Inexplicable

Chapter Sixteen

Jax

I look at Davina sleeping so peacefully. She's been asleep most of the night, only briefly waking to check that I'm still here. She tries to hide it, but I know she fears Zayn will show up. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also nervous. I dared not sleep until morning, when he's least likely to attack.

I brush a piece of hair from her face, careful not to wake her. It's still surreal that I'm here with her after watching over her all this time from a distance, not being able to talk to her, touch her, or even be near her. I knew what would happen if I broke the rules. I knew Zayn would find her, but I risked it. I couldn't keep my distance anymore. I knew he had been watching me, yet I was still careless and selfish. Sooner or later, I will have to take her back to Irredesia. She will be safer there now that the war is over, even if it means me being exiled or, more likely, executed. I didn't exactly leave on the best terms, but I can't think about that now. I just have to enjoy this time I have with her, even if I don't deserve it. She doesn't need to be burdened by the past just yet.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, causing me to jump up. No one calls me. Ever. Phones were rarely used back in Irresdesia, but no one even had my phone number. I fumble to pull it out of my pocket and answer it. "Hello?" I keep my voice low so that I don't wake up Davina.

"It's a nice home you found for her." The voice on the other line says. I recognized it immediately, making my blood run cold. "Much better than the last one. You made it quite challenging to find her."

"Zayn," I growl. Anger swells in my chest, but I keep my voice low. He must have traced her back here after our meeting yesterday. That would explain his imprints in her room. But how did he trace her so quickly? Of course, he has an army at his disposal, while I only have myself.

"Lovely drawings also. Funny that you made her remember Irredesia from so long ago." Amusement coats his voice.

"What do you want, Zayn? Why bother to call if you know where she is?" My stomach churned at the thought of him being so close to her, and I never even realized. I've been more careless than I thought.

He completely ignores my question, asking one of his own. "So, brother, what do you plan to do with her now?"

This sounds like a trick, but I take the bait anyway. "Take her back to Irredesia, where she belongs. Where she will be safe from you." He had to have known that was the plan.

I hear a small chuckle through the phone. "You may want to rethink that."

I clutch the phone tighter. "What do you mean?"

"How do you plan to get her there? There are only so many portals, and I happen to have control of them all. And what about the war? Do you really think she will go back home knowing innocent lives will be lost? Will she go back if she knows your life will be lost? Elrik sure won't be happy to see you."

My blood boils at his words. I had a plan for that, albeit not a very good one, but it could work. "You don't-"

"Relax, brother. I would never hurt her." He says, but this did nothing to ease my worries. Zayn might not hurt her, but our father? He was a different matter. "This can all end peacefully, Jax."

"What's the end game here, Zayn?" I growl. Davina sighed in her sleep, and I realized I may have been too loud. I move to the far side of the room. The last thing I want is to cause her even more worry.

"You know the end game, Jax. Father wants me to marry her since you went rogue. He wants to unite the two great lands under his name. Surely you've figured that out by now? I know you're smart, Brother."

Of course, I had suspected that was his plan, but hearing it out loud and visualizing him with her, touching her... I grip the phone even harder, trying to contain my anger but failing miserably. I had to get through to Zayn and make him see clearly. "This was never supposed to be our lives. Why are you still supporting him after the way he treated you? I remember you making plans to run away when we were younger. You hated him. What changed?"