Page 91 of Phoenix Falling
Most of the males here appeared to be polite and seemed easy in the women’s company. Not all, though. The bitter looks were noted, and not only by me, I was relieved to see. It gave me hope—that the females would not just be safe, but that they could be happy here. After what they’d been through, they deserved all the happy the universe could give them.
“Rissa.”
My eyes closed tight at the sound of his voice, the sound of my name. “Risk,” I choked out—barely.
“I can’t think of you that way, not anymore.”
The words were quiet enough they wouldn’t reach the nearest group of listeners, which made them even worse. “Don’t.”
Sun’s hand landed on my arm, pulled me around to face him. When I glanced up, none of the tenderness that his voice had held was present in his face. That held only anger. “What are you doing out of your room?”
“You mean my cell?”Might as well call a spade a spade.
“That’s exactly what I mean.” There was no apology; this male was a king, after all. He was used to having his orders obeyed and not apologizing for anything, I supposed. Or maybe assumed. His father had died only a week ago, and he had mentioned a coronation. Had he been treated like a king even while he’d been a prince? There was so much I didn’t know about him. So much I would never know, not now.
“I’m the one who let her out,” Lyris said, coming up behind me.
“Why?”
Just that, nothing else, but it was obvious he expected an answer—and a good one.
Lyris tightened her lips for a moment, then glanced around. “Let’s go over here.”
Sun gave me one last, long look before following Lyris to the door. Was it a warning? I didn’t know and didn’t want to care. Too bad I did.
I stuck close to the other women, forced myself to eat despite not wanting to. I was beginning to think Lyris had forgotten me when I saw her hurrying across the room. “Risk!”
I stood, abandoning my dessert. “Yeah?”
“Raine is here.”
My best friend had been given a space in the women’s dorm, apparently. When we entered the large room, I saw her halfway down the row of beds, her back to the headboard. A large square of white obscured her forehead, and cuts and bruises covered what skin I could see. I began to run. “Raine!”
She looked my way, the movement of her head slow, her eyes even slower to focus. “Risk.”
By the time I reached her, tears had dripped onto her cheeks. “I couldn’t find you,” she said, then kept saying as she leaned her forehead onto my shoulder when I sat on the bed. “I couldn’t find you, and then those guys... I got hit by a bus and called Nala. Because I couldn’t find you.”
I murmured apologies into her hair until the tears quieted. Then I laid her down on the pillow. “What did they give you?” I asked, carefully examining her eyes.
Nala stepped up beside me. “The hospital gave her something for pain. No major injuries, but the impact of the bus will make her sore for a few days. Luckily it was almost stopped before she was herded in front of it.”
“You’re sure they were human.” I’d get the CCTV coverage as soon as possible and send it to Nick.
“She was sure.”
Raine’s eyes were already closed, and the way her breath was deepening, I knew she’d be fully asleep soon. Good. Rest was the best thing for her.
“I want to stay here with her.”
“Of course—”
“No.” Sun strode across the room, the strike of his boots echoing off the walls. “She goes back to her cell.”
“Sun!” Lyris hurried to catch up to her king. “We need Risk to keep her calm.”
“No.”
I sighed. “Don’t be a colossal asshole, Sun.”
