Song: Wild Heart - SPELLES
The back of Julian's estate was jaw dropping with a large infinity pool that seemed to stretch out to the lake bordering the end of the property. Around the pool there were paths that wound through the grounds with hedges, trees and flowers flanking on each side. In the distance, I saw a large arched trellis that seemed to lead to the lake below. Bordering the lake on either side were large mountains covered in trees.
We sat at a table on the outside patio as we ate our breakfast. Once finished, we sat in relative silence while Julian worked away on his phone. More than once, I caught myself closing my eyes and listening to my surroundings and breathing in the scents of the flowers nearby. I listened to the birds as they sang from tree to tree, and was delighted at the animals that chittered nearby.
It was like home and it made my heart ache.
I wondered how Kymra was. I wondered what her games would be, what she would say, how she would act around him to convince him she was me. Or at least convince Robyn that she was me while pretending he was Damien...just thinking about it made my head hurt.
"Who else knows of your plan?"
"Kymra's plan," he corrected without looking at me. "Three of us and one other. No one else."
"Who is this other?"
He shook his head. "A stubborn asshole." His grey eyes looked at me. "But a powerful ally if he accepts."
The breeze suddenly picked up around us, making me rub my arms after I crossed them. "Why wouldn't he accept?"
He shook his head. "He's unpredictable. Kymra warned me not to trust him but we will need his help."
I stood from the table, looking out to the horizon as the late morning sun rose higher in the sky. I closed my eyes against the exhaustion I still felt in my bones. "When can we start?" I turned back to him. "I'm afraid for Kymra. Robyn is a sadist. When he finds out what's happening-" I shook my head and looked back at the lake. "I hate to think what he will do to her."
"She is more than capable of holding her own," Julian answered. "She worked in the Keep when he was king. She knows what to say to him to keep him unsuspecting, she knows him well enough."
I turned back to him with a furrowed brow.
"Kymra is smart," he insisted as he placed the phone on the table in front of him. "She is handling it."
I took a deep breath. I trusted Kymra but Robyn—he was ruthless. I wouldn't be surprised if he already knew. And if he knew...my parents would be the first to pay the price.
Panic began to creep through my core. He had to know. He had to know. I was with him long enough that he begun to unravel me in my dreams. He knew me inside and out.
Kymra wouldn't be able to deceive him.
I shook my head fiercely. "This isn't going to work. It's just not—it just—it won't." I felt my hands begin to shake as I crossed them. My nails gripped my elbows of my crossed arms. "He has to know by now. He has to."
He watched my hands and approached me carefully. "Emylin, I can guarantee you that nothing is wrong. He doesn't suspect anything."
I shook my head and the fear I had felt in the rooms I was locked in came back. "I have to see my parents. They will be the first he goes after."
I began to feel a pressure build within me. I could feel it begin to grow as the seconds passed. If he did have them, what would he do first? Would he only hold them prisoner until I went back to him? Would he torture them like he had in my dreams so many times?
