She enjoyed the kiss as much as I did, so I don't regret pushing her. Does it bother me that she's shut herself away from us? Of course. But, it's only for the time being. At least she isn't running for the barrier again or building one of those makeshift ropes out of her bedsheets to climb out the window like Zephyr did once.
I roll my eyes at my brother's theatrics. "Have you ever stopped to think that maybe she's just overwhelmed with all of the information we've dropped on her in a short amount of time? I think even I'd need some space to process all of it."
Zephyr looks from me and Zale and then back to her closed door. I have no doubt that we won't be seeing him again until Rubi decides to make an appearance.
As though he's agreeing with me, he leans back against the wall across from her door and slides down until his ass is planted on the carpet as he tells us, "I'm just going to sit here for a while...in case."
Zale's questioning gaze meets mine, but we leave him to it. For all his faults, we both know our brother would never do anything to hurt an innocent. Deep down I know that goes double for the woman hiding inside that room. Zale and I backtrack down the stairs before branching off to go in separate directions. I probably should go with him to the study to see if I can help with any of the research, but I turn left, instead, to head towards our wing of suites.
That short kiss is seared into my mind, urging my fingers to find a pencil. Making it to my room, I snatch my abandoned materials up off the floor. The book opens to my last drawing, and there's no denying that both the waterspout and long, dark-haired beauty have both come to fruition. Flipping to a blank page, the lead starts to scratch across the surface, and I let my eyes drift closed, sketching her from memory now. The taste of her still lingers on my tongue, making it easy to remember the flush that overtook her soft cheeks and the way those deep purple eyes flashed as we verbally sparred. My lips turn up at that while my pencil scratches furiously across the paper. Even halfway across the Keep, I feel like she's sitting directly in front of me.
By the time my hand stops moving, the entire page is covered in a portrait so beautiful it makes me sad it's not on a canvas. Then I wonder if I could ever convince her to pose for me. The simple idea makes me smile like I don't think I've ever.
I regret leaving her now, even if Zephyr will make sure she's not suffering alone. One thing my brother has always had over me, that whole empathy and comforting thing. He may be completely selfish sometimes and loves the sound of his own voice, but there were many times I'd appreciated his demeanor when Father had left for battle, and Mother needed someone.
I'm no good to anyone sitting here like this. I shouldn't be wasting my time with arts when we've got a workload of trouble headed our way soon if Merrick and Zale's predictions are right. Dropping my pencil into the book, I shut it softly as to not disturb the portrait and set it on the table beside my bed.
Getting to my feet again, I head out towards the study. Everything is so out of control lately and here I am wandering the Keep's halls like a lunatic.
Not bothering to check who's inside, I've barely stepped into the room before announcing, "I can't sit still. I feel like my skin is crawling."
Merrick looks up from his book long enough to make a note on a pad at his side and asks, "Is that the only difference you've been feeling lately?"
"I guess so," I reply, giving him a questioning glare. "You think whatever this is might be a sickness or a side effect from the witch siphoning our magic?"
"Or something else entirely," he suggests, leaving the comment hanging.
I've been around him and Zale long enough to know that when they're in these moods, getting anything out of them is practically impossible. As if conjured by my thought, Zale whips into the room with his nose buried in a book and mumbling to himself. He doesn't even realize I'm here until he almost runs face-first into me.
"Oh, sorry, brother," he blurts, skirting around me. "What are you doing here?"
"He's restless," Merrick answers in my place.
"Ah, yeah, me too," Zale admits. "All of this would be so much easier were we back in the kingdom and had access to our magic."
"I had considered talking to some of the older mer to see if they can offer any insight," Merrick says switching his attention to us.
"No!" both Zale and I shout in unison.
Merrick's eyes flick between us in surprise until I elaborate, "You don't want them knowing that we have no clue what's going on. It'll cause dissension and quite possibly a riot. We also can't give them hope because it'll destroy them if this attempt at breaking the curse fails."
"Plus," Zale adds, dropping his head so that he looks to his lap instead of us, "I don't want any of them any more curious than they already are about Rubi."
The words linger in the air between us, and I realize that's my main unspoken concern as well. Our clan has been locked in their cages without a female presence as long as we have. I trust every last one of them with my life; otherwise, we'd never have been in battle together when cursed to this existence. However, it's already bad enough to have the binding of their magic eating them alive. Add being without a woman for ages and all the other troubles on top of that, and we've got a disaster waiting to happen.
Nodding in understanding, Merrick suggests, "Well, if this curse is broken soon, we're going to need everyone in tip -op shape again. I haven't even touched a weapon in I can't tell you how long."
Those sharp blue eyes cut to me, and I realize what he's doing. By planting the idea in my head of getting our men to start a regular training regimen, he's giving me somewhere to bleed this restless energy racing through my veins. Our father could've truly chosen no better or wiser royal advisor than him. I don't give him thanks as I turn to leave; he knows his contributions are greatly appreciated and will one day be rewarded as such.
Heading off in search of what's left of our royal guard, I try to convince myself that the feeling settling into my gut isn't the hope I just warned the others about.
I’d asked for space from the three Zs to think almost three days ago. I didn’t think that they would truly hold out this long. In the silence of the approximate seventy-two hours, I’ve managed to get a little of a whole lot of nothing done. There is sleeping and eating what Merrick brings to me, but his is the only face I see.
Zale, Zephyr, and Zanthus are front and foremost in my thoughts before I go to sleep and first thing when I wake up.
Who am I kidding? And everywhere in between.
I try a little exploration of the room they dropped me in. One entire wall has built-in bookshelves that are loaded down. Directly in the middle of the room, there’s a round depression in the floor. The bottom portion is this soft spongy material, and bright pillows overflow the small area. I’ve tried it already and it was quite comfortable to sit and read through some of the mer history books.
The five-person sized bed I woke up in the second time is to the left of the door, and to the right is a massive bathroom that rivals even Zale’s. Next to that is a large walk-in closet with a dressing area complete with a three-sided mirror and vanity.