Someday I'll Be Redeemed Read online

  She noted a sleek table of white steel at one side of the room behind which was a lush leather chair. In the center of the room opposite of each other were two comfortable chairs and a third chair that—as far as she could tell—had the ability to tilt back. Other than that, there were a few other pieces of furniture in the room of little importance, and Vixen didn't care to note the pattern on the rug, or the details of the pictures on the walls, or the color of the room.

  She frowned but watched as Pelham gestured for Loroth to sit in the third chair. As Loroth sat down, Lorrek took a seat beside him, but when Vixen moved to take the remaining chair, Asalda lifted a hand, halting her.

  “That vest.” Asalda motioned to Vixen's bladed vest and then shook her head. “You must remove it. This is an extraction session, and magic may react strongly. The magic that is threatened may seize objects outside the body as a way to defend itself, and we do not need blades readily accessible in such a delicate situation. One of our guards can hold it for you until we are finished here.” She moved to the desk to contact the guards outside the room.

  Vixen opened her mouth with a protest ready on her tongue, but Lorrek locked eyes with her and shook his head. “That won't be necessary.” His words stopped Asalda, but his eyes remained on Vixen. “Hand it here, and I'll pocket it away someplace safe until you need it.” He stretched out his hand to receive the vest. When her frown deepened and she hesitated to make a move, Lorrek chuckled, “Just like that time when I first gave it to you. I had it pocketed away for all those weeks you spent stalking me, trying to figure out the best way to kill me.”

  With her eyes narrowed, Vixen slipped off her vest and tossed it to Lorrek. “There are some days I wish I hadn't failed.” With no further hindrance, she took the seat beside her husband—only noting in passing how Lorrek made the vest disappear into the air.

  Loroth took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze as he smiled at her, and then he cast a look to Pelham, Asalda, and Verddra. “Shall we begin?”

  Asalda smiled as she brought another simple chair up in front of Loroth and then sat down. “Of course. We are very fortunate that your wife has chosen to be with us. It makes things go a lot smoother. Now, Loroth, Vixen, I want both of you to think back to the time when you first met. What do you remember? Go ahead and establish a mental link if it helps. You don't have to verbally tell us what you're remembering.”

  Still suspicious, but grateful they didn't require anything intrusive, Vixen caught Loroth's gaze then gave him a shaky smile before she closed her eyes. His presence was always in her mind ever since Lorrek had bound them together with magic. The memories drifted freely between them.

  Loroth sat tied to a chair in a warehouse, having just become conscious after being knocked out. Before him, he saw four men, who appeared to be bandits, arguing amongst themselves. Finally, one of them, Lyston, stepped away to look out a window to keep watch, and his eyes widened.

  "Oh no."

  "What?" Aden narrowed his eyes.

  Lyston looked over at him and swallowed. "Vix is back."

  "Oh, boy...." Tobias muttered, shrinking back.

  Kilroth snapped his gaze over to Aden, and he spoke up for the first time since Loroth woke. "Did anyone tell her about this?"

  Aden let out a slow breath. "No."

  Lyston raised his hand again. "Um, can I leave for fear of my life?"

  "No!" Aden snapped in exasperation.

  Loroth watched in further amusement. "This should prove interesting...."

  The door opened, and the silhouette of a woman's figure stood in the doorway. Then she walked in. Light from the torches along the wall brushed across her tired features as she approached the table in the center of the room. She set a bag of coins on the table then looked up at the group of men watching her.

  Seeing an unfamiliar man among them, she straightened and went to them. As she drew near into more light, Loroth noticed she wore blades strapped to her person. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a braid, and her dark eyes narrowed when she locked gazes with him.

  “What is this?” She never took her eyes off of Loroth but expected the answer from someone else, however, Loroth spoke first.

  "This, my dear, is what I believe you would call a hostage situation." Loroth smiled at her.

  "Hush you!" Tobias whacked him over the back of the head.

  Vixen arched a brow at Loroth's humor in this situation but looked across to Aden for an explanation.

  Aden's firm gaze met hers. "It's necessary. None of us are happy about it."

  “Necessary?” She crossed her arms and lifted her brows. “Why exactly is it necessary? I told you I'm working on getting us a job.”

  "Indeed you have." He shook his head. "But that's nothing I haven't heard before."

  Vixen frowned and narrowed her eyes. In the corner of her eyes she noted how Lyston and Tobias were backing away, and she appreciated that. At least she wouldn't have to worry about them being in the way if she and Aden came to blows. However, she didn't want it to come to that, so she took a calming breath then locked eyes with Aden once more but spoke through grounded teeth, “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

  Aden's face remained neutral. "Nothing close to the way you're taking it. You know I speak in general; we have had plenty of cases of misfortune as of late." He paused, stepping closer to her in a nonthreatening manner. "You know I trust you, and you know I respect your views." He cast a glance at the others, and then locked eyes with her again. "But you're not the only I have to think about."

  Vixen didn't back down. She cast Loroth another look then glanced back at Aden. “Did one of the Houses put you up to this? Because I can talk to them and set them straight, and tell them that we don't take this kind of job.” Then she added as an afterthought, “And I'll make sure we still get paid.”

  Aden gave a humorless smirk. "You honestly think they would need us? It isn't them."

  “Point taken.” Vixen nodded. “They would rather kill their targets than kidnap them—and I would be right there with them.”

  Behind Aden, Tobias timidly raised his hand, earning a glare from Vixen. “Why are you so against kidnapping people, but have no problem killing them?

  A smirk flashed across Vixen's face. “I prefer my targets to be unable to identify me after we’ve met.” Then she went back to business, fixing her gaze on Aden. “Did you get paid yet?”

  He nodded. "Part of it. We get the rest later."

  “Sure you will. If you're not dealing with the Houses, and I know you're not working for another band of thieves, then you're probably working for the royals, and we all know how trustworthy they can be. They'll probably throw you in a dungeon for your thievery after you hand him over to them.” She nodded at Loroth then headed to the table and picked up her things again. “And when that happens, I'll be waiting because I am not getting dragged into this.” She slung her bag over her shoulder and cast the others a smile. “Have fun, boys.” Then walking backwards toward the door, she cast Loroth a smile as well. “Good luck. You'll need it.” With that, she saluted them, turned on her heel, and walked away.

  “Vixen.” Lorrek's stern voice scattered the memory, and Vixen opened her eyes—only to discover a pounding headache; she noted the darkness outside the window and realized that hours must have passed.

  Holding the side of her head to keep the headache from worsening, she squinted in Lorrek's direction. “Huh?”

  “We're finished for today's session.”

  “Already?” Vixen furrowed her brows, but then ducked her head, and closed her eyes to ward off the headache. “But we just started.”

  “Vixen.” Lorrek seized her hands as he crouched in front of her to try and lock eye contact. When her eyes opened a bit, he made eye contact. “We've been here for four hours. You need to rest.”

  Hearing this, Vixen straightened in her chair, only to groan and drop her head back into her hands. “What happened? Why does my head hurt so
much?” Then she realized she had not seen Loroth beside her when she looked a moment ago, so she snapped her eyes open and looked at his chair, only to find it empty. With her heart racing, she shot Lorrek a glare. “Where is he?”

  Lorrek lifted a calming hand. “Back in his room. I already escorted him before I came back to get you.” He eased her out of her chair and steadied her as she pressed her palm against her head.

  “What happened?” she asked again. “Is he well?”

  “Well, he was able to walk back to his room, so I think he's better off than you are.” Lorrek chuckled but knew to give her an explanation rather than risk her temper. “As you know, you have a natural connection with Lo because of your marriage to him. They attempted to tamper with his magic to map out its boundaries and potential, and his magic went on the defense and struck out at them. Your headache is probably a result of being connected to his mind when that happened.”

  “But you said this took four hours.” She shot Lorrek a confused look, but her head hurt so much she decided it was best not to make any facial expressions until after she had the chance to rest.

  Lorrek nodded as he guided her back through the corridors to the room she shared with her husband. “I intervened, and Lo's magic recognized me, so it backed down from its attack, and they were able to complete the mapping.” When he noticed how Vixen kept pressing her fingers against her temple, Lorrek pressed his lips together but then made a decision. “Stop.” When she looked at him puzzled, he turned her to face him completely, then touched her forehead, and willed his healing abilities into her veins to subdue the flaring pain in her head.

  She let out an unintentional sigh, and her muscles relaxed as the headache faded. Opening her eyes, she smiled at Lorrek. “Thank you.”

  He merely gave her a small smile then placed a hand on her shoulder, and in a swirl of wind they vanished from the hall to Vixen and Loroth's room. Lorrek's hand on her shoulder tightened to keep her steady when they reappeared in the room, but then he let go and stepped around her.

  By the time Vixen regained her bearings, she realized that Loroth was sitting on the edge of the bed looking thoughtful but with a frown. She watched Lorrek approach him and place a hand on his shoulder. “Are you well?” She heard him ask her husband.

  Loroth reached to clasp his cousin's arm then lifted his gaze to Lorrek. For a long moment they stared, and Vixen was certain they communicated through magic, but finally Loroth nodded and lowered his hand. “I just hope this works.”

  Lorrek nodded as well. “We all do.” With that, he stepped back and caught Vixen's gaze. Remembering something, he pulled Vixen’s vest of blades out of the pocket dimension and headed it to her. “You may want this.” Then he nodded at her and vanished from the room.

  Frowning, Vixen took the vest and went to her husband to sit beside him, but he slipped his arm around her waist and sat her down on his lap. As she draped her arms around his neck, he hugged her close and buried his face in her shoulder.

  Confused, she returned the hug and sighed. After a moment, she whispered, “What happened?”

  Loroth shook his head. “Not what happened, but what I sense will happen.”

  Vixen pulled back to look into his face, but he couldn't make himself lock eye contact. Dread settled in her gut.

  Segment 6

  Therth cast his gaze to the windows and scowled when he noticed the darkness outside, and then he returned his gaze to the cafeteria where he watched Princess Atheta from afar. He had yet to gather the courage to approach her and inform her of his existence and that he was, in fact, not Theran but Therth although he had pretended to be Theran on a number of occasions—none of which he regretted. Theran and Atheta were engaged, and they stole kisses every now and then, so when Therth was doubling as Theran one day and Atheta led him aside and kissed him with passion, it was a memory he never forgot. When he confided in Theran of the incident, his cousin laughed and told him, “You are keeping with the cover. She would suspect something if you refused the kiss, and that would bring a world of hurt upon us.” So time and time again, Therth shared kisses with Atheta, but only when he was pretending to be Theran and only if she initiated it, but even then he resisted sometimes because he could not in good conscience continue the lie.

  He had sought an assignment away from the palace during the marriage talks so as not to give Theran the option to be foolish. Now all the details of the wedding had been finalized, and everyone waited for the appointed time to celebrate because King Roskelem had made the request to wait six months with no contact between kingdoms.

  Now Therth understood the silence of the king of Serhon. He had come here with Atheta, and Therth wasn't sure he wanted to know why, but he knew Lorrek would want to know.

  Gathering every ounce of courage, Therth pushed away from the pillar he had been standing near for the last several hours and approached Atheta, who sat with two other women and enjoyed their fellowship. As he neared the table where they shared the evening meal, he reflected on what he knew of the princess.

  Though slight of body and with a bone structure so delicate that Therth had always worried he might snap her wrist by accident, Princess Atheta possessed a fierce but elegant warrior’s spirit. In politics and courtly talks, she reminded him of Vixen with her determination and unwillingness to back down when she knew she was absolutely right. At the royal dances, she flourished with beauty and grace but never lost her sharp wit. However, Therth had seen her humbly spending time among the commoners where she preferred to listen and observe rather than flaunt her royal status.

  Now she sat among people of all classes and wore the same gray tunic and black trousers of a patient here for the operations, and Therth frowned when he saw this.

  As if sensing his approach, she lifted her head to see who drew near. When her eyes landed on him, her face lit with a smile as she rose from the table. “Theran!”

  Hearing her mistake him for his cousin caused guilt to stab Therth in the gut as she embraced him, but he masked this by returning the embrace for a moment and then pulled her back at arm's length. He smiled at her superb joy at seeing the man she thought he was. “Atheta, I'm surprised to see you here.”

  “I'm surprised to see you here! What are you doing here? I thought you were not overly fond of technology.” Her eyes searched his face, and her sincere smile remained on her lips.

  Therth hesitated—noting how the two other women at the table were listening to their conversation. Lowering his voice, Therth looked back down to Atheta's sweet face. “My brother...”

  “Lorrek?” Atheta's eyes widened as she spoke more quietly, and worry consumed her face. “Is he well? Has something happened to his magic?”

  Frustrated at the simple misunderstanding, Therth nodded at her friends but then guided Atheta to the edge of the cafeteria. He sensed her worry heighten at his actions as they went further and further from the others, and she stared at him, willing for him to give her an answer. He sighed and ducked his head. “This is not simple.”

  “Theran.” She placed a hand against his cheek and locked eye contact with him. “What's not simple?”

  “First off, Princess Atheta...” Therth took her hand from his cheek and placed both his hands on her shoulders. “I am not Prince Theran.” Confusion clouded her face as she furrowed her brows and took a slight step backward, but Therth hastened on to explain. “I am his cousin—Therth.”

  “But you look exactly alike.”

  “Not exactly.” Therth shook his head and smiled a little. “My hair tends to be a little blonder than his.”

  Atheta shook her head and stepped away from him again. “What are you talking about? Who are you?”

  Therth lifted his hands to show he meant no harm. “As I said, I am Theran's cousin—”

  “Then why did you just lead me to believe you were Theran?”

  He sighed. “Because I've doubled for him on more than one occasion, and I didn't want to disturb you.”

&nb
sp; “Disturb me?” Her voice rose a few octaves, and Therth motioned for her to keep her voice down, but she ignored him as indignation flared in her eyes. “How do I know this is not some trick Lorrek has conjured?”

  “Have you ever known Lorrek to jest?” Therth's eyes darkened.

  Atheta hesitated. He was right. However, she needed to know, “When exactly did you double for Theran?” She took a step forward, and Therth knew to take step back; when she was furious, words were her weapons, and he knew he was no match for her in that arena.

  Tucking his hands behind his back, he bowed his head for he knew she was the eldest princess of Serhon while he was an invisible member of the royal family of Cuskelom with no claim to the throne. They were as different as commoner and royalty, so she deserved his every respect—even if that meant answering questions he preferred not to.

  “A few months ago during the marriage talks, I covered for Theran. He had gotten himself drunk after a rough training session that morning, so I filled in for him. While your father and the king were discussing the details, I excused myself to keep up the appearance of a busy prince, but then you also excused yourself and followed me. You spoke of the wedding plans. There was a light in your eyes and your smile that made you glow as you thought of the future, but then you asked me how I felt about the arranged marriage. As you can imagine, Princess, I wanted nothing more than to leave rather than answer because it was not my place to answer, yet you demanded it of me. I told you I was thrilled, but you didn't believe me, and I couldn't explain to you why—”

  “Because you were not Theran.”

  He nodded. “Theran loves you very much, Princess, and I did not want to be the cause of division between the two of you.” He shook his head.

  Her eyes continued to search his face for words no voice could speak. “Did you ever kiss me?” When Therth looked away, Atheta situated her face in front of his to maintain eye contact. “Did you?”