Foretell (23 page)

“It’s not possible,” I sighed, shaking my head. “The two of us cannot escape together. Not before Bonjara gets here.”

Rex presented me with an all too knowing look. “Who makes it?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It’s you, isn’t it?”

I sat there stiffly, refusing to say anything else.

“Tell me, Spence,” he demanded gruffly.

“I’m not leaving without you!” I shouted, upset he could even ask me to do it. “I’m not leaving you to get murdered by those assholes.”

Rex sighed, appearing unimpressed with my outburst. We both sat there on the bed, refusing to speak to each other or look one another in the eyes.

Finally, Rex said softly, “Your life is worth more than mine, Spence.”

“That’s bull,” I spat out.

He reached for my arm again, but I pulled away. “Don’t you dare,” I said. “Don’t force me to tell you how. You promised you would never do that again.”

“You can’t ask me to let them have
you.
If there’s a way for you to escape, you
must
take it.”

I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly. “No,” I ground out. “So don’t ask me again.”

Angry over my refusal, Rex groaned loudly.

I almost took pity on him. He truly thought that it was his duty or something to put my life above everything when the truth was, it would probably be better for everyone if I were dead. But I knew he wouldn’t see it that way. So I changed the subject.

“Why don’t you try something useful?” I suggested. “Like, ask me how to get Bonjara to spare your life.”

He considered this. After a few moments of thinking it over, he conceded. “Fine.”

I allowed him to take my arm again, but presented him with a stern look before doing so, which clearly said
no tricks
. “I won’t,” he promised.

He then asked what we could do to prevent Salazar Bonjara from killing him.

“I can offer him a deal,” I said quietly, not happy with the answer I saw in my mind.

“What’s the deal?” Rex probed.

“I go quietly with him. He’ll spare your life in return.”

Rex snorted. “Impossible.”

“Why is it impossible?” I asked.

“Spencer,” he warned. “You better not even be thinking of going with him. That man is the devil incarnate. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what sorts of things he’ll ask you for.”

I started to reply, but cut myself off. Instead, I nodded, dropping the subject. It wouldn’t do any good to argue with him right now. I would make the decision on my own, eventually, and I couldn’t guarantee I’d say no to going along with Bonjara.

Not if it meant saving Rex’s life.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. The guards entered, with turkey sandwiches and a first aid kit in tow. After they handed over the items, I asked the one of the guards how long we would be staying at the motel.

“We’re not sure,” he replied gruffly. “King Salazar is on the move. He’s requested for you to stay put until he arrives.”

From behind me, I heard Rex growl in a low voice, “That slimy bastard is no king.”

The guard stiffened, taking offense at Rex’s words. I winced, wishing he’d stayed quiet. But neither of the guards responded to Rex. Instead, they warned me, “Do not leave this room. If you do, your friend will be shot on sight.”

With that said, they left, slamming the door behind them.

“Thanks, Rex,” I mumbled. “Instead of trying to gain leeway, you only managed to piss them off.”

“Why do you care what they think? Unless you need someone to fetch condiments for your sandwich, it doesn’t really matter.” His tone was sardonic, angry even.

I tossed him the first aid kit, feeling myself grow more annoyed. “You should probably put a bandage on your cut,” I suggested dryly.

He took it with him to the bathroom, and slammed the door shut. He left me alone like that for a while.

I quietly ate my sandwich in the dark, with nothing accompanying me, aside from my worries. What would happen when this so-called king showed up? Would I really be forced to serve him?

For the first time, I was truly beginning to feel afraid.

Rex and I still weren’t speaking to one another, probably because we were both afraid.

Afraid of what was coming.

On some level, we both knew what the future held for us. Someone was going to lose. That much was inevitable. Too bad for him, I already made up my mind to come out of this losing. I didn’t care about his honor. I didn’t care if he felt it was his duty to keep the oracle out of the wrong hands. I only cared about him.

It made things even worse that the stupid television didn’t work. Rex tried to turn it on, but the damned cord was frayed. The noise might have helped to drown out our worries. But now we were forced to suffer through it in silence.

I’d gone through all of the dresser drawers and the closet, looking for any sort of weapon or tool to help us escape. The only thing I found was a box of washable Crayola markers that some kid had left behind. I almost laughed when I found them, wondering if I should threaten to color the guards to death.

Eventually, I gave up. I should’ve known better anyway. If there
was
a way to escape, I would’ve told Rex when he asked.

I sat down on the floor, enveloped in my misery. It was better than sitting on the itchy bed or the uncomfortable wooden chairs anyway. So I just sat there, sprawled out on the floor, resting my back against the dresser. I mindlessly twirled the markers, giving my anxious hands something to do.

I watched Rex through the shade of my eyelashes. He was restless too, definitely. He’d been pacing the room for most of the night, letting out frustrated sighs and raking his hands through his mussed hair. Sometimes he looked as pensive as a Greek sculpture. But if he was scared, he didn’t show it. Now that I thought about it, I don’t think I’d ever seen him show an ounce of fear.

Hmm…bravery. Now there was a decent trait.

Suddenly, Rex moved away from the far side of the room and headed in my direction. He paused as he stood over me,
then
kneeled down on the floor.

I lifted my gaze to view his expression. He seemed different somehow.

He nodded towards the box of markers, gesturing for me to hand them over. I raised an inquisitive brow, but tossed it to him anyway. He settled down beside me along the dresser, and withdrew some colors.
Green, yellow, pink and red.

He took my arm, pressing the wet tip of the red marker down across my wrist, drawing small waves. I was too curious to stop him.

I became entranced by the cold tingles left behind with each stroke of the marker. He put away the red and uncapped the green. He was drawing a flower, I realized. He filled in leaves and greenery along my arm, creating a long vine along my skin.

When he was done filling in the flower, Rex leaned over to lightly blow out air, drying the ink. I shivered, feeling the wet spots chill beneath his breath. Goose bumps spread along my arm, and
a warmth
spread throughout my body. It reminded me of our almost-kiss in Lina’s RV bathroom.

Rex capped the marker he held and our eyes met, his tinged with an emotion I couldn’t name, but whatever it was, it appeared intense.

I picked up the yellow marker and drew two smiley faces, one on each of his cheeks. It was a lame attempt at trying to lighten the mood. I grinned at my pathetic handiwork, incomparable to the masterpiece covering my arm.

He smiled a little. It was nice seeing him smile. Seeing his white teeth display beneath his straight, pink lips. Seeing the hardened corners of his mouth curve seductively. He was beautiful.

Gently, Rex pushed on the back of my arm, turning me slightly. He tugged my dress sleeve, letting the fabric slide down my shoulder, revealing more of my skin.

There was a slight intake of my breath. For a moment, I thought he was going to pull the fabric off of me. But he didn’t. He drew on my shoulder, using the blue marker.
Then the yellow.
The wet tip trailed along my lower back. His hot breath caressed my neck, his lips hovering, not quite touching. I trembled, aching to feel them press against my skin in place of the marker.

Rex took his time creating something detailed. When he was finished, I stood, my back facing the mirror. I turned just slightly, so I could see what he’d drawn. It was a scene of a night sky, filled with twinkling stars. One of them blazed across the sky, just as it had the night we fell asleep by the lake. He’d drawn our sky, our stars.

“It’s amazing,” I whispered.

He inched closer, placing his hands on the dresser behind us, one on either side of me. Trapping me. “What are you doing?” I whispered, not quite able to catch my breath. I bumped against the table, flinching.

Rex looked at me like a lion and I was his prey. Something stormed violently in his eyes as he stared at me. He swayed backwards a little, as if battling with himself.

He took out the red marker again, uncapping it.

I pushed myself up on the dresser, sitting on top of it and trying to put some distance between us. I fanned myself with my hand, feeling hotter by the second. “Is it warm in here?” I asked.

Rex didn’t answer me.

Stepping forward, he filled the gap between us. I tried to slide backwards, but there was no more room. My back pushed against the wall.

Rex reached for my ankle,
then
lifted it slowly into the air.

I stopped fanning myself. My lips parted as I stared at him, waiting for his next move. I could only sit there, conceivably mesmerized by his every touch.

He pressed the tip of the marker to my ankle.

I swallowed.
Gulped
was more like it.

The marker traveled up my leg and across my knee.
A simple line that seemed to have no purpose, no end.

“Is this abstract art?” I joked.

Rex still refused to speak. The marker continued traveling up my thigh, leaving every ounce of skin it touched tingling in its wake. His hand reached the hem of my dress. He lifted the fabric, pushing it gently up my thighs. Then suddenly, he paused. He looked at me again, his eyes pulling me in deeper with each heart-pounding breath.

“Essie-” he breathed.

I pressed my lips to his.

The marker dropped to the floor. His arms encircled me, pulling me against him until our bodies were flush. I wrapped my legs around his waist, clinging to his arms. We tasted each other slowly and delicately at first. It quickly intensified though. I couldn’t get enough of touching Rex, of kissing him. I grasped and clawed at anything that separated
us,
surprised to see his intensity matched mine.

I felt the zipper on the back of my dress sliding. Rex’s hand slipped beneath the fabric, reaching for the small of my back, and holding me there.

Rex lifted me from the dresser, gathering me in his arms. He carried me to the bed, gently laying me down and then falling on top of me.

I lifted my head, kissing Rex before he had time to change his mind, too afraid that the moment might end. I felt his hands slide into my hair, tangling the glossy strands while he kissed me deeply.

Rex lifted his face just a breath from mine, needing one last confirmation. I held his face between my hands, staring into his fiery amber eyes. They devoured me, his gaze absorbing mine. In some ways, it frightened me, but I didn’t want it to end. I nodded. It was just a slight movement, I’d never been so sure of anything.

The door burst open, banging against the wall and startling both of us. I groaned, feeling Rex pull away.
Back to reality.

Rex nearly growled, yelling, “Your timing is impeccable, but please get the hell out.”

He hadn’t even turned around to see who it was. I, however, was too curious to ignore the intruder’s entrance. I slowly peeked around Rex’s head.

Xavier stood there, tense with anger. He didn’t seem pleased about what he’d walked into.

“Are they gone yet?” Rex asked me hopefully.

“Afraid not,” I replied, wincing.

He sighed regretfully, and removed his body from mine.

Embarrassed, I quickly refastened my dress and stood. I grimaced after catching sight of myself in the dresser’s mirror. My normally perfectly straight, polished hair was mussed into a chaotic state of disarray. I frantically smoothed down the tresses.

“What do you want, Dogaru?” Rex asked Xavier balefully.

“To start with, Constantin, you will keep your bloody hands off of the oracle,” he stormed. I noticed Xavier’s British accent pronounced
itself
more while he was angry. “She is Salazar’s property now.”

I was property now, was I? I snorted loudly at that. They would soon find out how much their property enjoyed kicking and screaming.

“And you,” Xavier directed his attention towards me. “You will come with me. King Bonjara has requested your presence.”

“What if I don’t want to?” I asked
,
simply to be difficult.