Sixteen
Desmond pushed himself up off of the ground. He walked over to take my hand. “Come with me.”
“Why can’t you tell me what’s going on right here?” I was trembling as I spoke. I had been around immortals and magic my whole life. But I had never seen anything like what I had just witnessed.
“Yeah, why?” Holly chirped. I was glad that she was there. After everything that had happened, I needed Holly in my corner. Especially in dealing with a bunch of immortals who were only looking out for them.
Desmond glared at her. “Because this isn’t a conversation that I want to have with everyone listening. This is a conversation for the two of us.”
I groaned. “Please don’t talk about us like there is an us.”
He stayed silent, with a forlorn expression on his face. Only held out his hand to me. I glanced at Calix, who wouldn’t even look at me. Lola stood beside him, smirking, and Holly was completely confused about everything. I followed Desmond down a long hall in the loft to what I guessed was his bedroom.
It wasn’t like the rest of the loft. The loft was mostly sleek, modern, and dark. Instead, Desmond’s room was done in a rich, forest green. It was large, with wide windows that overlooked Moon City. He had a balcony. I hadn’t been to Calix’s room before. I would probably never get to now.
I shouldn’t have been thinking about that. I couldn’t stop myself, though. He had been such a dream of mine for so long.
“Desmond, what’s going on?” I asked as he closed the door. “Please, tell me.”
The Alpha took a deep breath. “I thought this was only about me. But if your father is involved, it would seem that there is possibly something—someone else at play here.”
I gave him what I hoped was a menacing look. “What’s a decree from the gods, Desmond?”
He ran a hand through his hair. I felt like a teenager again, watching him. When he had courted my sister, I’d been fascinated by him. I think part of me wanted to be like him. Maybe that was why I wanted to be a Peace Broker so bad. Because that was what Desmond did in his role as alpha. He tried to create a safe place for immortals and humans to coexist together. “I need you to know I never intended for this to happen. I don’t know why they’re doing this. I wanted to let you go as soon as we figured everything out.”
I swallowed, hard. “Why can’t you still do that? What’s changed?”
He furrowed his brows together. “A decree from the gods is binding, Iris. If you and I aren’t together, they will do everything in their power to make life impossible for our loved ones. Even kill them.”
“But—but—” I tried to form a sentence. “W-w-what could possibly be so important that the two of us have to be together?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. I…maybe I should have trusted your sister. If I had, I could have figured everything out. But you were one of the people that I could trust. You…you never asked anything of me even though you could have.”
I clenched and unclenched my fists. “If I didn’t know it wouldn’t do anything, I would hit you so hard right now. I…. I never wanted to be a luna, Desmond. Now the gods want us together? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Look, the trials are going to happen. When they do, I’ll petition them to see if they will let you go.”
My face fell. “What about your whole plan? You needed me for a reason.”
“I’m not going to make you stay with me when your heart is clearly with someone else. Calix was pissed when I got back to Moon City and suggested my plan to him. He…he clearly cares about you. I know you’re angry about what he did to your mother, but those feelings don’t just stop. I won’t be responsible for letting you give up on your dream. There doesn’t need to be two almost deaths because of me.”
I pictured Calix. He had been distraught when my mother died. He’d done what she wanted. Not what he thought was best. He had been angry on my behalf for Desmond cooking up the whole fake mate plan to find out who killed him.
Desmond and I though…. we were never supposed to be together. He hadn’t wanted my sister. That much was clear. I didn’t fully understand what they’d been doing together. But if him and I had been decreed by the gods to be together, neither of us got to be with the one that we were in love with.
I nodded. “I’ll do whatever you want me to, Desmond. I know I’m not the one you want, either.”
He looked away for a moment. I wondered at that. What was he hiding? I’d been so caught up by everything happening, I hadn’t stopped to ask myself some very important questions. The first being did I believe that Desmond was really Desmond?
What if he….
What if he was enchanted by someone working with my father to help destroy the secret cities? But who would want that? They were our home. They kept us safe from humans that would hurt our friends and family.
No, I told myself sternly. I couldn’t let myself get caught up in conspiracies. Something like a decree from the gods didn’t seem like a reaction that an immortal could fake. Even growing up in a secret city though, I didn’t know everything about everyone.
“You should get some rest, if you can. We’ve got that engagement party tomorrow,” he told me.
I took a deep breath. “My mother just died.”
“I know,” he ran a hand through his hair, “I know…but…”
But immortals had expectations. I should have known. That was exactly what had gotten my mother killed. She had spent her entire life trying to live up to them. “Um…okay…I will um…I’ll get some rest. Big day tomorrow.”
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