Page 26 of Into The Rift

Unfortunately, Itaka wasn’t done yet. She turned to me, her eyes still that odd, shiny silver color. “The other one—the lovely, blue-haired one…who is he?”

“His name is Prince Jago,” I told her.

“Oh. Well, he belongs to you, dear. He’s going to give you a child one day. But you already knew he was yours, didn’t you?”

Mikol gave me a sudden, sharp look.

“Itaka. You’re very mistaken. I barely know the boy.”

She cocked her head and gave me an enigmatic smile. Then she closed her eyes and laid her head against her husband’s broad shoulder.

I left peacefully with the guards and went down to my isolated cell on a lower deck. Unaccountably, I found myself wondering what Jago was doing and whether or not he’d hurt himself when he fell into the room. It would serve him right if he had. I could hear Itaka’s words echoing in my mind, “He belongs to you.” She’d also said—much more alarmingly—that he’d give me a child one day.

I wondered if I was pleased or horrified. Or maybe a little of both.

Chapter Eight

Prince Jago

When we’d first walked down the corridor, I’d felt bad for Rakkur, because Tariq was so embarrassed and angry he either couldn’t or wouldn’t speak to him as he held tightly to both our elbows and led us down the corridor. After a moment or two, Rakkur had stopped trying to get away and stopped trying to talk to him and got that mulish expression on his face that I’d seen so often on Blake when he and my grandfather argued.

He tried to jerk his arm away a couple more times, but Tariq held on like grim death and wouldn’t let go. Finally, Rakkur stopped his efforts, and we made it back to the infirmary. Tariq left us just inside the door, with one terse and angry word.

“Stay.”

He turned then and left and Rakkur turned to me incredulously. “Stay? Does he think I’m some kind of pet to be given orders? Insufferable man!”

“Don’t be so upset. He was angry.”

“He’s not the only one,” he said, beginning to pace up and down. “Try that door and see if it’s locked.”

I did. And it was.

I shrugged and tried to urge him to sit down. He was beginning to look really flushed.

“I’m sure he’ll be back soon or send someone. Don’t get so excited.”

He stopped his pacing and stared at me, and I noticed his skin had gone from flushed to patchy white. He really didn’t look well.

“Jago,” he said softly. “Look, don’t be alarmed, but I need to tell you something.”

Nothing could alarm me more than someone saying “don’t be alarmed, but…”

“What do you mean? What is it?”

“I-I’m bleeding. I just felt a gush.”

“A gush? What? Where? What do I need to do?”

“I don’t know. Help me over to a chair, please.”

I quickly grabbed him around the waist and that’s when I noticed the small dark stain that was rapidly spreading across his robe, like it had splashed there. Fucking splashed, which scared me to death. It had appeared in seconds, like it had come in a huge outpouring, and it was continuing to get bigger. I felt a little faint myself.

“Oh gods, Rakkur! We have to get help.”

“See if there are guards outside the door. If not, use your communicator to call someone. Hurry, though, because I-I think I’m hemorrhaging and I’m going to pass out.”

I got him to the nearest chair and put him down like he was a porcelain vase, and then I ran to the door and began to bang wildly on it yelling as loud as I could for help. Thankfully, the door almost immediately slid open, and two Imperials came in with weapons drawn, looking around the room for the threat.

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