Callan doesn’t look impressed by my answer. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand your family.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t try if I were you. Sometimes you just have to accept your family for what it is.”

He gives me a strange look then, though I’m not sure why. Probably because his family is awesome and nowhere near as messed up as my non-existent mother and overbearing father who loves psychotic games.

“And if I ask you why the king is retiring,” Prince Callan says slowly, not taking his gaze from my face. “I gather you’ll give me the same answer?”

My brow creases as the exhaustion from my time in the water weighs on me. My body has already healed completely, but emotionally, I’m still a mess.“He’s over a thousand years old,” I reply. “I”d like to hope that eventually I”ll be able to retire as well.”

It’s not exactly a lie, but I get the feeling the prince knows I’m not truly answering his question. In any case, he doesn’t continue to pry, and I turn my attention back to the city, my thoughts wandering to the strange glowing fish in the bathhouse. Their words echo in my head: Still lost.