Chapter 97 - I dare you to go…

EMMA

The progressive healing of his wounds has become my indicator of the passing of weeks. I’m trying hard not to raise any suspicion and stay away from Hadrian, but it’s hard.

The worst times are when I see him alone with my brother. Every stolen look takes my breath away. The urge to go to Hadrian is itching in my chest. Like a rope wound around my heart and pulling me in his direction with an increasing force. It gets stronger every day and denying is becoming impossible.

My muscles ache when I walk up the stairs to my room. I massage my shoulder to bring some life back into my arm. Dex made us run a trail through an abandoned factory nearby. Kelsey could run circles around me and Alex shoots off like a bullet compared to me. They weren’t allowed to wait for me. They had to challenge themselves.

Dex told me that they could not complete the mission without me being on the same physical level as the other girls. We cannot have a weak link when we infiltrate the kingdom. Otherwise, the rest of the team will be only as strong as me.

The rest of the group has more strength, higher stamina and overall physical capability. I have been working my ass off for the past months. Yes, I’m stronger and faster than before. I can see more definition in the lines along my arms, my stomach and thighs. But nowhere near the level of Alex and Kelsey.

I stumble into my room and all I want to do is fall down on the bed. I want Hadrian to close his arms around me and cry in his chest. The pressure to become faster and stronger is breaking me up.

My room has a view of the shared garden and outside I find my brother arguing with Hadrian. They have been working out and Hadrian is shirtless. A sheen of sweat coats his skin. It highlights the swell of his muscles. Hadrian breathes with a heavy rise and falls from his chest.

Heat builds in my core and Hadrian catches me staring. My heart skips a beat when his eyes lock with mine. A smirk tugs at his mouth and my brother rolls his eyes at him. I wonder what they’re talking about.

Loud knocks come at my door and the voices of Alex and Kelsey come through.

“Open up Scarlet, you can’t hide,” Alex shouts through the door.

“Yeah, no fair, you have the best view,” Kelsey calls next.

The girls nearly fall into my room when I open the door. Kelsey carries a bottle of sparkling wine and three glasses and Alex carries several dresses over her arm. They are both dressed in tight, revealing dresses that show all their best attributes.

Alex shows her long shapely legs in a short minidress and Kelsey shows her curves in a figure-hugging skirt and top that reveals her toned midriff.

They move to the window and sigh in disappointment when Hadrian and Lucas go back inside. They turn their attention back to me. There is mischief in their eyes and between Alex and Kelsey the combination is deadly.

I take a step back. “What are you doing?”

“We’re going to have a girls-only hangout tonight…” Kelsey explains and places the three glasses on the dresser.

I shake my head. “No, we’re not.” I’m not feeling very festive. Kelsey opens the bottle with a loud pop. The cork shoots through the room and hits the ceiling.

“Unfortunately we’re not accepting ‘no’ for an answer today. The only acceptable answers are ‘definitely’ or ‘hell yes’. Try again.”

Kelsey pours me a full glass of sparkling wine and it nearly reaches the top. The bubbles rise from the bottom and the wine has a peach scent to it. “You better drink up, you’re already a bottle behind.”

Alex lifts a cobalt blue minidress in front of me and I nearly choke on the sip I was taking. “I’m not wearing that.”

“What did you just say? I don’t think I heard you right.” Alex says and places her hands on her hips.

Kelsey places me in a chair of the dresser and runs her hand through my difficult strands. She beams and praises my thick, long hair and seems really excited.

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I’m playing a dangerous game. One that can cost me my head if I’m not careful.

“Truth or dare?” Kelsey beams at me while she nearly tumbles with her half-empty glass in her hand.

I take a sip from my drink and I don’t know anymore what the saver option is. I’ve already had too much to drink to think clearly. “Truth.”

“Have you ever had sex with a human?” Kelsey asks with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

My vision blurs in slow motion when I shake my head. “No.” They already know that I’ve had sex with Hadrian as part of the mating ritual. Now they know that he’s the only one I had sex ever.

“Truth or dare?” I slur at Alex.

“Dare,” Alex says with resolute confidence.

I try to think of something funny and creative, but I have to drag the ideas from my brain. “Mix the wine with salt and vinegar, then drink it.”

There is a grimace on her face, but she stands up without hesitation. Alex sees everything as a challenge and she will do everything to win. Even at a game where nobody can win. Her overachieving nature reminds me of Princess Morana sometimes.

Alex goes downstairs and retrieves the salt and vinegar from the kitchen. She pours a good amount of vinegar and a large pinch of salt into the glass and uses a spoon to stir it around. The bubbles die and the golden liquid turns flat. With a steel face, she drinks the whole glass till the last drop.

She places the glass on its head in between us and directs her attention to me. “Truth or dare?”

I blink my eyes and speak without thinking. “Truth.”

“Do you like being fucked by a *mutant?* Did you come under his claws?”

I sober up at the venom in her voice. I blink to get a clear vision of her. There’s disgust written on her face. Pain hardens her eyes. Alex has lost much in this war. The worst thing was when her five-year-old sister was torn from her hands and murdered before her eyes.

Alex doesn’t want to hear the truth. She doesn’t want to hear that I not just liked it, I was begging for more. She wants the truth to be the same hate that she feels.

“Alex.” Kelsey tries to manage.

“Don’t say that you’re not curious.”

Alex and Kelsey have asked me many times about my time in the kingdom. I always brush it off or lie. I can see the curiosity, they want to know more. They all do.

I think that Alex knows that I lie. She is clever enough to detect such a thing. I think it causes her frustration. There is always a barrier between us.

They are my friends, I should not lie to them. They deserve to know the truth. In the end, are we not all on the same side?

“Dare.”

There is disappointment in her eyes as she looks at mine. “I dare you to go to Dex’s room and stay there for fifteen minutes.” Alex points at the satin robe hanging on a hook on the wall. “Wearing that.”

I got it for my birthday from Kelsey. The color is blush pink and falls halfway down my thighs.

Alex wants me to forfeit. She wants me to give up. I should, but my tipsy legs push me up and I grab the robe from the hook.

*What are you doing? Don’t do this. Just let Alex win her little game.*

I don’t listen to the voice in my head. I remove my dress and cover my body with the satin fabric. My fingers have trouble tying the knot in the satin string around my waist.

Kelsey and Alex watch me as I walk through the backyard to the other house. Well, stumble actually. The wind is fairly cold at night. It leaves goosebumps on my legs as it travels over it and the satin blows around. My bare feet tipple over the damp grass.

The back door is not locked. I listen to voices in the house, but I’m met with complete silence. The lights are out and no one is inside. I let out a sigh of relief.

I take careful steps through the house. Some of the floor planks creak beneath my feet. My heart speeds up and the fog in my brain starts to disappear. The liquor turns in my stomach.

*What am I doing?!* My subconscious sighs in exasperation. I should go back and face the taunts from Alex.

Or maybe I should just hide here somewhere for fifteen minutes and pretend I stayed in Dex’s room. I like the idea of escaping any ridicule. I would rather explain things to my brother.

I tipple up the stairs and keep my ears open for any sounds coming from the rooms. There is only silence.

The houses are built the same with the same division. I open the first door to the right and I immediately realize my mistake. My brother’s room is the second door on the right.

The scent of cedar, sandalwood and bergamot wafts out of the room and hits me in my core. It overwhelms me and lures me in. It wraps around my chest and back and drags me further into the room.

I willingly go. The room is undecorated with bare walls, a double bed and a simple dresser. A stack of clothes is neatly folded on the dresser. My fingers run over the fabric of his shirt and bring it closer to me. I inhale his intoxicating scent and close my eyes as I sit on the bed.

*Smelling the shirt of a guy, yeah that’s definitely not creepy or anything.*

The room is pitch black with the door closed. There are no curtains and the windows are covered with newspapers.

Even though Hadrian isn’t here, I still feel a calm wave flow through me. It releases knots in my muscles and soothes my sensitivity. The safety I feel brings my exhaustion back to the surface.