84: Ada's POV

Climbing down from the balcony of my bedroom was as difficult as it was risky, but I had to see Adrian. We’d been able to meet up several times over the last couple of weeks and had solidified a few plans. Some things would need to be moved up if we were going to pull this off.

I hissed as I scraped my elbows against the stone wall of Oberon Castle. Adrian was waiting below for me, dressed all in black in an attempt to blend in with the landscape. There were a few places I knew were safe from Nik’s shadows, even at night, based on my wandering. I’d discovered that most of the time, I could sense his shadows almost like they were a person. It was a soft presence, but I could read it if I focused.

There was a thud as I dropped the full story down to the ground. I did my best to brace my landing, but I was clumsy with it. I landed flat on my ass and knocked all of the air out of my lungs. Adrian snorted with laughter as he helped me to my feet. I shot him a look and laced my fingers with his.

He followed me as I rounded a corner into a little stone alcove. I closed my eyes and focused. There was nothing here tonight. We were safe.

Adrian whispered, pressing his body close to mine so that he could fit into the alcove, “Ada, why are we meeting like this?”

“Darius and Nik have decided I need one of them with me twenty-four seven,” I explained, eyes scouring over the surrounding gardens, “I had to take five minutes where I could, and that was now.”

“What does this mean?” Adrian’s eyes were practically glowing in the moonlight.

His body had tensed at the mention of Darius and Nik, which I’d grown accustomed to. Talking about them made him nervous. Considering we were committing treason in at least eight different ways, I couldn’t blame him. Though I did think it ran deeper than that. I think Adrian thought I would change my mind and stay with them. While my feelings for Adrian hadn’t grown, he couldn’t be further off from his assessment.

Killing or rejecting me would make the Alpha Princes weak. Keeping me around would lead to my killing them, per the prophecy. The easiest choice was for me to leave, to disappear. I wouldn’t ever be able to cut ties with them, and I would have to work constantly to make sure that our bonds remained closed. It would be exhausting work, but it would keep us all safe. It was the only way.

I tilted my chin up, looking into Adrian’s eyes, “I think we need to go sooner than we planned.”

Adrian shifted uncomfortably, leaning back against the stone wall, “When?”

“As soon as we can,” I cocked my head to the side, “A week?”

“How are we supposed to pull this off if we can’t see each other?” Adrian reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, cupping my cheek with his palm, “There are a lot of moving pieces in this, Ada.”

He had a good point. A small amount of doubt crept into my stomach. Sure, it might be the best way to avoid everything by running. But could we actually pull it off? Probably not if we didn’t have a way to talk to each other. So, that was another problem I had to fix.

“Listen, if it could wait and be perfect, we would wait and have it be perfect,” I tossed out, “But things are happening that we need to take advantage of. The Princes will be distracted,” my eyes widened as I realized the answer was right in front of my face, “Thursday. Let’s plan to meet on Thursday and go over everything.”

“How are you going to get away from them?” Adrian pressed, grinning.

I shook my head, “Leave that to me. Would Thursday be enough time for you to work out your side of things?” He nodded, and I nodded in return, “Expect an invitation to the gardens on Thursday.”

“Ada,” he moved his hand to my chin, tilting my face up to look at him, “I wish you would tell me why we’re running.”

He knew it wasn’t because I loved him. But he would take me with him anyway, because he loved me, and my wanting to love him was enough for him. Adrian was willing to risk his life to get me out of here, as long as it’s what I want. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that this meant I would always yearn for them, that anytime I felt something through our bonds, it would wreck me for my entire life. He had to keep some hope, and so did I, that one day I would look at him and feel *everything.*

For now, the best I could do was protect him. I swallowed and averted my eyes from his, “I can’t tell you. I can only thank you for going with me.”

“I would go anywhere for you,” Adrian breathed out.

I felt him leaning down, and I didn’t stop him. His arms wrapped around my stiff body, and his lips attached to mine. I worked mine against his, feeling tears pricking my eyes. I wanted so badly for this to work, but this all felt so wrong. Having him so close to me, having his lips against mine, I was so aware of how d*ifferent* it was. He was passionate, and his lips were full of want. But they did nothing to elicit that response from me.

Leaning into the kiss, forcing my body to relax against his, I hoped that those responses would come with time. Hell, I didn’t even need the passion. I just needed to be able to feel something other than repulsion when he kissed me in the future.