37. Magdalena

It was almost daybreak.

Ravi and Magda made their way back to his house, for it was the closest shelter that they could find. They were both covered in wine and blood-stains, and Magda didn’t want to bring Odie back to the Inn where he had been taken. Secretly, Magda didn’t want to be alone.

The stars overhead twinkled like sparkling candlelight, and even the busy music district had died down for the night. The air around them was eerily quiet.

Ravi and Magda entered his first-floor kitchen, followed by Odie. It was dark inside. Ravi lit a candle in the corner of the room before removing his jacket and hanging it up on the wall.

“I’ll get Odie some water,” he said, reaching up to a pitcher and bowl on the shelves above.

Magda leaned down, holding Odie against her chest. But this time she didn’t cry. All she was filled with was an innate sense of gratefulness to have her dog returned to her.

“Good boy,” she said, as she stroked his fur. Odie jumped up, running his slobbery tongue all over Magda’s face.

“Odie,” Ravi called, followed by the sound of clanking bowls on the floor.

Magda looked up to see Odie trotting away from her, rushing to the bowls of water and food that Ravi had prepared. Ravi had also laid out an extra blanket for Odie to sleep on in the corner of his kitchen.

Suddenly, she noticed Ravi holding onto his left hand, and a gash ran along his fingers.

Magda stood to her feet. “You’re hurt!” she exclaimed.

“It’s nothing.” Ravi shook his head.

Magda crossed to him, examining his hand in hers. While it wasn’t actively bleeding, it was badly bruised, and a red line ran across his palm. If only she had healing powers right now.

Ravi winced in pain, pulling away. “Ow!”

“That’s your violin hand. Do you have bandages?”

“In the bathroom.” Ravi cocked his head to a door at the side of the kitchen.

Magda crossed to the door, opening it and stepping inside. It was smaller than the kitchen, with a shower, sink, and cabinet. Odie followed her, barely separating from her knees. Magda reached the cabinet, removing alcohol as well as bandages.

When Magda turned around, she noted Ravi had followed her into the bathroom. “This might hurt,” she said as she unscrewed the alcohol bottle, letting a whiff of the strong liquid clog her senses.

Magda looked sincerely at Ravi before taking his palm in hers, feeling his coarse calluses on his fingertips. Then she held his hand over the sink while she poured the alcohol over the wound. Ravi winced slightly, but didn’t make a sound.

Then Magda used the cloth to carefully bandage his hand. All the while, she was aware of Odie, pressing up against her leg. When she was done, she replaced the items in the cabinet.

“Thanks,” Ravi said, letting out a sigh of relief as he examined his hand.

“No. Thank you. For everything. How will I ever repay you?”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I almost got you killed,” Magda confessed.

“Neither of us could have known what would have happened,” said Ravi, “You got Odie back, and that’s what matters.” Ravi leaned down and scratched Odie behind the ear. The dog tilted his head into Ravi’s palm, his tail wagging.

Magda beamed as she looked at Odie, who hadn’t left her side since leaving Vex’s hideout. He was dirty, with matted fur and blood sprayed onto his snout. Then Magda turned to the mirror above the sink. She too, was splattered with red-wine stains, blood, and dirt. Her silver hair was in a tangled mess, the half-back style almost fully undone.

“By the guardians, I need to bathe,” Magda let out.

“Help yourself,” Ravi gestured to the tub behind them. He grabbed a towel from a hook on the wall and tossed it to her.

Magda caught it abruptly.

“I’ll be outside,” said Ravi, heading into the kitchen before shutting the door behind them.

First, Magda drew the bathwater, which she assumed came from a communal tank for the surrounding houses. It wasn’t as hot as she liked it, but at least it wasn’t ice-cold. Then she took a sponge from the cabinet, dipped it into the bath water, before bathing Odie, ensuring that his coat and nose were a shiny color once again. She knew he wouldn’t enjoy getting into the bath, and she would rather not make a mess in Ravi’s house tonight.

Then Magda slipped out of her stain-ridden dress, letting it slip from her shoulders and onto the floor before removing her corset and other undergarments. She submerged her body into the bath, and the luke-warm temperature was refreshing in the sticky, Flaustran heat.

For a moment, she had an ounce of respite. Her fingers traced through the water, remembering the mystical waterfalls and fountain displays that her father and brother had always put on for show. The people of Azurem loved magic, and they loved the entertainment of it, as if it was a welcome distraction from the days in the mines and the illnesses plaguing the kingdom. As she soaked, she let her other hand fall to the side, petting Odie. He had his chin propped against the bath, his tail wagging, clearly never wanting to leave her side again.

When Magda had scrubbed the dirt from her body and hair, she got out of the bath, wrapping the towel around her bare shoulders. Then she remembered—she had left her knapsack and belongings at the inn, and she didn’t have a single change of clothes.

Magda peaked her head out of the bathroom door, standing in the towel. “Ravi—do you have something I can wear?”

“On it,” he called from upstairs.

“Odie, go fetch,” Magda ordered her dog.

In a flash, Odie was darting up the spiral staircase. In an instant, Odie returned to the bathroom, a shirt and pants between his teeth.

“Good boy,” Magda responded before shutting the door behind her pet.

Magda decided against retying her corset as an undergarment, for she wanted to be comfortable. Quickly, Magda put on the oversized shirt, and attempted to put on the pants. But they were not her size, and they kept slipping to the floor. Hanging the pants on a hook, she decided to use the shirt as a dress, although it barely covered her. She wrapped her hair up in the towel before exiting the bathroom.

She stopped short. Ravi stood in the doorway, his hand braced up against the doorframe while he leaned against it, as if he had been waiting to use the room. He was already stripped out of his dirty clothes, completely shirtless and wearing only his underwear. It was clear he had already washed the blood from the front of his chest, for it was glistening with droplets of water.

“All clean now?” he asked. His eyes glanced down to recognize that she was pantless.

“Yes…,” Magda stammered at the sight of him.

“Good, otherwise you wouldn’t be allowed in my bed,” he said matter-of-factly.

“In your bed?” Magda scoffed.

“You really enjoyed sleeping on the floor?”

Magda hesitated, biting her lip.

“That’s what I thought.”

Fire surged up Magda’s legs and through her body, and she backed up as to not act upon the magnetism between them. As she did so, she tripped against Odie, falling back into the bathroom. Odie let out a whimper, darting out of the way.

Ravi leaned forward, catching her around her lower back and breaking her fall. Their faces were close to each other, his lips inches from hers and his hot breath on her cheeks; his hand had grasped around her waist, snatching the shirt so that it now laid higher than it should, and his legs were pressed against hers. He held her for a moment while he reached up to the towel, pulling it off her head and letting her long, wet hair fall down, splashing wet droplets against the thin, white shirt.

“I’ll need this,” Ravi said, indicating the towel. “I only have one.”

Magda’s heart pounded against her chest as he released her, and she caught herself against the sink to steady herself.

Odie was beside Magda, tracing around her bare legs once more.

Ravi bent down to drain the bath, and refill it. As he did so, he said, “Just tell me, cause I need to know,” he paused for a minute, as if he was unsure if he should ask the question or not. “Do you actually have a secret?”

Magda grew confused. “What do you mean?”

“Vex said you have a secret the Mad King will pay a lot of money for.”

Magda’s heart beat again, but this time it wasn’t due to Ravi’s proximity. “Do you believe him?” she asked.

Ravi sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know what to think. You were right the other night when you said we don’t know anything about each other.”

“Then ask me what you want to know.”

He stood up and faced her. “What do you do in Azurem that makes people think you have information?”

Magda answered as Dagmara would, “I live at the Azuremi palace, and I work for the princess.”

He absorbed the information.“Then why are you really in Flaustra?” he asked.

“I can’t tell you that.”

Ravi’s eyes flicked back and forth, as if he was thinking of another question. “Are you planning on staying here? Or going back to Azurem?”

Magda stopped short. It was another question she couldn’t answer. How could she tell him that she was a princess, destined to go back to Azurem and rule? Destined to marry a royal or a member of the court? Her mother would never accept her falling for a boy from Flaustra, no matter how she felt.

Ravi stepped closer to her, and took her hands. His fingers brushed over her skin, caressing her hands in his.

“I see so much in your eyes. Pain, fire, something haunting you from the past. I just wish you trusted me enough to let me in. To let me share any of the thoughts that are going on in your head.”

“I do trust you,” said Magda, “I just…,” she struggled to say the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

“Do you feel anything for me?” Ravi suddenly asked.

“I…” Magda couldn’t put her feelings into words.

“It’s alright if you don’t. I just need to know.”

“It’s not that. I…I can’t let myself fall for you. Honestly, I’ve been holding back each moment we spend together.”

“Why?”

Magda confessed, “It’s because I’ve been hurting, and I don’t want to confuse this desire to ease my pain with something that could be real.”

Ravi brushed her wet hair out of her face, and circled his hand around her neck. “We won’t know if this is real unless we can acknowledge that there is something between us. Letting someone in is not a weakness. It can be your fortress, your resolve…”

“No,” Magda said, pulling away from him. “I can’t do this. I would be putting you in danger…,” she paused, “...you don’t understand.”

“I can’t be in any more danger than I was tonight.”

“Yes you can.”

“Then tell me. The truth this time.”

Magda’s heart was cracking. She didn’t want to involve Ravi any more in this mess. None of the reality of being a royal or a guardian was anything he was used to. How could she explain her life in Azurem or the assassination of her family? How could she explain her true mission in Flaustra?

But for some reason, each moment she spent with Ravi was more emotional, more intense. It was as if a fire was burning inside her, begging to be let free, and would not stop blazing until she acted upon her feelings.

She looked at him, and his alluring expression was threatening to pull her deeper. She didn’t know if it was his tall stature, toned body, or his perfect smile that had her enchanted, or if it was his charisma that had captivated her from the very beginning. Or if it was the way he made her feel safe. It didn’t matter—she desired to be in his arms.

“My family was killed,” Magda said, “and it haunts me daily. I’m afraid that the same people that killed them could be after me. That’s why I came to Flaustra, and that is the truth.”

“That’s why you want to go to the palace?”

“I want to meet with Queen Sanyal. I think she’ll be able to help me.”

“I canhelp you. You can stay in Flaustra, away from whoever was after you in Azurem. Now that Vex is gone…”

“The people that killed my family are not like Vex. They’re much worse.”

Ravi nodded in understanding, running his fingers through his hair. He took a deep breath, before turning his body toward Magda’s. She was reminded once again that he was standing only in his underwear, as another pang of heat radiated through her body.

He continued, “So what you’re saying is, if by continuing to associate with you, I would be putting my life directly in the line of fire?”

“Yes,” Magda answered firmly. “I’m so sorry. I’ve made a mess of everything for you. You’d be better off never having met me.”

“That’s not true,” Ravi said. He stepped strongly to her, and cupped her face in his hands. “You’ve lit a fire in me. I can’t explain it, but it’s like I wasn’t living until I met you. When I saw them, holding you down on the table and threatening to hurt you, it was like my entire life flashed before my eyes, and I wanted nothing more than to ensure you were safe. All I see with you is endless possibilities, and if I ask the earth for anything more, I know my heart would be daring into a territory where I could never turn back.”

“You don’t mean that,” Magda said. She needed him to stop saying these things right now. Already, his words had seduced her, and in another second she wouldn’t be able to stop herself.

“I do.” He put his hand under her chin, tilting it toward him. The movement forced Magda to back up, until she found the wall at her back. She stood there, looking at him, his body against hers. His other hand found her waist, pushing her further into the wall.

Magda reached up to place her hands on his bare chest, feeling the smooth skin underneath her palms. “There’s so much ahead of me that is in question and that I don’t understand. I have too many battles to fight.”

“Then I want to be the person you return to when your battles are over.”

Magda’s face softened. “No one has ever said anything like that to me. I feel like I’m dreaming.”

“I don’t want this to be a dream any more,” he said.

Magda was on edge, as if her emotions were one big knot inside of her, about to explode and finally provide her with some release. All she wanted was his mouth on hers.

However, at the last second, Ravi pulled back, saying, “But until you’re ready to tell me everything, I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

Magda’s heart dropped to the bottom of her chest, as if his words had struck her with a knife. Disappointment surged through her veins, but she knew Ravi was right. Magda couldn’t be completely honest with him, and she had no idea what lied in store for her at the Flaustran palace. Technically, she was engaged to King Claude. What would the Mad King say when he found out his fiancée was falling for a man in Flaustra? What’s worse—how could she ever tell Ravi that she was a princess? Or that she was engaged?

“I…I agree,” said Magda, even though the words stung.

Ravi let his hands drop away from her, before saying, “You can still stay here for as long as you like.”

“Thank you,” Magda stammered.

“I’m going to bathe,” he announced, before turning away from her. He went to undress and—

Magda raced from the room, her emotions running wild. “Come, Odie.” she said, heading up the spiral staircase while her dog followed.

When they got to Ravi’s bedroom, Magda’s eyes drifted to the floor, wondering if she would sleep there again tonight.

Before she could make a decision, Odie leapt up onto the bed before letting out a slew of barks.

“Odie, get down!” Magda laughed, before jumping up onto the bed beside him, attempting to remove him from the tangled sheets.

But Odie wouldn’t budge. He nuzzled into the corner, looking up at Magda with begging eyes.

“Alright fine,” Magda said, laying down in the bed and making herself comfortable, putting one arm around Odie and holding him close. “But only for one night.”

Magda turned onto her back, staring at the ceiling. The sunroof was open tonight, giving a passageway to the outside world and a perfect view of the stars. She remembered what Ravi had said—that the guardians were gods that were part of the stars—and she wondered if that was really true. Was Aleksy guiding her?

She knew Ravi would soon be out of the shower. Before she could think anymore, sleep took her.