The Forgotten Light

22. Darksen

So it was true what they said.

One look at her face was enough to already know everything. She really dared to insult his father.

When he heard the stream of water behind the wall, he stepped away from the desk, where he had nothing to do anyway, and sank down on the edge of the soft bed with a snort.

"Damn rebel girl. She's either seriously nuts or extremely brave," he muttered under his breath.

Keiran raised his head, as if he guessed who Darksen was talking about. He looked at the bathroom door, pricking up his ears and sniffing the air.

"Yes, I know. That's why I told her to take a shower."

The snow leopard snorted and rested its muzzle back on its paws. Darksen hoped that the cat would be asleep when the girl finally came out of the bathroom, because if he saw her, he would surely jump to her with his newfound healing abilities. He couldn't heal her wounds every day, because eventually suspicions would fall.

"What else don't I know about you?" The Prince stroked the cat's head.

Until the previous evening, the leopard had been a normal Invicta Beast, created to hunt and kill. Now it looked like a docile cat that won't harm you, but will make you feel better.

Darksen felt the weight of another secret resting on his shoulders. He felt he should keep Keiran's ability to himself. Who knows what would happen to the panther if his father found out about everything.

He also had to somehow explain how the girl's arm had already healed. If his father asked, it would probably be most reasonable to say that Kendra had given her a new medicine. Yes, he was unlikely to come up with anything better and more sensible.

After a while, he realized that he hadn't heard flowing water for a while. He looked at the clock hanging above his desk. It was after ten o'clock. He wanted her to bring him dinner and just go to bed. This wouldn't arouse any suspicions from the guards, who monitored his every move to then report to his father. What if they found out that he was treating his slave better than he should?

But today he owed it to her. After all, it was because of his outburst of anger that she was now staggering to her feet.

He quietly walked to the door and knocked. It felt strange, knocking on his own bathroom door.

Silence answered him.

He let the air out through his mouth and stepped inside. His gaze immediately fell on her petite figure. She was sitting on the tiles by a glass wall, leaning her head against the cabinet beside her. He wondered what could have been interesting about the night view of an unimaginable amount of water, but guessed that living in the desert, she didn't get to see the ocean.

He looked at her reflection in the glass. Well, that's why she hadn't left for so long.

He crouched down next to her, touching her shoulder. She smelled of his jasmine soap. Everything was wet, from her hair to her freshly hand-washed clothes. She must have been inhumanly tired if she fell asleep, ignoring the cold, the hunger and the fact that he was waiting for her on the other side of the door.

You owe her something, he reminded himself in his mind.

"Wake up," he commanded, straightening up.

The girl immediately opened her eyes, but she didn't look awake at all. Barely conscious, she tried to remember where she was.

"Get up."

Even that didn't work for her, so he grabbed her at the elbow and lifted her to her feet.

"Let's go."

He pulled her behind him, leaving the chamber. He was glad he had dismissed Caster earlier, because the guard would now probably follow his every move until he knew where the Prince was going. What's more, with a slave barely aware of anything.

Darksen threw the hood of his black cloak over his head and, as quickly as he could, made his way through the empty corridor and then down the stairs. Several times they passed other servants and a couple of Invicta, but none paid them any attention.

Finally they were at the room where the girl had her resting place. He didn't know which bed was hers, so he told her to lead the way. When people noticed that Invicta was among them, they fell silent, and most hid under their blankets. All the stares, full of hatred and fear were aimed at his back. If only they were brave and rebellious enough, they could easily bludgeon him to death right now. But they lacked faith that they could change anything.

They needed a leader who would kindle the embers of hope in this shabby hole and kick their fearful asses out from under their blankets.

The Prince thought he would love to see this, and even felt that he himself would like to be a part of it, but the next moment he shook his head and reprimanded himself in his mind. Would he like to see people rise up, because life without them fighting for their world had become boring, or would he rather see someone finally confront his father?

Stop.

The girl stopped, so he thought it was there and let go of her arm. He didn't expect that without his support she would collapse in a heap on the old mattress. From the prisoners' perspective, it probably looked brutal, although he didn't intend it that way at all.

Maybe it was a good thing, actually. What would these people think if they saw an Invicta Being full of care?

He turned on his heel toward the exit. Behind his back, he heard murmurs and whispers. He turned his head to look from under his hood at the people gathered around the girl. He recognized Kendra, who was holding her hand on the girl's forehead, and the boy next to Kendra was wrapping her in a riddled with holes blanket.

"How are you holding up, New Girl?" a teenage girl asked.

She muttered something unintelligible in response and fell asleep.

Darksen returned to his chamber, feeling the pang of jealousy. Even there, where people were already stripped of almost everything, they were able to show concern for each other. They built friendships, created families. They lived for each other, were one for the other.

He couldn't understand how they did it or what drove them.

The human species was out of the ordinary. Having nothing with them, they had everything they needed.

He had everything, yet there was an emptiness in his heart, because he lacked what was most essential.