Page 89 of The Outcast
“Yes, ma’am.” His mocking tone didn’t escape me, but I was much too busy freaking out to care about the sibling rivalry between Thor and Freya.
When the library fell quiet with no one but Banni and me left, I leaned against him and whispered, “Promise that you’ll come back to me.”
His hand stroked lovingly up and down my back. “I promise. Everything is going to be all right.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Why would they keep me? I’m an outcast of little value to them. It’s not as if Victor tried to leave; the whole country would be in an uproar.”
Leaning back, I looked up into his beautiful brown eyes. “Then let them keep Victor. All I want is you.”
Banni’s smile was so pure that it made my heart sing. “When I come back, everything will be different. There will be no more hiding how we feel, and I won’t hold back from loving you.” His eyes shifted to the scarf that I had bound around my head. “Unless you’re still hurting of course.”
Carried on the wings of the butterflies in my stomach, I felt light when I answered, “I don’t think any amount of pain could keep me from loving you.”
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CHAPTER 30
Victor’s Apartment
Banni
Thor spent most of the flight in heavy thought and didn’t participate much in the conversation among the rest of us. I felt sorry for my friend and didn’t envy him the pressure he was under.
Indiana tried to cheer him up with a few jokes, but I was too worried about my future with Sparrow to have much to offer him at that point. After all, Thor and Freya didn’t even know that Aubri and I had overheard the nasty argument between Khan and Thor.
The closer we came to France, the more nervous I got. No one waited for us at the airport except for the guards that worked there.
“I didn’t think we’d be back this soon,” Indiana muttered as we stepped out of the drone.
“That’s odd. I would have thought Victor or one of the others would be here to greet us,” Freya said and looked around. “I wrote him that we were coming for an urgent meeting and usually there’s someone to greet us.”
Aubri pushed in front. “We don’t need help to find our way here. Let’s go!”
It was a strange feeling to be back home. The colorful buildings and streets felt warm and familiar to me. I loved the sound of French spoken among people we passed.
At the same time, I knew I would give that up without blinking if Moreau would allow me to move to the Northlands permanently. In an ideal world, I could have gone back on vacation whenever I felt like it and shown Sparrow my home country as well. But until France had open borders, that wasn’t a likely scenario.
Freya poked at my shoulder bringing me out of my thoughts. “Banni, would you please call Victor and ask where we should meet him? I know he received my message that we were coming because he replied with his usual short answer.”
“What answer is that?” Aubri asked.
“Noted.”
Aubri wrinkled her nose. “Is that all he wrote?”
“Yes. Over the years Victor and I have corresponded quite a bit due to planning of the yearly summits. Sometimes we get into arguments and then he’ll writenoted, which is his way of giving me the finger, I’m sure. He knows that it annoys me to no end, but he still does it.”
“Of course he does. Victor has no concern for anyone but himself,” I pointed out. “That’s what happens when you become famous at a young age and have a whole country worship you. It screws with your personality.”
“What personality? Victor doesn’t have one,” Aubri said in a sassy tone. “Unless being a stuck-up jerk counts.”
Thor stopped and faced her. “If you have more insults that you need to get out then do it now, Aubri. I want this meeting to run smoothly. There will be no offensive comments or furniture thrown around this time. There’s too much on the line.”
From the screaming match Thor just had with Khan, I understood that he was referring to more than my freedom. He wanted to prove to his father that he was worthy of the title as Khan’s heir.
Aubri didn’t object. After a ghost of pity flashed on her face, she nodded and assured her cousin, “You’re right. I’ll behave myself. I promise.”
