Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

Lomax

“M adison?” I knocked on the open door of the council room.

Madison looked up from where she sat in front of her laptop, her fingers pausing their race across the keys. “Hi, Lomax.”

“Hi. Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to ask if you had time to meet with me today or tomorrow.”

“I can meet with you right now,” she said, patting the chair beside her.

“Are you sure? You look kind of busy.”

She grinned. “No busier than usual, and this is good timing. I have a meeting with Teo and the king in about fifteen minutes, and my day gets frantic from there, so unless it takes more than fifteen minutes, now’s the time to chat.”

“It won’t.” I sank into the chair beside her as she closed her laptop.

“Oh hey, I keep meaning to tell you sorry for springing the king and queen on you the other night,” Madison said with a grin. “You looked a bit shell-shocked when they arrived.”

“No problem,” I said. “I mean, I was shell-shocked, but they are surprisingly…”

“Normal?” Madison laughed.

“Yes,” I said.

“Yeah, Sabrina is so down to earth and a great person. She truly cares about the lowers on Earth and wants to do what she can to help them.”

“Was she a lower?” I asked.

“She says she was barely a middle,” Madison said. “So, what’s up?”

“I wanted to ask you about the ship going to Earth once the storm ends. The one, um, taking Lori back and Regan to his ship.”

“What about it?” she asked.

“Well, I’m assuming I can hitch a ride since it’ll be going to my hometown, but I wanted to confirm with you that I can and ask if I’ll receive my pay for working in the garden before I leave Draax?”

She stared at me in shock, and I said, “Sorry, I know I sound kind of greedy, but I’ll need that money to rent a motel while I look for a new place and job.”

“You’re returning to Earth,” she said.

“Yes,” I said.

Her face turned red, and she leaned away from me. Her previously relaxed body was now stiff and tense. “Regan believes you are his mate.”

“I know, I -”

“He’s in love with you,” she said. “He calls you his mate, and you’re leaving him and returning to Earth. Does he know you don’t love him?”

Her voice rose, and I realized she was utterly furious with me. “Does Regan know that you’re just using him? Does he know when the storm ends, you’ll leave him? That he’ll be alone because you just wanted a goddamn itch scratched while you were here?”

I recoiled at the venom in her voice. “Madison, he knows.”

She took a deep breath, giving me a suspicious look. “He knows you plan to return to Earth?”

“Yes,” I said. “I was clear with him that I wasn’t staying on Draax.”

She slumped against the chair, the anger draining from her face. “But you’re still sleeping with him.”

“I tried to stop,” I said. “As soon as I realized Regan believed I was his mate, I told him I was returning to Earth and tried to end our relationship, but he…”

“He what?”

“He asked me not to,” I whispered, swiping at my tears. “He said he wanted to spend the time we had left together, that it would be worse for him for us to be here in the castle, and he couldn’t… couldn’t be with me.”

“Fuck,” Madison said, running her hands through her hair.

“I should have said no,” I said, “but I… I care for him, Madison. I didn’t want to make it harder for him.”

She studied me silently, and I looked away before confessing, “And because I wanted to be with him too.”

“Are you in love with him?” she asked.

“I barely know him,” I said.

“That isn’t what I asked,” she said.

More hot tears fell, and I stared at the table, my voice low. “I don’t know. I’m not someone who falls in love at the drop of a hat, but the thought of returning to Earth and never seeing him again makes my chest ache like my damn heart disease is back, and I can’t breathe properly.”

She sighed and took my hand, squeezing it lightly. “I’m sorry, Lomax. I shouldn’t have attacked you like that, but Regan is… well, he’s special to me, as I’m sure you know.”

Confused, I stared at her, and she gave me a matching look of confusion before saying, “Because he saved my life.”

I blinked. “What do you mean Regan saved your life?”

“He didn’t tell you?” she asked.

“No,” I said. “What did he do?”

I listened in silence as Madison shared her story with me. When she finished, I said, “I am so sorry, Madison. I can’t imagine how terrifying that was for you.”

“It was a horrible experience, but it also led me to Krey,” Madison said with a soft smile. “Regan apologized to me shortly after you arrived here. I know he feels terrible about what happened, but I survived because of him. His kindness and encouragement gave me the courage I needed to save myself. I made sure he knows I forgive him for his part and that he helped me survive.”

I smiled faintly. “Thank you for forgiving him. I imagine it hasn’t made much difference in his guilt, though.”

“Probably not,” Madison said with a soft sigh. “I think that asshole Eastolf has him convinced he’s useless, and nothing could be farther from the truth. I don’t know why he’s so loyal to him when I’ve seen firsthand how Eastolf treats him like dirt.”

“They were as close as Krey and the king when they were growing up,” I said. “Eastolf saved his life when they were young, and I know Regan believes there is still good in Eastolf.”

“He’s wrong,” Madison said softly. “I wish he weren’t, but there is nothing good left in Eastolf.”

“If Regan believes there is, then there must be,” I said. “I know he struggles with what Eastolf is doing, but if he truly believed that there was nothing good left in Eastolf, he wouldn’t continue to defend him. I know it. Regan is an amazing person, Madison. He is kind and loyal and always puts others before himself. I’m lucky to be his friend.”

Madison blew her breath out and said, “I know this isn’t any of my business, but, fuck it, I’m saying it anyway. I think you’re just as in love with Regan as he is with you. I’ve seen firsthand how you look at him, and, Lomax, you might not be sure it’s love, but I can guarantee you that everyone else around you knows it is.”

She squeezed my hand again. “I think if you leave him, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. I fell in love with Krey quickly, and while it was a little strange at first, I could not imagine my life without him. I got lucky that the king offered me a perfect job, but I was willing to give it all up for Krey. He didn’t ask me to give up my career. He would never do that because he wanted me to be happy, but I realized that despite how much I loved my career, I wouldn’t be happy without Krey. When that happened, my choice became simple and clear.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes before Madison smiled at me. “I’ll arrange for you to be on the ship that returns to Earth, and you’ll be paid for the work you’ve done before you leave Draax.”

The tears were still falling, and I said, “Madison, do you -”

“My king, I assure you that the Vokine are more than happy to discuss an increase in vrohas for additional plants.”

I wiped my face hurriedly, and Madison and I stood as the king and an older Draax with greying hair and a stooped back walked into the council room. We bowed, and Madison said, “Hello, my king.”

“Madison.” Quill smiled at her before turning to me. “Hello, Lomax.”

“Good morning, Your Highness.” I bowed again. “Sorry, I was just leaving.”

He watched me curiously as I hurried to the door, pausing to glance at Madison. “Thank you, Madison.”

She nodded, and, my face burning and stomach queasy, I left the council room.

* * *

I closed Regan’s apartment door, the unease I’d felt since waking alone in his bed lingering in the pit of my stomach and the base of my spine. Regan always left before me in the morning, but he never did so without waking me up to kiss me goodbye.

I walked toward the dining hall, that feeling of something not being right a steady drumbeat in my brain. I wanted to chalk it up to the general unease I’d felt since speaking to Madison a few days ago, but it felt like more than that. It felt… wrong.

I passed a few Draax, barely noticing their excited chatter as I tried to identify what felt so wrong in the castle.

I was almost to the dining hall when Jane, one of the women in the work program, stepped into the hallway. She carried a bucket of dirty water and had dust on her nose, but she gave me a broad grin. “Hey, Lomax. How are you?”

“Fine,” I said distractedly. “You?”

“Amazing,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s finally stopped. It feels like it’s been months instead of days.”

I stared blankly at her, and she said, “The storm. It ended sometime during the night.”

“What?” I whispered.

She nodded. “Yeah. They’re already starting on clearing the entrances and -”

I turned and raced through the hallway, the realization of what felt so wrong hitting me like a hurricane. It was too quiet. Even with the thick stone walls, you could almost always hear, at least faintly, the howl of the wind.

My heart beating double time, and that pit in my stomach now a deep chasm, I ran toward the great hall, my breath tearing in and out of my lungs as I chanted repeatedly, “No, please. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet.”

I skidded to a stop in the middle of the great hall, staring at the windows that flanked the two massive front doors.

“Fuck,” I said, raising my hand to block keo’s light that streamed through the windows. “Fuck!”

“Hey, you!” Roxie joined me, giving me a happy grin before lifting her face to the beams of light. “I can’t stay away from it either. Isn’t it great? Adrix says it’ll take a couple of days to clear the entrances and the docking bay, but we can go outside afterward. We can’t be outside long because it’s still freezing out, but I don’t care. I can’t wait for even a few minutes of fresh air.”

Her smile faltered as she gave me a second look. “Lomax? What’s wrong? You look like you’re about to throw up.”

I backed away, my heartbeat still booming in my ears. “I… I have to go. I need to find Regan.”