Chapter 14:
Fiona
The sky darkened black; I could see it from the exit down the hall from my cage. I scraped my bottom lip with my teeth: sharp and nervous. I could see the shifters taking flight and flying north.
They were going to Feruvia. I could feel it.
I felt a giggle form in my stomach that swam through my body, cascading with a victorious tingle. But by the time it reached my mouth, it felt more like a tortured sob than a victory.
I wondered what would happen to me now and how I would know what happened to them. To Gandadirth. I wondered if he would leave me here or if I would die. If he would die.
My mind raced, and I could feel the tension in the camps. They were done with me. I had provided them all the information they needed.
I pressed my fingers into my left palm, needling them and pressing hard against my skin as though to make sure I was still alive.
The blue-and-yellow shifter, my familiar comfort, walked into the cells and looked down at the cage. He opened the door, noting the broken lock curiously as his eyes darted up toward me.
“Not even gonna question it,” he said with a small smirk.
“No?” I asked.
He looked at me seriously: a scattering of thoughts. “Okay,” he said quickly. “I am going to ask. What’s up with the lock?”
“It’s broken,” I teased.
“Uh huh,” he nodded and then went grave-faced. “Then why are you still here?”
The question was a test, and we both knew it. There was something off about him, something dire, and then I knew he knew.
I swallowed and locked eyes with him, my one honest moment.
“I didn’t want to leave you,” I said.
He nodded, raising his brow as he did so. I didn’t know if he was offended or pleased. He swung the door open and took my hand, drawing me into a long, desperate kiss.
“Want to know a secret?” he teased.
I grinned. “Is this the part where you rip off your shifter mask and reveal you’ve been human all along?”
“Close,” his voice went high. “Guess again.”
“You are… whisking me away for a real date?”
“What?” he cocked his head and grabbed my hand, raising it to his lips and kissing it while matching my eye contact blink for blink. “You’re sick of mating in secret like animals? Man, it’s true what they say: women really are high-maintenance.”
We both laughed then, and then he hunched over so that his massive stature could reach my ear.
“I know your little plan,” he whispered, the spit in the corners of his mouth enunciating his quiet words as they echoed in my ear.
My heart sank. “What?” I said. “What does that mean?”
“It means I scouted the island,” he said, resigned. “Pletunds,” he said, snapping his fingers. “Those giant robots. They’re waiting for us, aren’t they?”
I swallowed hard but didn’t look away. “Yes.”
He nodded, looking conflicted. “Want to know the secret part?”
“What?” I said, my voice cracking with emotion.
“I like your plan better than mine,” he whispered again, smiling at the end.
I took a step back instinctively. “What?” I asked, dire. “Then do something!”
“Not exactly the reaction I was expecting,” he laughed. “See, I was expecting more of a: ‘Oh Gandadirth! You do have a heart after all! Look at the way our love has given you a conscience.’”
“Our love?” I asked; flushed.
He shrugged with my hand still in his. “Or whatever it is.”
“So…” I blanked. “What are you saying?”
His black eyes seemed wet then, like he was smiling from the inside out. He pulled my face close to his, setting his hands on my cold cheeks. “I’m saying that I love you.”
“No!” I protested, batting him away. “What you are trying to say about… about my plan!”
“Ouch.” Gandadirth blinked back in surprise and then shook his head. “I’m saying that I don’t like this anymore. This isn’t… what I thought it was going to be.” He shrugged helplessly. “Earth. It’s…” Another long pause. “Beautiful. And they can’t see it. They hate it, and they hate you.”
“Then help me,” I pleaded. “Help me.”
He shook his head. “These are my… this is my family.”
“Then you’re going to sit back and watch this happen, huh?” I cried. “That’s it? It’s not what you thought, but too bad?”
“Too bad,” he repeated, lifeless.
“What about me?” I said and blinked away my tears.
“Well…” he said, almost callous. His face was still and colorless, betraying nothing. I felt sick then, like it was all slipping away from me.
Then he smiled, a pitch of the lip that revealed a fang and his charming demeanor sprung back to life.
“I was going to wait for you to say you loved me too and then dazzle you with my heroism, but that didn’t go exactly the way I hoped.”
My eyes widened, and a flush crossed my cheeks.
“But I thought…” I paused and my words lulled. “Gandadirth,” I said quietly and pulled his face into mine, kissing him gingerly. “I do. I love you.”
“There’s my girl!” he shouted in victory and then tapped my nose.
“Now what?” I asked.
“Now… we have a lot to do.”