was when the pain started. I passed out, and when I woke up, I was in Tadekha’s Citadel dungeons. I think whoever grabbed me figured out something was wrong and brought me here.”
Aron grunts.
I gather the blankets closer to my body. "So this pain thing, that's part of the bond?"
"I suppose."
"Well, I wish someone would have pointed that out before I signed up." Of course, since my choice was death, I'd probably still have done it, but I'm feeling petty and abused at the moment.
He casts me an impatient look. "I am as in the dark as you are. We need answers, but I do not trust any that Tadekha will give us."
I nod slowly. He's not wrong about that. I don't trust her, not after last night's quasi-orgy. Heck, I'm still blushing thinking about that. "I'm ready to get out of here when you are."
"Have you looked in the hall? There are at least a dozen guards just outside our room."
"Well, you can take them down, can't you? You went through those guys at the city gates like they were nothing."
"It is not my safety I am concerned about," Aron says, turning to face me. "But yours. Tadekha knows we are bonded. You think she will not have them go after you? I can take out any number of guards, but before they get to you?”
Right. Because for some reason I’m the target. “Why does everyone keep trying to kill me instead of you?”
“That is the question. And I don't want to know what happens to me if you die." He clenches his jaw. “An anchor is supposed to guide but we are both lacking knowledge. And I cannot ask Tadekha or her minions, because they will realize how truly clueless we are.”
"Well I don't want me to die either!"
"Then we figure out another way out. And in the meantime, you do not leave my sights. I do not need to chase you all over the countryside once more. You are my anchor. Anchor yourself to me."
I glare at him. God, I would feel so much better about our pairing if he wasn't such a jerk. "Fine," I mutter, and leave it at that.
Hours pass in our chambers. Aron's in no mood to chit-chat, gazing out the window with impatience stamped all over his features. I nap for a bit in the bed, and when servants arrive with food, I scarf mine down. Aron doesn't eat, so after a short hesitation, I eat his, too. I notice that everything on the tray is finger-foods and no cutlery is provided. Nothing that we could use as a weapon. After that, I give myself a furtive sponge bath behind a screen and then dress in another wispy gown. No shoes are provided, and it just reminds me that Aron thinks Tadekha means to keep us prisoner. I think he's right.
On a whim, I take the food tray and carry it to the entrance of our apartments, then open the door. I put the tray down outside and glance around. Sure enough, guards line the walls, and they all turn to look at me as I peek out. I quickly duck back in, feeling a little sick to my stomach.
We need a plan.
18
Aron continues to gaze distantly out the open window. I want to ask him what we're going to do, but I remember how pissy he was earlier. I suspect that if he knew, we'd already be doing it. Well, shit. I begin to pace, and when that doesn't help, I start to go through the room itself, looking for ideas. There's a chamber for toiletries, complete with water basins and pitchers, and a table of soaps, perfumes, and other things I don't recognize but might be cosmetics. I open every cabinet and find soft, fluffy towels, more soaps, and a variety of hair combs. Gee. I guess Tadekha figures the combs can't be weapons. I take a few of them anyhow, because fuck her, I'll figure something out.
I move to the main chambers of the apartments. The rooms we're in today are bigger than the one I was in yesterday—probably because Aron's with me now. The ceiling is high and arched, with triangular glass windows near the top of the ceiling to let light in. Everything sparkles, and the furniture is artsy and delicate and utterly useless. I have no doubt that it'd all shatter into a million tiny pieces unusable for weaponry, or she wouldn't have left them. I